burnt sugar ice cream

Chocolate Wontons And Tonka Bean Ice Cream

07.11.2009 57 Comments

If I were to wait for the proper weather to bake certain desserts, I’d never get to turn the oven on or fry some donuts and the ice cream machine would be churning year round. Take Halloween day, it was near 90F pretty much all day long and yet I wanted to bake some fun goodies for the neighbors. We spent the day in short sleeves, going about the neighborhood with the kids steaming in their costumes. More than one of them thought ill of their parents for dressing them up as a furry teddy bear or a heavy padded alligator. I know these feelings disappeared when I brought down these hot Chocolate Wontons and a batch of Tonka Bean Ice Cream that we had with glasses of apple cider…on ice.

Years ago we used to have a different chocolate special everyday at the restaurant and certain mornings proved difficult to come up with a bright idea at 5am when I was hand deep into kneading baguettes. I remember opening Chocolate Passion by Timothy Moriarty and Tish Boyle with the assurance that I’d have a winner and often recommended it to patrons asking me for a recipe. When I stumbled upon Maury Rubin’s Book Of Tarts, I think I baked just about every one of them they were so creative.

Sometimes it’s a technique or a subject that makes me delve in a cookbook. Sometimes it’s the story behind its coming to life, an anedocte, the writing. Sometimes it’s the author and her/his journey. In short, something that moves me beyond the recipes (I have quite a head full of those already) which is the case with Jaden’s first cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, from which I made the chocolate wontons. Having shared a plane, meals, drinks, and a panel with her, I can tell you that Jaden is good people and I am extremely proud of her. I knew her book would be one I could open at any page and cook something new, delicious and fresh. All four recipes I have made so far were a hit with us and our friends.

If you were to come to my house you’d think I spend all my spare change on cookbooks. If you looked a little closer, you would see a fine print on most reading "preview copy", "press release copy", etc… About twice a week, the mailman makes the hike up to the front door and drops a new box on the porch. He also leaves a couple of doggie treats for the pupps. They know it, they go crazy until I get to the door. What do I do? I open the box, I flip through the book and get the post-its out. "This one will be great for friend S." or "This is one for R." and so forth.

I am very appreciative of this situation, believe me and I am under no obligation to review or pimp them out on this site. I know that a friend would benefit from a crockpot recipe book more than I will since I don’t own such a beast, or my baking-challenged friend S. might enjoy a basic dessert cookbook more than I will. But there are books I hoard, read, cook and bake from, hoard again, read some more and cook from until the hinges get worn out. Jaden’s book will be one of them.

I must give Jaden kuddos for the dessert section though she said it was tough to write. Her approach to dessert is very much what we like throughout the week: fresh fruits, easy to prepare frozen treats and the occasional splurge like the chocolate wontons. The headnotes say they will make little girls squeals and little boys break out into a disco dance (I am paraphrasing) and the neighbors' kids did just that on Halloween when I handed them out! I think I even saw a couple of adults shake their bootie in delight too!

These are so easy to make and if you get an extra set of hands to help out, you can make a double batch in a flash. Plan on that as they disappear very fast! There is no need for a deep fryer and if you keep the oil at a steady 350F you end up with perfectly crisp, never oily wontons which chocolate center oozes out as you bite into them. I had planned to serve them with her Asian Pear Frozen Yogurt but we devoured that one too fast so I went with my own tonka bean ice cream instead. The almond and vanilla flavor of the tonka paired really well with the chocolate once again. (see recipe notes)

Chocolate Wontons, from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, with permission of Jaden Hair

Makes 12

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
12 wonton wrappers
12 pieces of chocolates (I used about 4 chocolate chips per wonton)
high heat oil for frying (I used canola)
Powdered sugar for dusting

