Ready for Dessert (14 page)
Authors: David Lebovitz
Spread ½ cup (125 ml) of the coconut custard evenly in the bottom of the dish. Place one of the cake pieces on top. Spread half of the fruit filling and some of their juice over the cake.
Spread about 1 cup (250 ml) of the coconut custard over the fruit, then place the second cake piece on top. Cover the cake with the remaining fruit filling and juice. Spread another 1 cup (250 ml) of the coconut custard over the fruit, and cover with the cake trimmings, fitting them in a single layer.
Finally, spread the remaining coconut custard over the top and refrigerate, uncovered, for about 30 minutes to firm up the top layer of custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
SERVING:
Scoop out big spoonfuls of the trifle so all the layers of fruit, cake, and custard can be seen. Strew toasted coconut over the top of each serving. The dessert is delicious by served all by itself, but even better in a pool of
Raspberry Sauce
,
Mango Sauce
or
Strawberry Sauce
.
STORAGE:
This trifle will keep overnight, but if stored any longer, the juices from the fruit will make the cake too soggy.
Peanut, Butter, and Jelly Linzertorte
Apple Tart with Whole Wheat Puff Pastry and Maple-Walnut Sauce
Pear Tart with Brown Butter, Rum, and Pecans
Brazil Nut, Date, and Fresh Ginger Tart
Freestyle Lemon Tartlets with White Chocolate Sauce
Fresh Fig and Raspberry Tart with Honey
Apple-Pear Crisp with Grappa-Soaked Raisins and Polenta Topping
Pineapple, Rhubarb, and Raspberry Cobbler
Nectarine-Berry Cobbler with Fluffy Biscuits
Baked Apples with Ginger, Dates, and Walnuts
Very Spicy Baked Pears with Caramel
Blackberry-Brown Butter Financiers
Tropical Fruit Soup with Coconut Sherbet and Meringue
Champagne Gelée with Kumquats, Grapefruits, and Blood Oranges
Being an avid baker keeps me in intimately connected with the seasons
because I’m always on the lookout for seasonal gems to turn into desserts. Sure, you can find ordinary apples in the spring and decent oranges in the summer, but fruits that are in season are not only plentiful and inexpensive (which appeals to my frugal side), they’re also at their peak of ripeness and flavor (which appeals to my palate).
Fall, of course, means apples. Bins and bins of apples. And the good thing is that no matter where you live, it’s pretty easy to find good-tasting local varieties. While supermarkets carry an impressive selection of shiny specimens that probably traveled a long way to get there, I like prowling the stalls at the farmers’ market and seeing the wooden baskets piled with that week’s haul. Even better is learning about some the old-fashioned varieties being revived by growers, many having been anointed with heirloom status.
Like apples, oranges are seasonal, although since we see them year-round, it’s easy to forget that the best tangerines, lemons, and grapefruits shine their brightest during the winter. Their abundance is a good thing, since those juicy, colorful fruits can be a ray of sunshine during an otherwise bleak season—a reason why many European royals maintained
orangeries,
which kept their spirits bright when the temperatures dropped.
I know spring is here when I see crimson rhubarb stalks nudging winter’s oranges and tangerines aside, clearing the way for the cascade of stone fruits that are ready to burst forward. Rhubarb was the first fruit (vegetable, actually) I learned to eat right from the earth: as a kid, I’d strip off the leaves and dip the stalks in a cup of sugar stolen from my mother’s pantry and munch on the raw, puckery stalks. Now, I often bake with rhubarb, usually mixing it with the first berries of the year.
The summer’s eventual cavalcade of peaches, nectarines, cherries, and berries soon arrive to the relief of all. From the moment I spy summer’s first apricots until late-season plums are pushed aside by fall’s earliest apples and pears, I’m always revved up for baking season by season.
Though most fresh fruits are wonderful eaten out of hand (I’ll concede that uncooked rhubarb is an acquired taste), cooking intensifies and deepens their flavors. Depending on the season, you’ll find me pulling an
apple-pear crisp
with an especially crunchy polenta topping, a bubbling
nectarine-berry cobbler
topped with big, fluffy biscuits, or a golden-crusted
mixed berry pie
out of my oven.
