Blueberry Clafouti

I am glad to find blueberries in the store today, so I picked up a pound of it to make this recipe for a clafouti. Clafouti is a soft and custard-like baked French dessert that is made with fresh seasonal berries. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, you should adjust the sugar accordingly, unless if you have a sweet-tooth it didn't really matter.

Classic Pear and Almond Tart

This is a classic French tart to make. It is easy to prepare and looks elegant for a special Sunday dinner. I've made this some weeks ago and quite forgotten to post it. I'd used two adaptations for the recipe and the credits are listed below. Bon Appetit!

Ingredients: (Adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2005)
4 firm and ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into halves
1 cup sugar
3½ cups water
½ Tbsp. lemon juice
Almond Filling:
2/3 cup blanced slivered almonds
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, beaten
½ tsp. almond extract (optional)
Sweet Tart Crust: (Adapted from Dorie Greenspan)
9-inch tart pan with removable bottom
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup confectioner's sugar
¼ tsp. salt
9 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large ege yolk
Method:
1. For pears: In a medium pot add water, sugar and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, then add the pears. Reduce heat to medium low heat and simmer until the pears are tender. Turn them over occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let pears cool in the syrup.
2. For almond filling: Grind almonds and flour in a food processor until well mixed. Add in sugar, then buttern and almond extract, if using. Pulse until mixture is smooth, add in egg yolk to blend. Remove mixture into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
3. For Tart Crust: Add flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in the butter and pulse further until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the egg yolk a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. Pulse for another 10 minutes until the mixture begins to clump to a dough. Tum the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough lightly to just incorporated any missed dry ingredients on the surface. From into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours before rolling.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter bottom and sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan. Place a piece of parchment paper on work surface and gently dust over with flour. Roll dough to form a large round, about 12-inch. Using the parchment paper as aid, turn dough into the pan. Remove paper. Seal any cracks in dough, trim overhand to ½ inch. Fold overhang in, making double-thick sides. Pierce bottom of crust with folk.
5. Line crust with buttered foil side down, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake crust in the middle of the oven until sides ar set about 20 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Bake further for another 8-10 minutes until golden and bottom is set. Remove and cool crust in pan for later. Reduce oven to 350°F.
6. Let almond filling thaw at room temperature. Spread filling evenly in crust. Cut pears in slices and gently press pear slices in filling, overlapping them. (You can be creative at this point)
7. Bake tart in middle of oven until golden and when inserted with a toothpick into the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. To serve push pan bottom up to release the tart. Place on serving plate and cut into wedges.
Printable Recipe

Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries

This is a traditional and simple Italian custard that is light and easy to prepare. You can make it ahead of time and serve it with fresh berries. I served mine with homemade mixed berries sauce flavored with a dash of raspberry wine. Yummy!

Ingredients: (Adapted from Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts)
1 quart half (4 cups) half and half (or heavy cream)
1/3 cup sugar (½ for sweeter)
1 tsp. vanilla extract or paste
6 Tbsp. iced cold water
2 envelopes gelatin (4 ½ tsp)
8 custard or ramekins (lightly oiled with vegetable oil)
Method:
1. Add sugar and cream in a saucepan and cook over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and add the vanilla extract (paste).\
2. Sprinkle gelatin over the cold water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Pour the warm milk mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Spoon and divide the into ramekins. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours until firm.
4. To serve: run a small knife around the edge of custard and unmold onto serving plate and garnish as desired.
Tips: Another alternative idea is to pour Panna Cotta mixture into dainty teacups or fluted wine glasses. This allows you to serve them in glasses without unmolding. You can add color to the mixture before pouring it into molds. Decorate with fruits.
Printable Recipe