In a small bowl, make an egg wash by whisking together the egg and the water.
On a clean, dry surface, place a wrapper down with a point facing you. Place a piece of chocolate or chocolate chips near the top end of the wrapper. Brush a thin lauer of egg wash on the edges of the warpper. Fold the bottom corner up to create a triangle and press down at the edges to remove as much air from the middle as possible. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces. Keep the prepared wontons covered with a piece of plastic wrap or a damp towel to prevent them from drying.
In a wok or medium pot (I used a 9-inch cast iron pan), heat about 2 inches of oil to 350F and gently slide a few wontons into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan as the oil temperature would lower too much and you would end up with grease-soggy wontons.
Fry 1 to 1 1/3 minutes on each side until both sides are golden crisp.
Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with powdered sugar

Tonka Bean Ice Cream:

Notes: Yes, tonka beans are banned from import in the US by the FDA, yet they are used by many countries in food preparation and desserts in particular. Consumed in large quantities, they can be toxic as they contain an anticoagulant which many blood thinning medications are based on, courmarin. So, it’s banned, but its main agent is used in meds here and you can purchase tonka beans on ebay. UGH?!! Gotta love the FDA and large medical companies politics. Since I use 2-3 beans a year in recipes that feed no less than 8 people each time, I know we are ok but research and educate yourself before cooking with tonka beans if you are interested.

By the way, if you have vanilla extract from South America in your pantry and wonder why it smells like a vanilla bean got too close to an almond one night, that’s probably because tonka beans were used instead of real vanilla or diluted with it to make it cheaper to sell. Nothing wrong with that if you are aware of all the facts.

Tonka beans smell like a cross between vanilla and almond extracts and if you can’t find or do not wish to use tonka beans, substitute with each extract in the ice cream recipe and you will get close to the actual flavor.

6 egg yolks
1 cup (100gr)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tonka bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla + 1/2 teaspoon almond extracts)

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until pale and thick. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk, cream to a simmer, without letting it come to a full boil. With a microplane, grate the tonka bean right over the milk and cream simmering (I add the little knob left for extra flavor). Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks mixture while whisking to temper the egg yolks. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. It should register 170F on a candy thermometer. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise". Let cool completely, strain and refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight.
Once and the custard is cold, process according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions.

A Daring Bakers' Flourless Chocolate Cake….Oh The Possibilities!

28.02.2009 152 Comments

I can’t believe today is the last day of February! This month has flown by! Tomorrow, my parents will be here. March will be filled with more deadlines, assignments and anticipation of things to come. End of the month? Well, that must mean another Daring Bakers' challenge. Yes indeed! A Flourless Chocolate Cake to be precise. And ice cream…hmmhmmm.

As I do with many of the challenges, I read the recipe and walked away. I like to look at the structure of recipes and think about how I could play with them. This one was perfect for some afternoon fun in the kitchen. I like to take out molds and baking pans and ponder about how to make a recipe work with what I have on hand but I really had little time lately to play as much as I would have wanted to (manuscript due in about a month!). Once the cake batter was made, I divided it up in different ways: square silicone molds, round cake rings and a half sheet pan. For the ice cream, my MO these days is "one recipe-several applications" so I made a vanilla bean ice cream base and divide it to be flavored in a couple of other ways.

The square flourless cakes have an indent on top which was perfect to fill with some fresh berries and top with a quenelle of vanilla cinnamon ice cream. I split the round cakes and layered them with coffee ice cream with almond brittle bits and wrapped them around sheets of tempered dark chocolate. That’s when B. entered the kitchen and exclaimed "Yum! Ice cream sandwiches!"…."Ugh no…these are layered ice cream cakes". He then asked what I was going to do with the half sheet pan leftover and since he really seemed to want ice cream sandwiches, I went ahead and used a nifty little gadget that Mary sent me for my birthday and made him some simple vanilla bean ice cream sandwiches.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

Chocolate Valentino Cake Recipe, adapted from Chef Wan.16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Recipe:

6 egg yolks
1 cup (100gr)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar until pale and thick. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk, cream and vanilla bean to a simmer, without letting it come to a full boil. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks mixture while whisking to temper the egg yolks. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. It should register 170F on a candy thermometer. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise". Let cool completely, strain and refrigerate until cold, preferably overnight.
Once and the custard is cold, process according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions.
Divide the ice cream in three equal portions.

Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe: place a cinnamon stick in the soft ice cream and let it freeze 2 hours or overnight to get all the flavor from the spice without the brown color. Remove the stick before using.

Coffee-Almond Brittle Ice Cream Recipe:
Almond brittle:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 of vanilla ice cream mixed with 1 teaspoon intant espresso powder. Freeze until almost set.

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a half sheet pan or an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar and honey. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until mixture is golden brown and registers 280°on a candy thermometer, about 6 minutes. Stir in the almonds. Cook until mixture reaches 300°, about 2 minutes. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely. Break into pieces.

Add the broken brittle to the coffe ice cream and freeze.

Profiteroles With Chartreuse Ice Cream & A Book Giveaway

20.02.2009 285 Comments

(For the book giveaway, scroll down to the end of this post)

I am really excited to introduce you to Anita from Married With Dinner as my guest blogger this weekend. When I first started blogging, there weren’t as many blogs to get lost into captivated by delicious recipes and lovely photos. One lucky day 3 years ago, I landed on Anita’s blog and I could not stop reading, still can’t. We virtually met around a box of macarons and I can’t wait for the day I bake a batch with her. As their "about" page states, "Married …with dinner chronicles the continuing adventures of a couple of San Francisco food dorks. Cameron and Anita are both professional writers, amateur cooks, cocktail geeks, and avid diners." I am always in admiration of their mixology knowledge and creations, as well as their awareness of local artisans, food and produce. I can’t wait for the day we meet when we can celebrate life and friendship around a good meal.

When Tartelette asked me to take a turn at posting, I froze. See, I love to cook, I’m a pretty good bread-baker, and I’ve been known to crank out the occasional homespun cake or pie. But to create something worthy of Tartelette — something as beautiful and impressive and drool-worthy as the sorts of things you’re used to seeing here — well, I wasn’t quite sure I was the right girl for the job.

I poured over cookbooks, went through my archives, begged friends for ideas. Then, when I’d almost given up, I sat down to do my weekly meal planning… and inspiration struck. In the back of my "to-try-someday" recipe file was a dessert I’d been wanting to make, tucked away for an occasion when I needed something special: Ice cream flavored with the French herbal liqueur Chartreuse.

Chartreuse is one of my favorite liqueurs; its spicy complexity adds a layer of mystery to so many wonderful cocktails, and it’s also a fabulous treat to sip on its own as a digestif. But until I read David Lebovitz’s ice cream compendium, The Perfect Scoop, it had never occurred to me to use it in food. It only took me 18 months to actually find a suitable occasion!

I spun a batch and set it in the freezer to firm up overnight. The next morning, I couldn’t wait to taste a sample: Oh, what a heavenly thing it was, light and bright from the addition of sour cream, with a haunting herbal shadow of Chartreuse in the place where you’d expect to find vanilla. I’d only intended to sample a small spoonful, to check the result of my work. But I couldn’t stop: I ended up eating a whole bowl of the stuff for breakfast!

When I confessed to David that his recipe was so good that I’d scarfed an entire serving before work, he wasn’t surprised: "I love that recipe," he confided, and patiently assured me I shouldn’t worry about its detrimental effects on my morning routine. "I actually developed it for a low-fat magazine — It is healthy!"

Of course, I’m of the school of thought that even full-fat ice cream is good for you. After all, there’s nothing wrong with eggs and dairy, in moderation. But David’s lean-and-clean version is a worthy treat in its own right, not just as a healthy alternative. Without any eggs, you might expect it to be more like a gelato. But instead, it’s almost sherbet-like, with a snowy lightness that sets off the richness of any accompaniments.

