Ready for Dessert (32 page)

Spoon 1½ tablespoons of batter in a mound for each cookie; allow only 3 per baking sheet and space them evenly apart. Using an offset metal spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the mounds into 6-inch (15-cm) circles as evenly as possible. Have ready 3 overturned custard cups or tea cups.

Bake one baking sheet at a time until the cookies are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using a thin metal spatula, quickly lift each cookie off the baking sheet and drape it over an overturned cup. Immediately mold the cookie around the cup using your hands. (If the cookies cool and harden before you can shape them all, resoften them by warming in the oven for 30 to 45 seconds.) Let the cookies cool on the cups. Once firm enough to handle, lift the cookies off the cups and set on a wire rack to crisp. Repeat with the second baking sheet.

To prepare the blackberries, in a medium skillet, boil the plum wine until reduced by about one-third. Add the blackberries and 2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar, decrease the heat to low, and cook until the berries soften and the juices become thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and let cool for at least 15 minutes.

To serve, center a cookie cup on each of 6 individual plates. Fill with 2 or 3 scoops of sorbet, then spoon some of the berries and their syrup over and around the sorbet. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds or sesame seeds.

STORAGE:
The batter for the cookie cups can be prepared up to 1 week in advance and refrigerated. The cookie cups can be baked 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container.

The blackberries can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated; they actually benefit from being made in advance.

VARIATION:
Yellow nectarines can be used in place of white nectarines.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART (1 LITER) ICE CREAM; 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

Anise is used liberally in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern desserts, but it is an underused spice in the American pastry repertoire. I find it adds an exotic touch, at once familiar yet a tad elusive. It seems especially intriguing to people who aren’t used to it paired with orange or chocolate, or both, as it is in this twist on classic ice cream puffs.

ANISE-ORANGE ICE CREAM

1½ teaspoons aniseed

1½ cups (375 ml) whole milk

½ cup (125 ml) plus 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

¾ cup (150 g) sugar

Grated zest of 2 oranges, preferably organic

Pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

Pâte à Choux Puffs

Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce
or
Rich Chocolate Sauce
warmed

To make the ice cream, crush the aniseed in a mortar and pestle or seal them inside a sturdy plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, the ½ cup (125 ml) cream, the crushed aniseed, sugar, orange zest, and salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.

Pour the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer across the top. Reheat the milk mixture until it’s warm.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm milk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan with a heatproof spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the spatula. Pour the custard through the mesh strainer into the cream; discard the bits of aniseed and orange zest.

Set the bowl containing the custard over a larger bowl of ice water. Stir the custard until cool, then cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To serve, split each pâte à choux puff in half and place a scoop of ice cream on each bottom. Replace the tops and spoon warm chocolate sauce over the profiteroles.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Although this dessert sounds old-fashioned, the frozen sour cream is a modern-day update. And the fact remains that it’s a wonderful way to use a bounty of ripe summer berries. Such an elegant dessert couldn’t be easier to make—the frozen sour cream, which doesn’t require any cooking, is churned like ice cream while the berries marinate in orange-flavored liqueur, and the two come together in wine glasses for serving.

BERRIES

¾ cup (180 ml) Triple Sec or clear curaçao

½ cup (100 g) sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange, preferably organic

1½ to 2 pounds (5 to 6 cups/675 g to 1 kg) mixed berries (a combination of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and hulled and quartered strawberries)

FROZEN SOUR CREAM

⅔ cup (160 ml) whole milk

⅓ cup (80 g) regular or low-fat sour cream

¼ cup (50 g) sugar

2 teaspoons kirsch or vodka

To prepare the berries, in a medium bowl, whisk together the Triple Sec or curaçao with the ½ cup (100 g) sugar and orange zest until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the berries and let marinate at room temperature for about 1 hour, stirring gently once or twice.

To make the frozen sour cream, in a blender, mix together the milk, sour cream, ¼ cup (50 g) sugar, and kirsch or vodka until combined. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To assemble, spoon the berries into 4 stemmed wine glasses, dividing them evenly, and top with a scoop of the frozen sour cream. Pour some of the berry syrup over each and serve right away.

STORAGE:
The frozen sour cream can be made up to 1 month in advance.

VARIATION:
Sliced peaches, nectarines, or plums are nice additions to the berry mix.