Lemon Chiffon Pie with Cookie Crust

This is a light dessert of soft and silky lemon mousse filling in gingersnap cookie crust. A very nice pie for any occasion--what's great it's simple enough to prepare.
Ingredients: (adapted from epicurious.com, I cut back on the sugar)
1½ cups gingersnap cookie (about 25 cookies, finely ground in food processor)
2 Tbsp. sugar (instead of 2 tbsp.)
5 Tbsp. unsalted melted butter
9-inch glass pie dish (as it heat evenly)
Filling:
2 cups ice cubes
¼ cup water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¾ cup sugar (instead of ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp.)
¾ cup freshly sqeezed lemon juice, strained
4 large egg yolks
2 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
a pinch of salt
1¼ cups whipping cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix cookie crumbs, sugar together. Add in the melted butter and stir until mixture is evenly moistened.  Transfer crumb mixture to pie dish and press firmly with fingers the crumb mixture to the bottom and sides of dish. Bake in the center of overn until crust is firm and turn a darker color--about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool crust completely (you can make this ahead of time)
2. In medium sized bowl, pour enough water to fill halfway up sides; add in ice cubes. In another small bowl, add ¼ cup of water and sprinkle gelatin over. Let this stand until gelatin softens.
3. Whisk sugar, lemon juices, egg yolks, grated lemon peepl and salt in a saucepan to mix completely over medium low heat. Stir until mixture has thickens slightly or until the mixture coat surface of spoon. The mixture should not curd, when test with thermometer it should registers 160°F. Add gelatin and continue whisking until gelatin dissolves and mixture is smooth and silky. Remove from heat and place saucepan in bowl of ice water, until the filling is cool enough to touch. Continue whisking for another 5-8 minutes.
4. When mixture is cool enough, transfer lemon filling to a large bowl. Beat whipping cream and powder sugar with an electric beater in another bowl. Beat until peaks form and firm. Gently fold in a small portion of the whipped cream into the lemon filling until incorporated. Fold in the remaining cream in three additions.
5. Transfer filling to cooled down crust, moulding the mixture in the center. Keep pie refrigerated until filling is set about 4-5 hour.
Printable Recipe

Baked Egg Custard

This recipe is one of my family's favorite dessert. It is nutritious and easy to prepare. I am glad my daughter asked me for the recipe, which reminds me that I don't have a post for it. So here it is, enjoy this comfort dessert using the simple ingredients of eggs and milk.
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
½ cup sugar (¾ cup for sweeter)
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups milk, (scalded and allow to cool)
4 custard bowls
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together. Beat well to mix and blend in the scalded milk.
3. Pour into custard bowls and set it in a larger and deep pan or baking tray. Fill with water until it comes up halfway to the custard bowls. Sprinkle top with nutmeg.
4. Bake in the center of the oven and reduce temperature to 350­°F. Continue to bake for about 35-40 minutes until a clean skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
Printable Recipe

Baked Apple Tarte Normande

Tarte Normande is unique of Normandy due to the prolific of apples in that area in the region in France. The tart is made with a sweet crust with thinly sliced applies on top. For an impressive and dramatic touch to the tart, you can flambé with brandy before serving.
Ingredients:
5-6 apples (golden delicous or any tart variety)
2 ozs sugar
4 ozs unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. brandy
½ tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. flour
4-5 small cubes of butter
3 oz brandy for flambé (optional)
Crust:
10½ oz all purpose flour
4½ oz sugar
4½ oz unsalted butter, softened
2 medium eggs
Method:
1. Make the pastry by mixing the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. Add eggs and mix together with your fingertips, followed by flour and mix until the dough is a smooth dough. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes until dough is firm enough to handle.
2. In a bowl, mix the sugar with all the dry spices. Peel and cored the apples and sliced thinly. Add to a bowl with lemon juice to prevent it from turning brown.
3. Chop 1/3 of the apples into small cubes and cook them down into a compote in a heavy saucepan with softened butter, half of the spiced sugar, vanilla and brandy. Cook over medium heat and stir to mix with the apples. Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes until apples have softened and fragrant. Remove from heat to cool. Add a tsp. of flour to apple mixture.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough and press to tart pan. Pour compote to the bottom of pan and arrange sliced apples in a rosette. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar evenly on top of apples. Dot top with butter.
5. Bake in oven for about 40 minutes until apples and crust are golden brown. Remove and set aside to cool.
6. Serve with whipped cream or ice-cream if you want it simple or flambé. Tips on how to flambé
Printable Recipe