Unfortunately, even the most delicious bowl of ice cream looks a little ho-hum in photos, and we needed a Tartelette-worthy masterpiece! So I decided to take the plunge and try my hand at a batch of profiteroles to fill with the ice cream. And here’s a secret I wished I’d known years ago: As long as you have a pastry bag and a stand mixer, making pate a choux — the basis for eclairs, cream puffs, and profiteroles — is surprisingly simple.

But if, despite my assurances, the idea of whisking eggs into a hot dough seems a little too intimidating, you have my permission to sidestep the profiteroles, provided that you give this beautiful Chartreuse ice cream a little boost of richness with a drizzle of hot fudge. After all, as David told me, "Chocolate sauce is obligatory, even at breakfast."

Chartreuse Ice Cream Recipe from The Perfect Scoop

The published recipe made a little too much base to fit comfortably in my Cuisinart ice-cream maker without overflowing, so I’ve scaled the measurements down 25% from David’s original.

2 cups whole milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup + 1T sugar
2-1/2T green Chartreuse

Puree all the ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze according to your ice-cream maker’s usual method.

Choux Pastry Puffs Recipe adapted from Tartelette’s Choux a la Creme with modifications from Baking with Julia

85g all-purpose flour
75ml water
75ml whole milk
65g unsalted butter
2 eggs + 1 egg white
1T sugar
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 425F. Set up a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Sift the flour and set aside. Heat the water, milk, butter, and salt to a full rolling boil. Stir the flour into the liquid with a heavy wooden spoon, adding it as fast as it can be absorbed, but not all at once or it will form clumps. Cook the paste, stirring constantly and breaking up lumps if necessary, until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer the dough to the mixer bowl and stir at low speed to cool the paste slightly, so that the eggs will not cook when added. On medium-low, mix in the eggs one at a time, then the egg white. The dough should have the consistency of thick mayonnaise.
While the dough is still warm, place it in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe quarter-sized puffs about 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, then use a moistened spoon (or finger) to smooth out the tails at the top.
Bake at for 15 minutes at 425F without opening the oven door, then reduce heat to 350F and continue to bake until done, about 7 to 12 minutes.
To check for doneness, remove one puff from the sheet and tap the underside with your fingers; it should feel firm and hollow. (If you undercook the puffs, they may deflate as they cool, so err on the side of golden brown rather than pale). When baked through, remove the puffs from the oven and let cool.

Easiest Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Confession time: I cheated and used a jar of Scharffen-Berger chocolate sauce I already had on hand. (It’s delicious and locally made, so it’s hard to feel too guilty.) But making your own chocolate sauce is dead simple with this recipe, which I’ve used in the past with great results.

6oz best-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3T water
1/4 cup heavy cream

Set a a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Melt all ingredients in the bowl, stirring until the mixture is smooth.

To assemble the profiteroles:
Cut each puff in half through the equator; it’s easiest if you use a serrated knife. Place three bottom layers on each plate; top each with a small scoop of chartreuse ice cream. Place the tops on the puffs, and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

You will have plenty of leftover ice cream for weeknight treats (or breakfast!).

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I also want to thank you for stopping here like you do by giving one lucky person a copy of The Baker’s Odyssey, by Greg Patent, a whopping 400 pages dedicated to the recipes and culinary history of American immigrants from all over the world. I have already mentionned this gem of a book with the Princess Torte recipe and I would love to send the extra copy that I have to one of you.

All you have to do is leave a comment between today Friday February 20th and Monday February 23rd midnight (US Eastern time). A reader will be chosen at random and announced later that week (duplicate comments will be deleted and if you wish to remain anonymous, please at least sign Zorro or something)

Blackberry Apple Galettes And Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

15.02.2009 90 Comments

Yesterday I woke up to the sound of my husband’s trombone and although he rarely rehearses at home it did not strike me as unusual. It felt nice actually. Deep, resonant notes, slightly muted as they came through the floor and walls. I immediately recognized the melody of "our" song, "Can’t give you anything but love". The trombone stopped, the pupps rushed down the steps toward the bedroom and when they saw the door open, the immediately jumped on the bed to give me a good round of morning licks. Nice..although not earth shaterring new.

