desserts

Desserts

Ginger-Pear Sorbet
Yes, it’s a tempting dessert, but consider serving it between the first course and the turkey to refresh the palate.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Recipe courtesy of Helena Echlin.

The secret to this is DRY strawberries – a single drop of water can seize (coagulate) the melted chocolate. Point to our Tips page for Chocolate Advice.

Eton Mess
Recipe courtesy of Helena Echlin. Easy and unique – a pretty and delicious conversation piece.

Flan foodies
This flan or caramel custard is in the rich, dense tradition of Puerto Rico. It may be made in a covered flan pan, a recycled round butter cookie tin with lid (Can you still find Knejldsen’s?), custard cups, or in any shallow 1 1/2 quart mold. New cookie tins might stick a tad to the custard the first few times around.

For the caramel:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of water
• a cinnamon stick

For the custard:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup whipping or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk (not non-fat)
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of your best vanilla extract

Preparing the Oven
Before starting the cooking process, turn the oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Run the tap water until piping hot. Fill a roasting pan large enough to hold the mold half full with hot water. Carefully, using oven mitts, insert the pan in the oven.

Caramelizing the Sugar
Note: This process could take as long as 30 minutes.

Warning: Melted sugar is dangerously hot! Novice cooks beware — do not dip your finger in the stuff! Do not lick the spoon! Keep small children away from this cooking process and use a back burner if possible.

Pour the sugar into a small, heavy, deep saucepan. Dribble the water down the insides of the pan onto the sugar and sprinkle the rest over the top. Stir with the fork or small whisk. Heat over medium high heat until it reaches a boil, occasionally rinsing the sugar crystals off the sides with a natural bristle pastry brush dipped in water (plastic bristles may melt!). When the sugar is a clear, boiling liquid, turn down the heat to medium or medium low and simmer without stirring until the syrup begins to turn color. (If sugar crystals try to reform, swish the pan slowly, or loosen from the sides with a small knife.) Once the sugar turns a pale color (be careful- it can burn very quickly), swirl the saucepan carefully over the heat until it turns a dark amber color like maple syrup. Quickly, pour the liquid into the flan pan or mold. Using oven mitts (trust me on this one), rotate the flan pan until the caramel evenly covers the bottom and at least half way up the sides. Lay a cinnamon stick in the bottom of the pan. Set the flan pan aside to cool.

Blending the Custard
This is the quick and easy part!

In a blender, or in a deep bowl using a wire whisk, beat the eggs, cream, milk, condensed milk and vanilla just until well-blended. Do not overbeat as too much air in the custard might spoil it.

Combining the Ingredients
Slowly pour the custard into the caramel-coated pan. Don’t be alarmed if the sugar coating crackles – it will not affect the result. Place the cover on the flan pan or cookie tin, or, if using a mold or custard cups, carefully cover with a tight layer or two of foil so that no water can get in during baking. Again, with those oven mitts, place the covered flan in the hot water bath in the oven. Add hot water to the roasting pan so that the water comes up at least halfway if not two-thirds up the flan pan.

Baking
Note: Baking is a two hour process!

Bake uninterrupted for 1 1/2 (yes, one and one half) hours. Turn off the oven and prop open the door so that the oven cools. Half an hour later, remove the flan from the water bath. Remove the foil or lid quickly so that no condensation forms inside. See and smell your divine creation! Remove the cinnamon stick which may have floated to the surface. If it has not, leave this task until you unmold the flan. Cool the uncovered flan completely on a rack or on a cold stove burner. When the pan reaches room temperature, wrap it tightly in fresh foil or plastic wrap or cover with a dry lid and store in the refrigerator until the following day.

Unmolding
Half an hour before serving, remove the flan from the fridge and uncover it so that condensation does not form inside. Leave it on a wire rack or cold stove burner. Ready a flat-bottomed serving dish. Using a citrus zester, create a little pile of delicate orange zest. When you’re ready to bring the dessert to the table, run a long, thin knife down the sides of the custard, loosening it gently from the pan. Gently jiggle the pan to release suction. Place the serving plate on top of the mold and invert it quickly. Listen for the sound of the flan dropping down. Sometimes another jiggle and flip is needed! Be calm and patient. It WILL work! And when it does, you’ll be stunned and delighted by the results.