Shaker Lemon Pie

I did some research and found the origin of this pie, it was invented in the early 1800’s by the Shakers. The Shakers are a religious group who believes in pacifism and the simplicity of communal living. They believe in giving up all their worldly goods and take up the cross of celibacy. There was an article about this pie by Sue Hubbell who traveled the country back roads with her dog. Her quest is to search for pies and write about them in her book, "From Here to There and Back Again". Here's an excerpt about this pie:
“The Shakers invented this pie back in the early eighteen-hundreds when they began trading goods they grew or manufactured for the few necessities they couldn’t produce. Lemons, which they considered an important item in a healthy diet, were one of the ‘world’s goods’ they needed. Their lemons came all the way from New Orleans and were so dear that the Shakers believed it a sin to waste any part of them, so they devised a recipe that would use the whole lemon.”
I had this tasty and delightful pie at Camino restaurant in Oakland. It has a nicely baked shell made from buckwheat and the inside is a custard-like filling with thinly sliced whole lemons. I am surprised that the lemon rinds didn’t taste bitter at all; instead it is has a tantalizing sweetness with a note of tartness and almost melts in your mouth. I asked the waitress how they make the lemons tastes so good and they told me the trick is to macerate the lemons with sugar overnight. This process allows the lemons to absorb the flavor and the sugar helps breaks down some of the tartness.

The recipe calls for Meyer lemons because they are less acidic and have a milder and thinner-skin than the regular lemons you find in the supermarkets. The Meyer lemon is a reasonably hardy plant and they do relatively well in California's sunny and warm climate. I enjoyed the pie so much as Camino. I thought I would try making this at home. I wasn't able to get some buckwheat flour, so I just have to settle for the basic crust recipe. If you want a gluten-free crust, substitute the flour with buckwheat instead. Enjoy!

Ingredients: (inspired and adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
3 large Meyer lemons
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. melted butter
8-inch pie dish
Dough: (8-inch pie)
2 cups all-purpose flour (or buckwheat)
½ cup shortening
6 Tbsp. ice cold water
½ tsp. salt
some flour for rolling
Method:
1. Wash and scrub lemons thoroughly, dry with paper towels. Slice lemons thinly and discard seeds. Add the slices of lemons in a bowl and add sugar. Gently mix to incorporate the sugar with the lemons, cover and leave to mascerate for at least a day in the refrigerator.
2. After a day's of mascerating, the lemons are now ready. In a bowl, mix together egg, melted butter and flour until mixture is free from lumps. Pour this into the lemon mixture. Combined gently to mix and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 450 °F. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, shortening and salt. Cut shortening with a pastry cutter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add water a litte at a time until mixture begins to stick together. Note: It is ready when dough holds together when pinch with fingers. Add more water if the dough doesn't hold together. Gently knead dough to form into a ball, remove and place on a lightly floured surface.
4. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for about 5-8 minutes. Dust rolling pin with some flour and roll dough into 10-inch circle. Carefully place onto a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the extra dough around the pie dish. Pour the lemon-sugar mixture onto the pie dish, spreading out the lemons evenly.
5. Roll out the second dough, as before. Place this over the top of the lemon filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of pie rounds firmly to seal around the edges. Flute and decorate the edge of the crusts. Using a fork poke some holes on the top to allow steam from the cooking to escape.
6. Brush pie surface with egg wash, sprinkle some sugar lightly on top. Bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375°F (350° if using glass dish) and bake further for another 25-30 minutes until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and set out to cool completely before serving.
Cooks tips: I left my lemons in the fridge for two days and it's still okay. I took a small teaspoon of the mixture and add some water and ice to it and I have a refreshing lemonade.
Printable Recipe

White Chocolate Tart

White Chocolate--what's there not to love about this exquisite ingredient? It's rich and full of flavor. This delicate and decadent tart is simply delicious for any occasion. Who can resist a slice?
Ingredients:
1 pack frozen short crust pastry, thawed
1 egg white, beaten
Tart pan(s) with removable bottom
aluminum foil
pastry weights or beans
Filling:
200 gm. white baking chocolate
450 gm. mascarpone cheese
5/8 cup whipping cream (150 ml)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Roll out pastry crust to about 1-inch thick, and carefully place onto tart pan. Trim excess pastry. Line pastry surface with aluminum foil and spread pastry weights on top.
3. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes until slightly brown. Remove paper weights and brush over the pastry and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven set aside to cool.
4. To make the filling, break chocolate into small chunks. Place chocolate and half of the mascarpone cheese in a metal bowl over a pot of water simmering on medium low heat. Be sure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir the chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon until it is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
5. Pour the remaining mascarpone into the chocolate mixture. Beat with an electric beater on low speed until smooth. Fold and mix in the whipping cream.
6. Spoon mixture into the baked pastry shell. Chill for 5-6 hours until sets. Serve with fresh fruits if preferred.