The unusual part was they were spotting brand new heart shaped name tags and a love poem was tucked inside a notch of their collars. Ah! Love Day! A serenade, two pimped up furry fuzz balls and the man whose love is more beautiful than anything I have ever known. Love and the little funny things in life, as we try to live them everyday. Except he tied it all up in a virtual red bow and I had extra butterflies in my stomach. Singletons out there, do not despair!

Hidden from him were my breakfast plans. I know B. and I know he loves and enjoy eating and one thing we share is our love for pies, tartlets or galettes and a good ice cream, separate, together, one after the other, etc….Granted this breakfast was a little richer than what we usually have but B. is playing music, serenading others this lovely night, so it was like starting the day the way we would have ended it if we had been together, with dessert. I had made blackberry and apple galettes as a thank you gift for a neighbor and kept one for us to share and topped ours with a scoop of burnt sugar ice cream. Come to think of it, we had all the major food group covered!

The beauty of these galettes is that you can use any combination of fruits that strikes your fancy and you don’t have to worry about tart pans and sizes, blind baking, etc… The pate sucree dough gets just a little rolling, filling, crimping and you’re almost there. I like to add a pinch of fresh cracked pepper to the fruits to enhance their flavor as they bake. The burnt sugar ice cream is one of my favorites from Dorie Greenspan, almost enough to make any man or woman swoon it is that good, creamy and tasty.

Breakfast that is enough make you want to give your mate an extra hug or kiss today and for the days to come…And for those of you who inquired about my friend Linda who was proposing with a ring and a box of heart macarons, I just got a text message that her partner said "yes!" and then there were pelnty of these "!" and a bunch of smileys….

Blackberry Apple Galettes And Burnt Sugar Ice Cream Recipe:

Makes three 5-inch galettes

For the Pate Sucree:
2 cups (250gr) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar
pinch of salt
1 stick (113gr) butter, cut in small dices
1 egg
2-4 tablespoons cold water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture ressembles forms pea size crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the egg. With a fork, start working the flour in a little at a time and when most of it is incorporated, quickly mix the dough into a coherent and smooth mass, adding some cold water, a tablespoon at a time, if necessary (this varies depending on the humidity or altitude of where you live). Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

For the fruit filling:
1 small apple (I chose Granny Smith, peeled, cored and diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar, divided
1 tablespoon (10gr)cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 cup (200gr) blackberries
pinch of frech cracked black pepper
egg wash to brush the crust with before baking

In a medium saucepan set over medium low heat, cook the apple with one tablespoon of sugar and the lemon juice until fork tender. Add the blackberries and let them cook for a couple of minutes. Dilute the cornstarch in the water and add it to the fruits along with the cracked pepper. Cook until the mixture is not cloudy anymore from the cornstarch. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thick and cut three 6-inch rounds in it and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Fill the center of each round with the filling and crimp the edges towards the center. I don’t like to cover the fruit that much with the dough but that is a personal preference. Brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining sugar over the galettes. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream, adapted from Dorie Greenspan:

1/2 cup (100gr)sugar
2 tablespoon water
2 cups(500ml) whole milk
1 cup (125ml) heavy cream
5 egg yolks
pinch of salt

Stir the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and cook until it becomes a caramel of deep amber color. Lower the heat and add the milk. It will bubble like mad but continue stirring until the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat. Add the cream and stir until combined.
In a large bowl, whip the egg yolks and salt until pale and thick. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over it and whisk to temper the yolks. Put the mixture back into the saucepan and cook until it coats the back of a spoon (creme anglaise consistency or 170 degrees F).
Let cool completely and refrigerate until very cold (preferably overnight. Process the ice according your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze for 2 hours or more or until firm to scoop.