Tapioca Pudding

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This has always been a huge favorite with my family. And it was one of my favorites when I was a child. We're not talking here about that thick gloppy stuff you get commercially. Real tapioca pudding is light and fluffy, kind of like a cloud. The measurements are not written in stone. You can alter things somewhat as you please. I often made this later in the evening, when everyone thought having a bit of dessert would be nice.

1/2 cup tapioca
1 cup water

3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar (a little more if you like sweet)
3 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

In a saucepan put the tapioca and the water and let it sit a bit, while you do other things.
Measure out the milk in a bowl or measuring pitcher. Separate the eggs, placing the yolks into the milk and the whites into an electric mixing bowl, like a KitchenAid mixer.

Add half the sugar to the egg whites and if you have a stand mixer start the egg whites beating, letting it go until they're nice and fluffy. I do this while putting the milk and yolks and tapioca on the stove to cook. If you don't have a stand mixer, then get the egg whites beaten before starting to cook the rest.

Beat up the milk and yolks and remaining sugar and add to the saucepan with the tapioca and water.
Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil, stirring with a whisk fairly constantly.
When it has come to a boil, remove from the stove and stir in the vanilla and pinch of salt.

Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg whites, whisking constantly.
Let cool for a while before serving. This can be made shortly before dinner, and it will still be warm by dessert time. It is really nice eaten warm. I dish it into Chinese soup bowls, or other little bowls. Seconds are always okay.

Crème Pâtissière - pastry cream

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This is really yummy stuff. I use it for princess cake or stuffing cream puffs or put as the base of a fruit tart or ...

5 oz milk - see note
1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornflour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk

1-2 tablespoons butter (optional, used for richness)

note: the 5 oz milk plus the 2 tablespoons milk = 3/4 cup milk. So just measure out the 3/4 cup, remove the 2 tablespoons to a small dish, and you're good to go.

Scald the 5 oz of milk in a saucepan.
Combine the 2 tablespoons milk, cornflour, salt, sugar, egg yolk.
With the milk on medium low heat slowly wisk in the other ingredients and cook until the right consistency.
At this point you may add a flavoring of your choice if you like - vanilla, almond, orange, etc.
Stir in butter, if desired, and chill.

Cherry Coconut Pudding

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Annie and I were having Shepherd's Pie for dinner and were going to watch the new Upstairs Downstairs while eating it, and it seemed to me that a British sort of dessert would be nice to go with it. To me the quintessential British dessert is pudding. This is not from a cookbook or anything, but I don't think British women need official recipes for their puddings.


2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
3 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup coconut (I used Baker's, not desiccated)
1/3 tsp vanilla
handful of dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Generously butter an 7 inch souffle dish, or something of that nature.
Start putting the ingredients (except for the cherries) into a mixing bowl, stirring with a fork with each addition.
Pour into the buttered dish, and then gently drop the cherries one at a time over the top.
Bake for about 50 minutes.
Eat while still warm, as it's really tasty then. But it's very good later also.

Gugelhopf Bread Pudding

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After making the kugelhopf for Tuesday with Dorie, we had half left the next day. It does get stale, but it seemed perfect for a bread pudding.

1/2 a kugelhopf that was made with 1/2 pound of flour
some raisins, or any dried fruit you like
some almonds

5 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk - whole if you have it
scant 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
scant 1/2 cup sugar


Get a nice little baking dish, about 6 cups in size.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Break up the kugelhopf into the dish, and sprinkle on raisins and almonds.
In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients with a whisk, and pour slowly over the bread.
Push the sticking up bits down into the egg mixture.
Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar if you like.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

I got this recipe from a cookbook that my grandmother gave me when I was 16.

1 baked pie shell

filling:
1 cup sugar
4-5 tablespoons cornflour
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped up
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

meringue:
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Prepare and bake the pie shell and let it cool.