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Kheer

Kheer is Indian for rice pudding and is quite similar to the western rice pudding. It is a traditional Indian dessert made with rice, sugar and cream. It is often flavored with cardamon and other delicate spices. This creamy rice pudding makes a great dessert served either warm or chilled.
Ingredients:
½ cup Basmati rice
4¼ cups of milk
4 cardamons, crushed
4 Tbsp. sugar
some chopped nuts for garnishing
some raisins (optional)
Method:
1. Wash and drain rice well. Bring milk, rice and spices to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat and simmer until rice becomes soft and translucent like porridge. Stir occasionally to prevent rice sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more water or milk if mixture is too dry.
2. Add sugar and raisins (if used). Stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove cardamons before serving. Serve warm and sprinkle chopped nuts on top.
Printable Recipes

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

What is Thanksgiving without this traditional dessert--it is the highlight of the occasion. This pie is my all-time favorite as it delicious and easy to prepare. An interesting article that I read while waiting in line for my appointment, was the smell of pumpkin increase sexual arousal in some men faster than in perfume. I am not sure what scientific evidence is it based upon--but it is really interesting to know how some food has certain characteristics to human behavior. So, readers any comments? 

Ingredients: (adapted from Paula Deen's)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
¼ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground ginger, optional
¼ tsp. ground allspice
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put the thawed pie crust onto the pie pan and pinch the edges to form a decorative pattern. Put the pie shell into the freezer for an hour to firm up. Remove and put a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell and fill up with dried beans or pie weights.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, remove foil and pie weights and return to bake for another 10 minutes until crust is dried out and turn slightly brown.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined, then add sugar and beat until mixture is combined. Add the eggs, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until well. Lastly add in the vanilla, cinnamon, allspice and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.
5. Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for about an hour, or until the center is set and not wobbly. Place pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and serve with whipped cream.
Printable Recipe

Poached Fruits

I was at the local farmer's market and brought home enough fruits to last us for a week. Hence this simple recipe that is a great pairing with other dessert, such as ice cream or your favorite fruitcake.

Ingredients:

1 apple, washed and thinly sliced lengthwise
1 pear, washed and thinly sliced lengthwise

Juice of an orange

handful of dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

1 cup apple juice

¼ cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp. ground cloves

Method:

1. In a meduium saucepan combine apple and orange juice, sugar and spices to a boil.

2. Add in the dried cranberries or raisins (if used) and boil for another 2 minutes, then add in the sliced fruits. Covered and reduce simmer for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let fruits steep in saucepan for about 5 minutes. The fruits should be just soft and not overcooked. Remove and cool at room temperature before serving.

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Spiced Ginger Cake with Poached Pear and Caramel Sauce

I stumbled upon this delicious dessert at one of our favorite restaurants. We used to dine there on special occasions with families and close friends. The food is wonderful and the service is outstanding. This dessert recipe is adapted from Wente Vineyard. I've made some adjustments to the recipe based upon my preference. The cake is rich and moist and full of flavor. This will be a delightful dessert for the holidays!

Ingredients: Poached Pears
4 oranges
3 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
7 cups water
1½ cups sugar
4 firm, slightly ripe Pears
Instructions:
1. Peel orange zest thinly with a vegetable peeler. Cut into half and squeeze juice from oranges and add to a large pot. Add water, spices, sugar and zest and halves of oranges.
2. Peel pears, sliced in half and remove the center and seeds. Add to pot and simmer on low for about 25-30 minutes, or until tender but not too soft. Remove and let cool. When cooled, slice them into 4-5 slices leaving the stem on the top.
Ingredients: Caramel Sauce
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup water
¼ cup Port or Riesling (room temperature)
Instructions:
1. Combine sugar, water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and let it come to a boil until it resembles a rich amber color. Gently add in the wine as the mixture will bubbles. 2. Continue to stir over low heat until mixture is dissolved and smooth. Remove from pan to cool. (This can be prepared the day before.
Ingredients: Ginger Cake
2½ cups flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup light molasses
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 medium-sized egg, lightly beaten
1 cup hot boiling water
pinch of salt
9x5 baking pan, greased pan or individual cake rings
Instruction:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, dried spices, and salt. Whisk together molasses and hot water to mix in a separate bowl.
2. Mix butter, brown sugar, and egg with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is creamy. Mix in the flour mixture and molasses at low spped until it is smooth without lumps.
3. Pour batter into a greased pan. Bake in oven for about 35-40 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Cut into squares if you are making it in a cake pan.
4. Serve ginger cake warm. Place caramel sauce on the plate and then the cake, and top with fanned poached pear. Place a dollop of cream or ice-cream. Drizzled more caramel sauce on top if desired.
Printable Recipe