Serving
After the oohs and ahhs at the table, cut with a pie server or spatula. Gild each serving with a pinch of the aromatic orange zest. Espresso is the perfect mate. Serve flan with a fork. This ain’t pudding, lovey!

Thanks to Mom (not mine), to Cindy of foodies west fame, to a former student’s mother, and to Rick Bayless’ cookbook Authentic Mexican for assistance in developing this recipe. – Joy

Amy’s Noodle Kugel
Sweet comfort food for egg noodle lovers.

In a large bowl, mix well together:

• one 12 oz. package of egg noodles, cooked and cooled
• half stick (1/4 cup) of melted butter
• 1 pound of cottage cheese
• 8 ounce jar (1 cup) of apple sauce
• 4 eggs, well-beaten
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (or more if you really like raisins)
• sugar and cinnamon to taste (Start with 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon and an 1/8 cup of sugar and go from there).

Butter or grease a glass 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Pour noodle mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle top of kugel with additional cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until top noodles turn golden brown and crunchy, about 30 minutes. The custard will set a bit more as it cools.

World’s Easiest, Elegant Dessert
Gelato Spazzacamino – Courtesy of Marcella Hazan

• Premium vanilla ice cream
• Finely powdered ground espresso beans
• Scotch

Scoop premium vanilla ice cream into chilled bowls. Top each serving with 1 – 2 teaspoons of finely powdered ground espresso beans. Pour 1 tablespoon of scotch over the top and serve.

Read our tips on serving and storing ice cream.

Peanut Butter Eggs
Great fun to make with the kids! The creamy, rich flavored filling plus the crunch of the Rice Crispies puts commercial versions to shame. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen eggs.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 cups peanut butter (a 17.5 – 18 oz. jar will do. No need to measure. Use your favorite name brand. The flavor IS important. Use creamy, not crunchy or the natural kind you have to stir.)
• 3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• Gulf Seal wax (optional)

For the centers:
Get the kids to wash their hands as well as you did. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix softened butter and peanut butter together until butter disappears. Add Rice Krispies and confectioners’ sugar a cupful at a time. Mix as long as possible with the wooden spoon. Eventually you will have to use your hands. Knead and incorporate the sugar and cereal, squeezing the dough until it starts to hang together or your hands cramp beyond the point of no return.

Form the mixture into eggs about the size of a small hen’s egg or elongated walnut. Squeeze together tightly, making the egg as compact and smooth as possible. Place on waxed paper lined cookie sheets and chill loosely covered for at least one hour (or overnight).

Melt chocolate chips in a small, heavy saucepan over lowest possible heat. (See Tips page for advice – melting chocolate is tricky!) When the chips begin to melt, remove from heat; stir. Return to heat for a few seconds at a time, stirring until smooth. Optional: For the best consistency, ease of coating and beautiful luster, add about 1 tablespoon grated (use the carrot grater) Gulf Seal or other canning grade wax (no candles, please!) to the melting chocolate chips. The chocolate will be thinner and more manageable. One tablespoon solid shortening may be substituted for the wax.

Remove the saucepan from the burner and place on a potholder. Cradle an egg on a fork (preferably a two-pronged meat fork) and hold it over the saucepan. (For more on tools for dipping, see Tips on making chocolate candy.) With a small spoon, ladle the melted chocolate over the egg covering top and sides completely. Don’t worry about the bottom of the egg – it is not critical that it be covered completely. Let excess chocolate drain through the tines of the fork back into the saucepan. Gently slide the dipped egg onto a waxed paper lined tray. Repeat, returning the saucepan to the heat for a few seconds if chocolate starts to thicken.

Let chocolate set until “dry.” You may refrigerate to speed the process. Devoted egg makers may wish to decorate finished eggs with decorator’s icing.

All chocolate, including your chocolate eggs, store best in a cool, dark place. If you don’t have such a place, store them loosely covered in the refrigerator. Before serving, leave them out uncovered (to reduce condensation) to reach room temperature. Like cheese, the candy will be softer, creamier and tastier if allowed to reach room temperature before eating. However, this may be difficult to police.

Coconut Creme Eggs
Candymaking is an exact science as well as an art. For best results, follow the recipe faithfully and do your best to find the ingredients by brand name. Makes 6 to 8 dozen eggs, depending on how you size them.