MAKES 1 QUART (1 LITER)

Recipes aren’t written in stone, which is a good thing (literally speaking), because lifting a cookbook would be a Herculean chore, and because (figuratively speaking), I love to tinker with recipes and am always thinking of ways to improve them.

Lemon has always been one of my favorite flavors of frozen yogurt, as I like things that are tart and tangy. But I often wondered how some commercial lemon ice creams and frozen yogurts got that extra zing that homemade batches lacked. The answer came to me when I was in an ethnic spice market and saw little bags of citric acid crystals. I brought some home and did a test, adding just a few granules to the frozen yogurt mix before churning. When I dug my spoon in, I realized with the first taste that I’d found exactly the flavor I was looking for.

3 cups (720 g) plain whole-milk yogurt, preferably Greek-style

Grated zest from 1 lemon, preferably organic

¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

⅔ cup (130 g) sugar

1 tablespoon agave nectar or mild-flavored honey

¼ teaspoon citric acid (see Tip), or more to taste

Pinch of salt

In a blender, process the yogurt, lemon zest and juice, sugar, agave nectar or honey, citric acid, and the salt until smooth.

Pour the mixture in a medium bowl. Taste and add a little more citric acid to adjust the tanginess to your liking. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

MAKES 1 QUART (1 LITER); 8 SERVINGS

It seems during the last decade or so, America has gone completely crazy for coffee drinks. All sorts of overpriced caffeinated concoctions are foisted on the public under the guise of coffee. But there’s nothing you can buy that can beat this simple coffee dessert.

Blanco y negro
is the Spanish variation of
affogato,
an Italian creation consisting of an innocent bowl of ice cream drowned in hot espresso;
affogato
comes from the Italian verb
affogare,
meaning “to drown.” I’m not fond of dessert names that reference morbid things like drowning and death (as in “death by chocolate”), so I opt for the kinder, gentler Spanish interpretation that refers to snowy, white
(blanco)
sherbet mingling agreeably with the black
(negro)
espresso that’s poured over the top. They come together in an unexpected, but very winning, way.

4 cups (1 liter) whole milk

¾ cup (150 g) sugar

Grated zest of 2 lemons, preferably organic

2 cinnamon sticks, coarsely crushed

2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar

1 cup (250 ml) freshly brewed espresso, warm

Soft-Candied Citrus Peel
made with lemons, for garnish (optional)

To make the sherbet, in a medium saucepan, warm the milk, ¾ cup (150 g) sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon sticks, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour.

Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer set over a medium bowl; discard the zest and cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

In a small bowl, dissolve the 2 tablespoons sugar in the warm espresso.

To serve, place 2 scoops sherbet in each stemmed glass or small, deep bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the sweetened espresso over the sherbet. Garnish with a few wisps of candied lemon peel, if using.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART (1 LITER)

From the roadside stands in the French countryside to the village shops of Greece to the markets of Italy, wherever I spot a market vendor selling jars of thick, sticky, locally produced honey, I feel obligated to buy some. If you think all honey is the same, you haven’t tasted ruggedly bitter Italian chestnut honey or the syrupy, aromatic lavender honey from sunny Provence. This recipe is a good way to use any type of interesting honey that you may have in your pantry. Be sure to use the freshest, crispest, best-quality pistachios you can find. And never toast them, which subdues their vibrant green color.

PRALINE

⅓ cup (65 g) sugar

½ cup (40 g) sliced almonds, lightly toasted

FROZEN NOUGAT

6 tablespoons (90 ml) honey

2 tablespoons (30 g) sugar

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

Pinch of salt

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

⅓ cup (45 g) shelled unsalted pistachio nuts, very coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon orange-flower water

Grated zest of ½ orange, preferably organic

2 tablespoons (30 g) chopped
Candied Orange Peel

To make the praline, lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with a silicone baking mat. Spread the ⅓ cup (65 g) sugar in an even layer in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet and cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar begins to melt around the edges. Using a heatproof utensil, slowly drag the liquified sugar to the center and stir gently until all the sugar is melted. Continue to cook, stirring infrequently, until the caramel is dark amber in color and begins to foam a bit. Immediately stir in the almonds until evenly coated. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it in an even layer. Let cool completely. The praline will harden with cooling.

Once cool, break up the praline with your hands. In a food processor fitted with a metal blade or with a chef’s knife, chop the praline into small pieces.