Apple Spiced Cake

A friend mentioned that I don't have many cake recipes. I am not much of a baker, but I can make a decent cake occasionally. This cake is easy to prepare and it is great served warm with whipped cream or just plain. I love this with golden delicious or granny smith apples. It is a moist cake that has a tangy lemon taste and a twist of my favorite spices: ginger and nutmeg--wonderfully delicious!
Ingredients:
1½ lbs apples, peeled and cored
¾ cups sugar
4 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1¼ cups self-rising flour (or plain flour with 1 tsp. baking powder)
4 oz. melted butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp. ground ginger
9" springform cake pan
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 springform baking pan
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush baking pan with melted butter and line the base with paper.
2. Slice the apples thinly and add to a bowl, pour lemon juice and ginger on top. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a bowl, beat egg, sugar until it is thick and creamy. In another bowl, mix flour and salt together.
3. Add in half the flour into the egg mixture and fold in gently with a metal spoon. Drizzled in the melted butter from the side and fold into with the flour mixture. Add in the rest of the flour to mix, then add in the apples and fold gently to mix. Use a spatula to level the top surface and sprinkle nutmeg on top.  (This works well if you have a nutmeg grater)
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake in center of oven for about 45-50 minutes until skewer comes out clean. Remove and let it cool down for about 10 minutes and then invert on to a wire rack. Turn the cake onto a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar if you desired.



Printable Recipe

Fresh Apricot Cobbler

Our apricot tree in the backyard has plenty of fruits this summer. It is nice to sit under the tree in the late afternoon to see the lovely fruits on its branch, ripening to a yellowish-orange color in the hot summer heat. The fragrant of the ripening fruits are already attracting the birds and bugs. Before they do, I picked a basketful to make this simple and delicious dessert with homemade crust.
Ingredients:
4 cups sliced apricots (in quarters)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup milk
½ cup sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. butter, cut in chunks
Clear casserole or baking dish (of desired size)
whipped cream or ice cream
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and just 1 tablespoon of sugar. Make a hole in the center of the flour, add shortening. Using a pastry cutter, cut shortening until it resembles fine crumbs. Add milk to form a soft pasty dough. Set aside
2. Combine apricots, the rest of the sugar, butter, cinnamon, 3 tablespoon flour, and nutmeg in a bowl. Pour fruits into the dish and pat dough to cover the apricots. Lightly sprinkle some sugar and nutmeg on top. Using a skewer, poke a few holes into the mixture to allow steam to escape when baking.
3. Bake in 450°F for about 10-15 minutes; then reduce heat to 350°F and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.
Printable Recipe

Bittersweet Chocolate Pots de Crème with Cherries

 

Pots de crème or pot-au-crème translates in French to English as “pot of cream”, as this dessert is served in small-lidded pots. It is basically, chocolate custard that is so smooth and silky and practically melts in your mouth. It is simply divine and wickedly delicious!
Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean
3/4 cup sugar
6 ozs. bittersweet chocolate, shaved
1 ¾ cups half and half
2 Tbsp. dark rum
½ cup pitted dark cherries
6 ramekins or wide mouth canning jars
Method:
1. Soak cherries with rum and set aside. Preheat oven to 325°F. In a heavy saucepan, break vanilla bean and add cream and heat over low heat, stirring until a thin film floats across the cream. Remove from heat and discard vanilla bean. Add shaved chocolate and stir until it melted completely.
2. In another bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar till well mixed. Stir in the rum from the cherries and pour egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Mix well and pour through a sieve and remove foam.
3. Pour slowly into jars or ramekins halfway and press some cherries into mixture, top with more of the chocolate mixture and remove any excess foam.
4. Place ramekins into a large deep baking tray and fill with water up to about 1-inch from the top of the ramekins. Bake in the middle rack for about 45 minutes until it comes out clean when tested with a skewer. Cool completely and serve with shaved chocolate and fresh cherries or cookies.
Printable Recipe