Fondant centers:

• 1/2 pound Parkay margarine (two sticks), softened
• one 14 ounce can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 7 ounces (half a large bag) of Baker’s sweetened shredded coconut OR, if you can find it, two 3 1/2 ounce cans coconut (canned is more moist than the bagged)
• 3 1/2 pounds (one and a half large bags) confectioners’ sugar
• food coloring

Before beginning, choose a couple of cookie sheets or large pans that can later fit into your refrigerator unstacked. Line them with waxed paper and leave them ready and waiting by your work station. Then, thoroughly wash your hands.

You may use an electric beater for the steps in this paragraph only. Beat margarine until fluffy in a huge bowl (a roaster or pasta pot works well). Slowly blend in condensed milk and vanilla. Beat in coconut. If using an electric beater, stop it now, lick the blades clean and put it away. Get out a sturdy spatula or killer wooden spoon.

Have some confectioners’ sugar on hand in case your fingers get too sticky to handle the filling. Beat, pummel, squish and otherwise incorporate the confectioners’ sugar into the coconut mixture, a cupful at a time. Like bread dough, when you just think you can’t knead it anymore, it will begin to take on the lovely texture of soft Playdough. If you’d like to color the fondant filling, follow the directions in the next paragraph. Otherwise, maul this candy filling until it can form a ball as smooth as a baby’s bum. It will no longer be sticky. The confectioners’ sugar will be fully incorporated.

To add color, divide the fondant into hunks, one hunk per color. If you make one hunk yellow, you’ll be able to fashion little round “yolks” around which you’ll wrap a contrasting color (little children love to make the yolks!). Take a hunk, flatten it a bit with your fist, then add a few drops of food coloring. Wrap the fondant up around the drops so they don’t leak all over your work area and then knead, knead, knead. The color will appear streaked until, suddenly, it becomes uniformly colored. The advantage to coloring the fondant is that it will give you extra incentive to work it to the perfect consistency.

You may wish to sprinkle some of extra confectioners’ sugar on the waxed paper lined baking sheets. Now, if your fondant truly feels like fresh Playdough, start tearing off small pieces of it and, rolling it between your palms, form eggs. Since the fondant is very rich, don’t roll them much larger than a walnut in its shell. However, the size of the egg is not critical and certainly not worth worrying about especially if the kids are helping. Consider slicing some of the eggs in half to serve – this is a particularly pretty option if you choose to place a yellow “yolk” in the center. Place the formed eggs on the lined baking sheets.

Refrigerate eggs for at least one hour before coating with chocolate or overnight.

Prepare coating.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Coating:
We tested the new-fangled chocolate microwave fruit dip – thumbs down. Twelve ounces of Baker’s Bittersweet Squares with 2 teaspoons vegetable or peanut oil is passable (more oil if the liquid is too thick). But for a better sheen and a perfect taste contrast to the coconut filling, take the trouble to make this unsweetened coating. Find the Gulf Seal wax in the canning section of the supermarket next to the pectin and Mason jar lids.

Melt together (See Tips page on methods of melting and coating):

• 12 ounces (= 12 squares = 1 1/2 boxes) Baker’s unsweetened chocolate
• a few thin shavings of Gulf Seal canning wax (use a paring knife or the large holes on a cheese grater)

Drop the eggs into the melted chocolate and gently roll with a long-handled two-pronged meat fork or fondue fork (again, see Tips page) until coated. Extract the dipped egg with the fork by lifting, not piercing. Using the fork tines as a cradle for the egg, balance the fork on the sides of the bowl and let the excess chocolate drain back into the bowl. (This extra care prevents the candy from forming a pool of chocolate when placed on the waxed paper.) With a quick flip of the wrist, drop the coated candy onto the waxed paper. Let chocolate coating set until firm and dry. You may refrigerate to speed the process. All chocolate, including your chocolate eggs, store best in a cool, dark place. If you don’t have such a place, store them loosely covered in the refrigerator. Before serving, leave them out uncovered (to reduce condensation) to reach room temperature. Like cheese, the candy will be softer, creamier and tastier if allowed to reach room temperature before eating. Please note that the ivory filling turns snowy white as it hardens. It’s miraculous! And no, we didn’t err. There is no sugar in the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Coating. Trust us on this one. Spirited egg makers may wish to decorate finished eggs with decorator’s icing.