Spice (31 page)

Poached Figs in Spiced Red Wine with Crème Fraîche Bavarian

Oleana’s pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick created this spiced late-summer dessert. The red-wine syrup that the figs are poached in is delicious over ice cream as well, and any leftover syrup can be frozen and used later.

A Bavarian is a French custard set with gelatin. Because of the egg yolks, this custard is thicker and richer than a pudding that is thickened with cornstarch or flour.

Crème fraîche is a slightly tangy, slightly nutty, thickened cream. Traditionally made, it relies on good bacteria to ferment the cream and then it thickens naturally. It is widely available in Europe, but much less so in the United States, where almost all cream is pasteurized, and therefore needs to be fermented artificially. Vermont Butter and Cheese Company makes a delicious pasteurized crème fraîche that is widely distributed; you can find them online at www.vtbutterandcheeseco.com.

Fresh figs are in season from late June through mid-August, but you can still find them sporadically during the fall. You can use pears as a substitute for the figs (see variation at end of recipe), but don’t use dried figs as a substitute for fresh figs, as they will be too heavy for the Bavarian.

Both the figs and the Bavarian are best if made a day before serving and can be made up to 2 days ahead.

For a nice, sweet wine match, try the fortified dessert wine from Banyuls in the south of France, made from grenache grapes.

S
ERVES 8 TO 10

For the Bavarian

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 ¾ cups milk

½ cup sugar

¼ cup mild honey (clover honey works well)

½ vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

6 egg yolks

Ice cubes

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

1 cup crème fraîche

¼ cup heavy cream

For the Poached Figs

4 cups fruity red wine, such as a ripe pinot noir from Oregon

1 cup sugar

½ cup honey

½ vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

3 whole allspice berries

6 black peppercorns

One 3-inch strip orange zest (see Zesting Citrus, page 72)

15 to 20 fresh black mission figs, washed and stems removed

To Make the Bavarian

1.
Prepare a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan (about 3 inches deep) by rubbing it with the vegetable oil. You can use a paper towel to distribute it evenly.

2.
Tear a piece of plastic wrap big enough to line the whole pan, and press it in, smoothing the wrinkles.

3.
Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, adding the sugar and honey.

4.
Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean with the back of a small paring knife to remove the little black seeds or paste. Add the seeds to the milk mixture.

5.
When the milk is hot and just under the boiling point, after about 4 minutes, turn the heat off and cover it with a lid or a baking sheet and let the flavors infuse into the milk for 30 minutes.

6.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are smooth and creamy.

7.
Stir the warm milk slowly into the eggs and return the mixture to the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly (to a sauce consistency) and coats the spatula or spoon.

8.
Strain the custard through a sieve into a medium bowl and set the bowl of custard over a larger bowl filled with ice. Stir for 3 minutes with the spatula, scraping the sides.

9.
Sprinkle the gelatin into ¼ cup cold water and let it soften for 3 to 5 minutes.

10.
In a very small saucepan, melt the gelatin over very low heat until it becomes liquid.

11.
Stir the dissolved gelatin into the custard. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, stirring it and scraping down the sides every 5 minutes. The mixture should thicken and cool completely.

12.
Using an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the crème fraîche and heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. This should take less than a minute on high speed. You should be able to write your initial in the top of the cream and have it hold for a minute.

13.
Gently whisk 1/3 of the heavy cream mixture into the custard, until it’s incorporated. Add the rest of the heavy cream mixture and, using a rubber spatula, fold it into the custard (see Folding, page 135).

14.
Pour the custard into the prepared loaf pan and cover with any overhanging plastic. The plastic will not completely cover the top of the custard.

15.
Chill for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.

To Make the Poached Figs

1.
Combine all the ingredients except the figs in a medium saucepan.

2.
Bring the mixture to a boil on high heat and reduce the heat to medium to achieve a brisk simmer. Simmer the syrup for 10 to 12 minutes to concentrate it and infuse the spices. Taste the liquid; if the syrup tastes good enough to drink at this point, then it’s ready for you to add the fruit.

3.
Drop the figs in the simmering syrup and continue to simmer for 8 minutes longer.

4.
Remove the figs from the syrup, using a slotted spoon, and place them in a single layer on a platter or baking sheet. Cool.

5.
Continue to simmer the syrup for another 10 to 12 minutes to thicken it slightly.

6.
Cool the syrup completely, and then strain it through a fine sieve.

7.
Slice the figs in half and toss them with the cooled spiced syrup. Chill, covered, overnight so that the figs absorb more flavor from the syrup.

8.
Take the Bavarian out of the mold by uncovering the top plastic and inverting the pan onto a platter or small cutting board. Remove the plastic and slice the Bavarian into ½-inch pieces and place on small plates with 4 fig halves on top of each slice. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the syrup over the figs and around the plate and serve.

Pear Variation

To use pears in place of figs, increase the wine to 6 cups and increase the sugar to 1½ cups. Use 6 pears, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise. Remove the core with a melon baller and remove the fibrous string that runs from the core to the stem. Add the pears to the boiling liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the pears with a heatproof dish placed on top of them to keep them submerged, until they are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. They will take a bit longer if they are firm. Remove the pears from the syrup to cool and reduce the syrup as described in steps recipe above. Combine the cooled pears with the syrup and allow the pears to absorb more flavor from the syrup for at least 1 hour. Proceed with step 8, slicing the pear and distributing pieces onto each plate.

FOLDING

The point of folding is to allow you to mix the cream and the custard without deflating all the air that you just worked so hard to whip into the cream. The air bubbles are vital to keeping your dish light and airy.

It helps to initially take a third of the heavy cream and gently whisk it into the custard. You’ll lose some of the bubbles, but it brings the consistency of both closer to each other, so they mix better.

Using a large rubber spatula, reach down through the center of the heavy cream to the bottom of the bowl and lift some of the custard up on top of the cream. As you turn your wrist to fold the custard on top of the cream, turn the bowl a few degrees. Then reach down to the bottom again and lift more of the custard up and over the cream. After 5 to 6 repetitions of folding and turning the bowl, the cream will be incorporated and the mixture will still be light and airy.

Persimmon Pudding Cake with Maple Sugar Crème Brûlée

This wonderful autumn dessert features persimmons, a fruit available mid-November through the end of January that is sweet and rich and slightly tangy. The persimmon purée makes the little cakes in this recipe deliciously moist, like banana bread or carrot cake. After baking, the cakes fall and leave a well to fill with everyone’s favorite: crème brûlée.

There are many different kinds of persimmons, but they all fall into one of two categories: astringent and nonastringent. Astringent persimmons, like the hachiya variety, must be eaten when fully ripe, after they’ve become jelly soft. They make good pudding cakes, and the hachiya persimmon is preferred in this recipe. When not fully ripe, astringent persimmons taste like green bananas: their tartness makes you pucker and strips your mouth dry. A hachiya persimmon looks like a long or conical tomato with glossy, deep-orange skin, and tastes sweet and rich like a mango with a slight pearlike flavor.

Nonastringent varieties, such as the widely available fuyu, are still somewhat firm when fully ripe. They are delicious sliced and added to salads or eaten instead of melon with thinly sliced prosciutto in the winter. Fuyu persimmons look like bright gold tomatoes. They’re best for slicing for salads and garnish but aren’t for baking.