Making the filling:
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, cornflour, chocolate, and salt (if desired). Slowly stir in the milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. When it comes to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in some of the hot liquid into the egg yolks to temper them. Then add the yolks to the hot liquid, stirring as you add them. Put back onto the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. This should take very little time. Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts. Pour immediately into the pie shell.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Making the meringue:
Put the egg whites and cream of tartar into a large mixing bowl - I use my kitchenaid. Start mixing on high, gradually adding the sugar. Continue to beat until you have a nice thick meringue. You can't really over beat this because of the sugar. When done, put onto the pie filling by big dollops-full. Make sure to smooth around to completely cover the filling. Bake for about 7 to 11 minutes, until you have a nicely browned surface.

Cool completely on a rack before serving.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

Make the pie omitting the meringue.  In it's place top the pie with a half-pint of whipping cream beat until thick with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

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1 pound dark sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 pound rhubarb, diced fairly small, about 5 stalks


1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 tablespoon cornflour

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 stick of butter, finely diced
2/3 cup milk, any kind you like

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Select the baking dish you want. In area an 8 inch square dish equals a 9 inch round dish.
Put the fruit into the dish.
Combine the 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon ginger, and 1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour.
Spread over the fruit and stir in gently.
Put the fruit into the oven to start cooking while you make the topping.

In a fairly large sturdy bowl combine the toppings dry ingredients.
Cut in the diced butter to a rough cornmeal consistency.
Using a fork, stir in the milk.
Get the fruit out of the oven and using two soupspoons put dollops of the topping all over the fruit.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes.
Cool a bit and enjoy!

Swedish Cream

This is also sometimes called Russian Cream, but I first knew and loved it as Swedish Cream. There used to be this fabulous restaurant in my neighborhood that was loved by almost everyone. It was hugely popular, and they served wonderful food. One of my favorite dishes was Swedish Cream, which I used to get to go. You put a $1 deposit on the dish. I kept most of them, which was okay. But then alas, it suddenly went out of business. It seemed that the owner had over extended himself. So I determined that I would figure out how to make the dish myself.

1 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream or half & half
2 cups sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla or any other flavoring you'd like

Combine sugar and gelatin in a medium sized saucepan.
Stir in the cream and heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until gelatin is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Stir in sour cream. Add flavoring.
Pour into pudding cups and refrigerate until set (about 3 hours).
You can use any vessel thats 1/2 cup or less. I use little ramekins, or French yogurt pots, or little Chinese tea cups, ...

When ready to serve, spoon on a berry coulis.

Berry Coulis

There is not specific recipe for berry coulis. You simply take your berries, wash and dry them, puree them, strain them, add a little bit of sugar to taste, and if not tart enough add a bit of lemon juice. If, for some reason the coulis seems a bit too thick, stir in a bit of water. You may also add a liquor of your choice if desired.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Crème Anglaise - poured custard

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This custard is extremely popular at my house. You can spoon it over whatever you like. This is richer than average, and maybe a bit thicker. And if you want to be really poncy you can use a vanilla bean.

1 cup cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoons vanilla (more if you like, or use a vanilla bean)

Place the cream and milk into a large saucepan.
Combine the sugar and cornflour and whisk into the liquids.
Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring often.
Remove from the heat and stir some of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolks to temper them.
Then stir the yolk mixture into the saucepan mixture.
Bring back to a boil - this will take no time at all.
Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
Put into a large cream pitcher and add a ladle for serving.

note: you can use two cups of milk, preferably whole milk, instead of cream and milk. And, if you use the vanilla bean you need to put it into the heating milk. For a more sophisticated recipe by Alice Walters go here.

Orange Flan

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I have a really good recipe for this in a handwritten book, but can I find it!!?? But I told the girls that I would bring orange flan to their cinco de maio celebration this evening, so I had to come up with something. It turned out to be absolutely fabulous.

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5 egg yolks
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 cups half and half
some orange zest

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbls water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Get a 1 1/2 quart tart dish and a metal baking pan that the dish will fit into.
Put the milk and orange zest into a pan and place over medium low heat.
Put the egg yolks, eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, and the almond extract into a large bowl and whip thoroughly.

