The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (38 page)
Read The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook Online
Authors: Jinx Morgan
Chocolate Decadence
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Chocolate Crepes
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Creole Banana Crepes
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Cold Rum Soufflé
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Key Lime Mousse
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Lemon Mousse
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Kiwi Mousse
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Cappuccino Mousse with Creme de Kahlúa
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Coconut Cloud Tart
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Chocolate Truffle Tart
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Rum-Chocolate Cheesecake
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Tipsy Tart
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Tipsy Tart Flavoring Suggestions
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Black-Bottom Banana Cream Pie
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Key Lime Pie
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Papaya Pie
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Meringue Seashells with Banana Cream
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Banana Beignets with Apricot Sauce
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Banana Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
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Gingerbread Roll with Crystallized-Ginger Cream
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Lemon Shortbread Tart
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Rum Pecan Torte with Brown Sugar-Butter Cream
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Kiwi and Lime Napoleons
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Chocolate-Mango or Strawberry Shortcakes
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Tropical Trifle
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Chocolate Pecan Soufflé with Rum Sauce
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Ginger-Poached Spice Islands Pears
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Amaretto Oranges with Sorbet
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Banana Cheesecake
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Coconut Rum Flan
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Coffee Caramel Parfaits
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Soursop Ice Cream
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Peanut Butter-Fudge Tart
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Banana Beach Shortcake
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Brandy Alexander Tart
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Piña Colada Cake
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White Chocolate and Toasted Almond Cheesecake
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Icy Island Torte
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Chilled Irish Coffee Torte
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Cold Amaretto Soufflé
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This recipe was given to us by our friend Narsai David, who served Chocolate Decadence in his well-known (though, alas, no longer open) restaurant, Narsai's, in Kensington, California. We think this is the ultimate chocolate dessert.
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| 1 | pound semisweet chocolate |
| 10 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
| 1 | tablespoon sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon flour |
| 4 | eggs |
| 1½ | cups heavy cream |
| 1 | tablespoon sugar |
| Â | Shaved chocolate |
| 1 | 10- to 12-ounce package frozen raspberries |
| ¼ | cup sugar |
Preheat the oven to 425°. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper or parchment paper, and dust the bottom and side of the pan with flour.
Melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler, and remove the mixture to a bowl Put the eggs and sugar into the double boiler, and beat them over simmering water until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is just lukewarm. Remove the egg mixture from the heat, and beat it until it is thick and pale yellow.
Fold the flour into the eggs. Stir one-fourth of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Bake the cake for no longer than 15 minutes (it should still be almost liquid in the center when you take it out).
Let the cake cool, then freeze it, preferably overnight, before removing it from the pan. To unmold it, carefully dip the bottom of the pan into hot water.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, and beat until the mixture is slightly stiff. Cover the top of the cake with the whipped cream, and decorate with the shaved chocolate. Refrigerate the cake until you're almost ready to serve it.
To make the raspberry sauce, purée the frozen raspberries in a blender or food processor. Sieve the purée, and sweeten it to taste with sugar. Spread some sauce on each dessert plate, and place a slice of Decadence on top.
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Makes 12 servings
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Chocoholics have been with us ever since the Aztecs, who believed
cacahuati
âchocolateâwas a gift from their gods. This chocolate-on-chocolate dessert proves the point.
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| 1 | cup flour |
| 2 | tablespoons unsweetened cocoa |
| 4 | teaspoons sugar |
| 1 | dash salt |
| 1½ | cups milk |
| ½ | teaspoon almond extract |
| 2 | eggs |
| 4 | teaspoons melted butter |
| Â | Â |
| Vegetable oil | |
| Chocolate sauce | |
| Kahlúa | |
| Chocolate or coffee ice cream | |
| Pecans, toasted for 8 to 10 minutes in a 350° oven and chopped |
Put all of the crepe ingredients into a blender or food processor, and whirl until the mixture is smooth. Chill it for an hour, if possible.
Heat a crepe pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water will dance on the surface. Lower the heat to medium. Brush the pan with vegetable oil. Pour in just enough batter to cover the pan's surface. Cook just until the first side is set, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Turn the crepe, and cook it on the other side for about 5 seconds. Put it on a clean towel to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the pan with oil as necessary. Stack the cooled crepes between layers of waxed paper.
When you are ready to serve the crepes, heat the chocolate sauce, and stir in a little Kahlúa. Spoon some ice cream down the center of each crepe, and place the crepes seam side down on dessert plates. Spoon warm chocolate sauce over each serving, and sprinkle with pecans.