Almond Flavored Rice Pudding

Rice for dessert, unheard of! Being an Asian or just plain me, I was not accustomed to cooking rice with sugar or milk and eating it as a dessert. Rice to me is commonly served plain with other dishes. Well, I was curious and so I’ve decided to give it a try. On my first attempt, it was so thick and gluey that I can stick a spoon on top of the pudding. After the second and third attempts, it finally comes close to a decent rice pudding---good enough to eat! This version is a simple and delicious alternative to an old-fashioned rice pudding.
Ingredients:
¾ cup short-grain rice, washed and drained
½ cup almonds, chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
1 small piece cinnamon stick (or ½ tsp cinnamon spice)
½ tsp. almond extract
2½ cups milk
¼ cup condensed milk
3 Tbsp. rose or orange blossom flower water (optional)
½ cup dried raisins or currants
4 Tbsp. butter
pinch of salt
ground cinnamon and nutneg for garnishing
toasted slices of almonds for garnishing
Method:
1. Soak rice with some water and a pinch of salt. In a food processor or blender, add the chopped almonds with ½ cup hot water. Process until very fine and strain into a saucepan.
2. Add 1½ cups of water into the saucepan and bring to a boil, then add in the rest of the milks. Drain the rice and add to the milk mixture, together with brown sugar, dried fruits, cinnamon stick and half of the butter, and almond extract. Stir well to mix and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, adding more milk or sugar if necessary.
3. Continue to cook and stir the rice mixture to prevent burning at the bottom until it becomes thick and creamy. When the rice is of the right consistency, stir in the rose flower water, then season to taste for sweetness.
4. Serve pudding warm with a dollop of butter and sprinkle with sliced almonds, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
Printable Recipe

Mango Pudding

If you are dim sum lover, you would love this popular dessert! It is frequently found in the dessert carts when the server roll it over to your table. It is sweet with a rich and silky texture with a refreshing flavor of mango. It is quick and easy to make at home with either fresh or pureed mangoes. You can serve it with a some fresh cream or evaporated milk.
Ingredients:
2 packets (1 Tbsp.) of unflavored gelatin
½ cup sugar (¾ cups if you like it sweeter)
¾ cup hot water (1 cup if you like it softer)
1 cup evaporated milk
3 cups pureed fresh mangoes
5 ice cubes
Method:
1. In a bowl, add gelatin and sugar to hot water and mix well to dissolve and mixture is smooth.
2. In another bowl, mix mango puree, milk and ice cubes. Add in the gelatin mixture and stir until ice cubes are melted.
3. Pour mixture into jelly mould and chill until set, at least 2-4 hours. To serve, dip jelly mould in hot water and turn pudding onto plate. Serve with fresh mango slices and some chilled evaporated milk.
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Soufflé, A Cooking Mess-ups!

Whenever I think of Soufflé, it reminds me of Dominque and Claude, a family-owned French restaurant that we would dine on special occasion. They made the best Grand Marnier Soufflé--unfortunately the owners had retired and sold their business four years ago. One weekend John and I made this dessert--which turned out to be a disaster! We were a little zealous and had overworked both the egg whites and overcooked the anglaise sauce. In addition to that, the rim of the dish was covered with a 5-inch high foil wrap, as I had anticipated that the soufflé would puff up in all its glory. Now how do you expect the heat to penetrate through this "Great Wall of China?" The end results: only half heartedly puffed up soufflé; a curdled crème anglaise that poured out in lumpy fashion! If there is a Guinness Book of Records for cooking disasters--we'd top the charts with the highest mark! We can't change what had happened--might as well laugh about it. :) Lucky for us our daughter made us a perfect soufflé with the superb crème anglaise last weekend. Here's some of the pictures of my mishaps--If you have a similar story, I love to hear from you.



Escoffier said "kings wait for soufflés; soufflés do not wait for kings."

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

                           

Strawberries, chocolate, and flowers reminds me of love and romance on this Valentine's Day! John and I decided to stay home instead and watched a movie after dinner. I prepared his favorite chicken satay and he made truffles. In addition to that, we picked up some sushi from our favorite Japanese restaurant.

Ingredients:

Fresh strawberries, green leaves left on

¾ cups. semi-sweet chocolate

1 tsp. shortening

Method:

1. In a saucepan over low heat or in a double boiler, melt chocolate and shortening. Stir constantly until it becomes a smooth mixture. Next spear strawberries with toothpicks through the top and dip fruit into the melted chocolate.