Put 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water into a sauce pan and heat up slowly. Don't stir with a spoon, but you can gently swirl the pan as needed. Keep a keen eye on this sugar. You want it to turn brown, but to not burn. There is a fine degree of difference between the two. As soon as the sugar turns a medium brown, pour into the dish and carefully swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of the dish. This will become hard very fast.

While wisking, pour the hot milk mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Stir to blend thoroughly. Then pour this mixture into another bowl through a strainer. And finally, set the dish into the pan you're going to use for the water bath, and pour the mixture into the dish. Place the dish and pan into the oven, then carefully add hot water up to at least halfway up the sides. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes. I forgot to time it, so I can only approximate.

Chill thoroughly. Then turn out onto a plate by putting the plate on top and quickly flipping it over.

Apple Crisp

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I'm very picky about apple crisp. I don't like it too sweet, and can't stand it when it's made with canned apple filling, and I don't like oatmeal in the topping. So if any of those things are for you this isn't the crisp for you. But it is a very popular recipe around the world. Most people who identify the source for this recipe will tell you that it is from Moira Hodgson's "Favorite Fruitcakes" book, which is true. But the fact is that Moira's book is about recipes from famous cooks and their cookbooks. So though I have not seen Moira's cookbook my guess is that she has listed the Silver Palate recipe. I could tweek the recipe to make it look like mine, but their could be no benefit in alteration. The original name is June's Apple Crisp, but since in my mind it should be the definitive apple crisp I shall just call it apple crisp.

6 green apples, peeled and cored and sliced up not too thinly
juice of 1/2 a lemon if your apples aren't at all tart

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (or a little less if you like)
1 stick of butter, cold and cut up.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the apples into any dish that they will nicely fit into, round or square or oval or what ever.
Put the rest of the ingredients into a food processor or a sturdy bowl if you are going to mix this with a pastry blender.
Then mix up the topping so that it is all nice and crumbly looking, like cornmeal. It should be a bit powdery.
Dump the topping over the apples, spread around to even things up a bit, and then tamp the dish down on the counter to coax the topping down in amongst the apples just a little bit.
Bake for about an hour. What you want to see is bubbles around the edge.

Serve immediately with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream on top if you like.

Option:  I recently made this dessert and I tossed the apples with about 1/3 cup of the topping, then dumped on the topping mixture.

Baked Custard

.I absolutely adore baked custard. It's my ultimate comfort food. My mother would make it for me when I was home sick, which for the most part only occured when I got strep throat. It feels so nice on a soar throat.



5 eggs
1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups of heated milk
nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Many recipes call for a higher temperature, but it's been my experience that this will cause the custards to curdle, and you don't want that. Now if you were to use 8 egg yolks instead of 5 eggs you would have less chance of curdling. Or maybe even if you used half and half instead of the 1% milk I used. But mine did turn out wonderfully smooth and silky feeling.
Put the eggs and the sugar and the vanilla in a bowl and whip thoroughly.
Put the milk in a glass pitcher and heat in the microwave until just a bit warmer than lukewarm. That's a temperature you can stick you finger into but it's not so hot as to be uncomfortable. Maybe it's the temperature of a hot bath.
While whisking the eggs, slowly pour in the milk.  If you want to be completely correct you can pour the mixture through a sieve into another bowl.  This strains out any funny egg bits.

Get all the custard cups you want to use into a baking pan.  You can use any appropriate sized dish, even tea cups.  But it is best if all the cups you use are the same size, as different sizes cook at different rates.  Put a tea kettle of water on to boil.  Ladle the custard mixture into the custard cups. I use a 1/2 cup ladle.  Put some nutmeg on top of each custard. I used whole nutmeg and a nutmeg grater, but pre-grated works.