Â
Makes 6 servings
W
hen Columbus arrived back in Spain after his voyage to the New World,
he
presented King Ferdinand with a collection of treasures that included a handful of unpromising brown beans. No one knew what to do with them, and it wasn't until Hernando Cortez drank a delicious brown brew from a golden goblet in the court of Montezuma, emperor of the Aztecs, that any European twigged to the delicious flavor of chocolate. Cortez returned home with more beans and instructions for their preparation.
The Spanish enhanced the flavor by adding sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to make a delectable chocolate drink. When word leaked out, the chocolate craze swept Europe. By the middle of the seventeenth century, chocolate houses were popular spots for sipping and passing time in intellectual discourse. Chocolate was no longer in the private domain of the aristocracy.
Cacao grows only in tropical areas, on trees up to twenty-five feet tall, with long, shiny leaves and clusters of pink and white flowers that turn into pods bearing from twenty to fifty beans. After the mature pods are harvested, the beans are removed, then fermented, dried in the sun, and shipped to processing plants.
When
cooking with chocolate, remember that it scorches easily. It's best to melt it over simmering water in a double boiler (although some prefer the convenience of the microwave oven). If any water accidentally sloshes into the chocolate it will "seize," that is, become stiff and granular. If this should happen, beat
in
a tablespoon or so of water that is the same temperature as the chocolate.
Chocolate should be stored at a temperature between 60 and 70 degrees. If it gets too warm, the chocolate will develop a grayish-white film called a "bloom.
" This
doesn't affect the flavor, but it's not very attractive.
For those who love chocolate, there is no mystery about why its botanical name is
Theobroma, "
food of the gods.
"
When choosing bananas at the market, look for plump, well-formed fruit. If you want to use bananas immediately, select uniformly yellow ones. However, since the fruit ripens off the tree, you can pick green ones and allow them a few days to ripen at home.
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| 1½ | cups milk |
| 4 | eggs |
| 1 | cup sifted flour |
| 2 | tablespoons dark rum |
| 1 | tablespoon sugar |
| ¼ | cup melted butter |
| 3 | tablespoons butter |
| 2 | tablespoons brown sugar |
| 1 | pinch ground nutmeg |
| 3 | bananas, sliced |
| 1 | cup apricot preserves |
| 1 | teaspoon grated lemon zest |
| 2 | teaspoons lemon juice |
| 2 | tablespoons rum |
| Â | Â |
| Vegetable oil | |
| Sweetened whipped cream | |
| Slivered almonds, toasted 8 to 10 minutes in a 350° oven |
Put all of the ingredients for the crepes in a blender or food processor, and whirl until the mixture is smooth. Let it rest 1 hour.
Heat a crepe pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water will dance on the surface. Lower the heat to medium. Brush the pan with vegetable oil. Pour in just enough batter to cover the pan's surface. Cook just until the first side is set, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Turn the crepe, and cook it on the other side for about 5 seconds. Put it on a clean towel to cool. Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the pan with oil as necessary. Stack the cooled crepes between layers of waxed paper.
To make the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and nutmeg, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, and cook just until they are heated through. If the mixture seems too sweet, add a little more lemon juice.
When you are ready to serve, warm the crepes in the oven, if you like, after wrapping them in foil. Spoon the hot banana mixture into the crepes. Roll the crepes, or fold them in quarters. Top them wit h whipped cream, sprinkle with toasted almonds, and serve.
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Makes 6 servings
Any liqueur can be used in place of rum in this cold soufflé. We also like it with Curaçao, frambois, crème de cassis, and creme de cacao.
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| 2 | envelopes unflavored gelatin |
| ½ | cup water |
| ½ | cup rum |
| 6 | eggs, separated |
| ¾ | cup sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon lemon juice |
| 1 | cup heavy cream |
| Slivered almonds |
| Butter |
| Sugar |
Combine the gelatin and water, and stir them in a double boiler over simmering water until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the rum. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat, let the mixture cool, then chill it until it begins to thicken.
Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Gradually beat in ½ cup sugar. Add the lemon juice, and " beat until the mixture is stiff but not dry.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are frothy. Gradually beat in ¼ cup sugar, and continue beating until the yolks are thick and lemon-colored. Slowly add the slightly thickened gelatin mixture to the egg yolks, and continue beating until the yolks are light and thick. Fold the beaten egg white into the yolk-gelatin mixture. Whip the cream, and fold it in. Spoon the mixture into champagne glasses, and chill it for at least 2 to 3 hours.