2. Place on a pan lined with waxed paper or simply stick the toothpicks into a piece of styrofoam to harden. Refrigerate for up to a day before serving. Tips: I place the toothpick between the prongs of the fork to harden.

  

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Chocolate Truffle Trifecta

In this installment, in deference to Valentines day I am providing three truffle recipes. These are the real truffles, which is that soft center that you find inside those hard shelled store bought things. After making these you'll understand why they do that, but it is the center that is the true chocolate decadence. A truffle will start to "melt in your hand before it gets to your mouth", giving you every incentive to get it in your mouth as quickly as possible.

The recipes are: Chocolate-Cayenne, Chocolate-Fennel-Anise and Chocolate-Grand Marnier
These three recipes here are based on a basic truffle recipe with flavor variations, you may want to start there if you are comfortable with what a store bought truffle tastes like, but if you are looking for a little adventure, I hope this sets you on a path exploring some unexpected combinations.

Let's start with base ingredients, the chocolate, a typical truffle recipe starts with semi sweet, but I wanted to try to tow other variations, bittersweet and pure unsweeted chocolate. The recipes are presented in their order of most familiar to flavor to more shall we say, adventurous flavor, but perhaps you are the best judge.

The chocolates: (semisweet, bitersweet, unsweeted)

Let's start with the Chocolate-Cayenne

Ingredients:

4 oz bar of semi-sweet chocolate

2 oz water

3 oz heavy whipping cream or creme fraiche

1 1/2 Tbsp of unsweeted butter

1 Tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder for forming and coating truffle balls 

(these 6 ingredients comprise the basic truffle recipe, you are welcome to start with this alone)

1/4 or 1/2 Tsp of Cayeene Pepper (yes the hot pepper)

Method (making the chocolate truffle mixture)

1. The first step is to melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the lowest heat setting. First place the 2 oz of water in the double boiler.

2. Next add the chocolate, breaking it to mangaeable chunks to allow them to be covered in the water. Whisk continuously until the mixture is fairly smooth. Add butter in small chunks (about five pieces) melting each chunk prior to adding the next piece.

3. You may notice that the oil form the butter does not incorporate with the chocolate just yet, that's okay.

Slowly pour in the cream and whisk until the mixture is uniform.

4. Add the sugar and whisk until completely incorporated (at this point you have the standard truffle mixture and you can skip the cayeene if you like just plain decadent chocolate ) this process will also apply to the other two recipes in this post. Add 1/4 tsp of cayeene and incorporate into the mixture bump this up to 1/2 tsp if you would like a bit more kick.

Chilling the mixture:

1. If you are making more recipes, transfer the mixture into another bowl, cool to room temperature and then place in the refridgerator or freezer. The freezer will likely make the mixture a little firmer than you want for the forming step, but it is likely that your refridgerator is not set low enough to firm up the mixture enough for easy handling. I prefer the freezer and then monitor the firmness.

Forming the truffles:

1.You want the mixture cool and firm enough to form but not so firm as to make it hard to handle. I like having a flat baking tray that I throw in the freezer to cool it down. Place about a 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to start in the baking sheet once you have removed it forom the freezer, take your truffle mixture and  scoop about a 1 1/2 tsp dollop of the micture out, working with your fingers, form into a ball or cube and drop into the cocoa powder.
2. Roll the dollop around to form a rough ball and make sure it is covered with cocoa  powder. Place the finish ball in a small candy size paper cup. Work quickly, as the truffle mixture warms up quickly at which point it has the consistency of  warm peanut butter. You may need to chill the mixture from time to time depending on the room temperature and how quickly you work. When you are done place the finished truffles in the refridgerator to keep them cool and firm. Remove only when ready to serve.
You might like these variations:
Chocolate-Grand Marnier
4oz bar unsweetened chocolate
1 oz Grand Marnier (steep with orange extract and leave overnight)
3 oz water (add additional water and 1 Tbsp. at a time till mixture is smooth)
2 tsp. orange extract
6 tsp. confectioners sugar
Chocolote-Fennel-Anise
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 oz Vodka (steep with star anise and fennel and leave overnight)
1/4 tsp. star anise extract
2 tsp. ground fennel
3 oz thick cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp confectioners sugar
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