The Little Paris Kitchen (28 page)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour
Baking time: 15
–
20 minutes

At Cook'n with Class they tend to keep
moelleux au chocolat
simple and serve it just as it comes, but when I'm at home I like to pipe a little salted caramel filling into the center, which makes it even harder to say
non
to this dessert. The salted caramel recipe makes a little more than you need for the
moelleux au chocolat
, but it's good with virtually anything—on toast, ice cream, stirred into plain yogurt . . .

SERVES 6–8

For the salted caramel filling:
*
¾ cup sugar •
⅔
cup heavy cream • 1 tsp
fleur de sel
or coarse sea salt

TO MAKE THE CARAMEL FILLING:
Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pan and place on a medium heat. Once the sugar starts to melt, add some more sugar. Repeat a couple of times until all the sugar has melted. Continue heating the caramel, swirling it around in the pan (do not stir
**
). When the caramel is almost a Coca-Cola color, add the cream and salt (be careful as the caramel may splatter). Cook until the temperature reaches 226°F, or until the caramel coats the back of a spoon, then pour into a dish and leave to cool a little.

Follow the main recipe for
moelleux au chocolat
, but only fill the ramekins three-quarters full with the chocolate mixture.

Once the caramel is cool, transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle, or to a heavy-duty food bag (just snip off the corner to use). Pop the piping nozzle into the middle of the chocolate mixture in each ramekin and squirt in the filling (the mixture will rise almost to the top).

Bake and serve as for
moelleux au chocolat
.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour
Baking time: 15
–
20 minutes

According to scientists, strawberries and tomatoes should be interchangeable in recipes as they share the same flavor components, and I think my little scientific experiment has turned out pretty well, adding a modern twist to this classic recipe.

Like the English, the French love their strawberries, and one of the most popular varieties is the Gariguette. Elongated and conical in shape, with a delicate sweet flavor, the berries are delicious eaten on their own or in this light and fluffy dish.

SERVES 4

For the sabayon:
4 egg yolks • 2 tbsp sugar • 6½ tbsp Champagne

• 7 oz strawberries (Gariguettes if you can get them), halved or quartered • 3½ oz cherry tomatoes, quartered and seeded

TO MAKE THE SABAYON:
Put the egg yolks and sugar into a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water) and whisk until pale yellow and thick. Add the Champagne and continue whisking until the sabayon is very thick and foamy, about 10 minutes. To test, draw a figure eight in the mixture with the whisk; if the figure stays put, then the sabayon is ready.

Divide the sabayon between four bowls, place the strawberries and tomatoes on top, and serve straightaway. Alternatively, chill the sabayon until ready to use (a couple of hours is fine) and add the strawberries and tomatoes just before serving.

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 10
–
15 minutes

In the late-nineteenth century, Auguste Escoffier found inspiration for this recipe in Offenbach's operetta
La Belle Hélène
. The beauty of the dish lies in its simplicity: pears poached in a sugar syrup, served cold with a warm chocolate sauce. I've added cardamom to the chocolate sauce, which gives it a lovely warmth. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

MAKES 4

• 6½ cups cold water • 1 vanilla pod • ¾ cup sugar • 4 firm pears (e.g., Bartlett), peeled with stems still attached

For the cardamom chocolate sauce:
3½ oz dark or white chocolate, finely chopped • 7 tbsp heavy cream • 3 cardamom pods, crushed

Pour the water into a large pan. Split the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the grains. Add the pod and grains to the water with the sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Add the pears and place a piece of parchment paper on top to keep them submerged, then simmer gently for 20 minutes. Insert a skewer or small sharp knife to test whether the pears are tender. If not, simmer for another 5 minutes. When the pears are cooked, leave them to cool in the syrup for at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight, to give them time to take on the flavor of the vanilla. (They can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days.)

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
Put the chocolate into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil with the crushed cardamom pods and pour over the chocolate. Leave to stand for a minute until the chocolate has melted, remove the cardamom pods (leaving the seeds behind in the sauce), then stir the sauce gently until smooth. Do not overmix or the chocolate may split—the cocoa solids will separate from the cocoa butter. (The sauce can be made in advance and reheated very gently in the microwave or a bain-marie.)

To serve, remove the pears from the syrup
*
and stand them upright on individual plates. Pour a generous helping of chocolate sauce over them.

*
Keep the sugar syrup in the fridge and use for fruit salads
.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Resting time: 2 hours
–
overnight Cooking time: 30 minutes

Unlike the
château
of the same name, the dessert
fontainebleau
is not elaborate. Whipped cream,
fromage blanc
, sugar, and vanilla are simply mixed together and pressed. It makes for a wonderful light ending to a meal and is especially refreshing when served with a cold fruit sauce or a handful of berries—or in this case, with a carrot and cinnamon coulis.

MAKES 4–6

For the coulis:
3 carrots, grated •
⅔
cup carrot juice • juice of 1 orange • 1 tbsp sugar • a pinch of ground cinnamon

• ½ vanilla pod (cut widthwise) •
⅔
cup plus 1 tbsp heavy cream • 1 tsp sugar • 7 oz
fromage blanc
or Quark • ground cinnamon, to serve

TO MAKE THE COULIS:
Put all the ingredients into a pot, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes and then whizz to a smooth purée in a blender. Chill in the fridge until serving time.

Split the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the grains. Put the grains into a bowl with the cream and sugar and whisk to stiff peaks. Fold the cream into the
fromage blanc
.

Line a large colander with a clean tea towel and stand the colander in a large bowl. Put the cream mix into the colander and enclose in the tea towel, tying the ends together tightly to make a parcel. Place a heavy pot (you can add water to make it heavier) on top of the tea towel and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

To serve, pour the chilled coulis into 4–6 bowls, add a generous scoop of
fontainebleau
to each bowl, and sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Resting time: overnight
–
24 hours Cooking time: 10 minutes

There is something creamy and comforting about
riz au lait
that brings back childhood memories for most French people. It's traditionally made with short-grain white rice, milk, and cream, but I also like it with red rice from the Camargue (in the south of France). This gives the pudding a fabulous color as well as a subtle nuttiness, which is accentuated by the almond milk. I'm not shy of piling on a few more calories, so I serve it with
crème Chantilly
.

MAKES 4

• rounded ¾ cup red rice • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
*
• ½ tsp almond extract

For the
crème Chantilly
:
½ vanilla pod (cut widthwise) •
⅔
cup heavy cream • 4 tbsp sugar

• 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste

Put the rice, almond milk, and almond extract into a large pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes or until the rice is tender but still slightly nutty in texture. Stir occasionally to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE
CRÈME CHANTILLY
:
Split the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape out the grains. Put the grains in a bowl with the cream and sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.

Add the sugar to the rice and serve the pudding either warm or chilled,
**
topped with the
crème Chantilly
.