Because produce varies, I’ve given fruit measurements in number and weight, and I’ve specified size as well. Most fruits and berries aren’t grown in uniform sizes, nor is each one exactly like the other. If they are, they’re likely not the kinds of fruits you want to be eating. It’s hard to say what exactly is a “large apple,” so when in doubt, use the weight measurement for a more accurate indication of how many or how much to use. Similarly, the peaches and plums that I use may be more, or less, sweet than the ones you’re using, so feel free to add a sprinkle more sugar or hold back a spoonful as you see fit.
BERRY MEASUREMENTS: When shopping for berries for recipes in this book, keep in mind that a half-pint container of raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries contains about 1¼ cups of fruit and weighs about 6 ounces (170 g). Strawberries are usually sold in pint baskets that hold about 2½ cups of whole berries (2¼ cups sliced) and weigh close to 1 pound (450 g) each.
MAKES ONE 10-INCH (25-CM) PIE; 8 SERVINGS
I’ve been accused of peeling bananas incorrectly. Several people have pointed out that I, who always peel bananas from the stem end, do it wrong, and they advised me to peel them like monkeys do: by grasping the bottom of the fruit and pinching the banana open. To be honest, I found that it doesn’t make all that much difference, especially when using the bananas in a dessert.
Peeling technique aside, this pie does differ from the usual butterscotch cream pie. I use homemade chocolate-cookie crumbs in the crust and make the filling with lots of dark brown sugar, which gives it a toffee-like creaminess that separates it from the jungle of other pies out there.
CRUST
1½ cups (180 g) crushed chocolate cookie crumbs (about 15
Flo’s Chocolate Snaps
)
3 tablespoons (45 g) sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) unsalted or salted butter, melted
FILLING
1 cup (215 g) packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce/30 g) unsalted or salted butter
3 tablespoons (25 g) cornstarch 1½ cups (375 ml) whole milk
½ teaspoon salt
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons dark rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe medium bananas
TOPPING
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) dark rum
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
To make the crust, generously butter a 10-inch (25-cm) pie plate. In a medium bowl, mix together the chocolate cookie crumbs, the 3 tablespoons (45 g) sugar, and 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) melted butter until evenly moistened. Pat the mixture in an even layer into the bottom and up the sides of the buttered pie plate. Refrigerate or freeze for 30 minutes.
Bake the crust until if feels slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
To make the filling, in a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar and the 2 tablespoons (1 ounce/30 g) butter, stirring, until the butter is melted. Pour into a large bowl, set a mesh strainer across the top, and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with just enough of the milk to make a smooth slurry. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the remaining milk and the salt. When the milk is hot, stir the cornstarch mixture to recombine, then whisk it into the milk in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil and thickens. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl, then whisk a small amount of the hot thickened milk mixture into the yolks. Whisk the warmed egg-yolk mixture into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture returns to a boil and is as thick as mayonnaise. Pour it through the strainer into the butter-brown sugar mixture. Add the 2 teaspoons rum and ½ teaspoon vanilla and whisk until combined.
Peel and cut the bananas into slices ¼ inch (6 mm) thick and scatter them in the bottom of the cooled crust. Pour the filling into the crust, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
To make the topping, in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand), whisk the cream on high speed until it begins to mound softly. Add the 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons rum and continue whisking until the cream holds peaks. Spread or pipe the topping over the pie. Garnish with chocolate curls.
STORAGE:
The baked or unbaked crust can be refrigerated for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to 1 month. The pie can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, but whip the cream and top the pie with it a few hours before serving.
MAKES ONE 9-INCH (23-CM) PIE; 8 SERVINGS
When you have your own website, you develop a thick skin and come to expect all sorts of questions, including being asked advice about marketing $4,000 keepsake boxes for storing chocolate truffles (“Don’t do it,” I responded) to inquiries about preferred styles and brands of undergarments (that one didn’t get answered).
This recipe was a topic in an online forum that I came across, and some fellow remarked, “Why would anyone make their own marshmallows? Or graham crackers?” While I wanted to respond, “Well, why would anyone make a hamburger from scratch? Or a salad?” I thought that not getting to taste this pie himself was punishment enough.