Carefully place the pan of filled custard cups into the heated oven and then carefully pour in hot water to come about half way up the cups. Then carefully slide the pan all the way into the oven.   Actually, I pull the rack out just a bit and when the water is in I slowly slide the rack back into the oven.  Bake for about 55 minutes.  Eat one as soon as your mouth can handle the heat.  But these are great warm or cold or room temperature.

Note: I made this later using just egg yolks. It was ever so smooth, but not as tasty or fun to eat. I'm sticking with the whole eggs.

Grateful Pudding with Lemon Sauce

A Grateful Pudding.TO a pound of flour, add a pound of white bread grated. Take eight eggs, but only half the whites. Beat them up, and mix with them a pint of new milk. Then stir in the bread and flour, a pound of raisins stoned, a pound of currants, half a pound of sugar, and a little beaten ginger. Mix it well together, and either bake or boil it. It will take three quarters of an hour baking. Put cream in, instead of, milk, if you have it, which will be a great addition.
The London Art of Cookery, (1787), John Farley.

My pudding is somewhat different, but certainly there are similarities. 

1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup brandy
12 ounces white bread, bottom crusts removed, cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 cups light cream or whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg or mace or any spice you like

Soak the raisins in the brandy overnight or for several hours.

Butter and sprinkle with sugar a 2 quart covered metal pudding mold, including the inside of the lid. I put a bunch of sugar into the mold, secure the buttered lid, and then shake and shake. This covers everything nicely.
Layer the bread alternately with the plumped sultanas in the mold, ending with the bread.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until light. Gradually pour in the cream. Add the nutmeg. Pour over the bread. This can now be stored in the refrigerator over night if you like. Or left to sit out on the table for an hour or two to soak and come to room temperature.

Secure the lid and place the mold on a rack in a covered kettle with enough water to come two thirds up the side of the mold. Steam the pudding for 1 hour over gently simmering water. I have also put it in the top of Nigella's big pot, with the water in the bottom, not actually touching the pudding mold. This worked quite nicely. It's all about steaming the pudding.

Lemon Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbl cornflour
1 cups hot water
1/4 cup butter
juice and zest of two tiny lemons

Combine the sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Add the hot water and bring slowly to a boil. Add the butter, lemon juice, and zest and continue cooking until smooth, just a bit longer.

To serve, unmold the warm pudding onto a serving plate and serve with a bowl of lemon sauce that has been slightly heated.

Grateful Pudding with Lemon Sauce

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We have this pudding every year at Thanksgiving. It seems most appropriate. It keeps well, so it makes a nice dessert for quite a few days along with pie.  The recipe is just a guide line, really.  It all depends on the size of your pudding mold, or how much pudding you need or want.

1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup brandy
12 ounces white bread, bottom crusts removed, cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 cups light cream
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Soak the raisins in the brandy with the lemon zest overnight.

Butter and sprinkle with sugar a 2 quart covered metal pudding mold, including the inside of the lid. Layer the bread alternately with the plumped sultanas in the mold, ending with the bread.

Beat the eggs with the sugar until light. Gradually pour in the cream. Add the nutmeg. Pour over the bread.

Secure the lid and place the mold on a rack in a covered kettle with enough water to come two thirds up the side of the mold. Steam the pudding for 1 hour over gently simmering water.

Lemon Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbl cornflour
1 cups hot water
1/4 cup butter
juice and zest of two tiny lemons

Combine the sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Stir in the hot water and bring slowly to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the butter, lemon juice, and zest, stirring until smooth.

To serve, unmold the warm pudding onto a serving plate and serve with a bowl of lemon sauce.

Rhubarb Apple Crisp

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3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
16 ounces rhubarb, diced

1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbl flour
2 Tbls cream
grating of nutmeg

topping:
1 cup flour, about 5 ounces
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, diced up
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

350 for 1 hour

Put the apples in to a large quiche dish.
Put the rhubarb on top.
Combine the next five ingredients, and spread over the fruit.

In the food processor, combine the topping ingredients.
Mix until like cornmeal, then spread over the fruit.
Bake until a bit bubbly.

Serve warm, with ice cream if desired.