Archives for 2012

8 January 2012 Fail-Proof Yorkshire Puddings

Fail-Proof Yorkshire Puddings

January 8, 2012 By

I was making prime rib for a small New Year’s Eve party I was hosting and couldn’t see not serving Yorkshire Puddings.  Some past recipes I’d tried failed and I was somewhat intimidated to try again, particularly for a holiday dinner party.  I found the following straight-forward recipe that proved both simple to prepare and delicious.

Adapted from a recipe by Regina Varolli.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk, divided
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. coarse kosher salt
  • ¼ cup liquid beef rendering or vegetable oil

Directions (at least 6 hours prior to serving the puddings):

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with ½ cup of milk, set aside.
  2. In another medium bowl, combine the flour and salt together.  Add the egg mixture and whisk vigorously until there are absolutely no lumps left in the batter.
  3. Cover the batter with plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature until ready to use (at least 6 hours).

Directions (when ready to serve the Yorkshire puddings):

  1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place a 12-muffin tin into the hot oven and heat it until the pan is very hot, about 5 minutes.  Measure out one teaspoon of beef fat (or oil) into each muffin cup and place the pan back in the oven.  Leave the pan in the oven until the fat is literally smoking hot, about 5 minutes.
  3. As the fat is heating, whisk the remaining ½ cup cold milk into the batter that’s been sitting out all day.  Whisk in some fresh, coarsely ground black pepper to taste. Put the batter into a vessel that makes it easy to pour.
  4. When the fat is smoking, take the muffin tin out of the oven and, working as quickly as possible, pour the batter evenly into the 12 cups.  If the batter doesn’t sizzle as you pour it in the muffin cups, expect your Yorkshire puddings to not rise.
  5. Immediately return the pan to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes of baking.  The Yorkshire puddings are done when they are dark golden brown and dry to the touch.  The inside of the puddings will be moist.
  6. Serve immediately.  Yorkshire puddings don’t wait, so bake them as you need to serve them.

Makes 12 standard muffin-sized puddings.

 

 

Filed Under: American, Eggs, Sides, Starters Tagged With:
3 January 2012 Chocolate Caramel Tart

Chocolate Caramel Tart

January 3, 2012 By

{photo by Andre Baranowski, via Saveur}

When Saveur showcased this dessert (from Brooklyn’s Marlow & Sons) on its cover, I thought I’d go mad.  Wow, what a beauty!  At a friend’s request, I made it for my New Year’s Eve dinner party and it was as delicious and it is gorgeous.

Originally published in Saveur magazine

Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 1⁄2 cups flour
  • 1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
  • 1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
  • 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel Ingredients:

  • 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
  • 3 tbsp. light corn syrup
  • 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 6 tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 6 tbsp. heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp. crème fraîche

Ganache Ingredients:

  • 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
  • 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • Gray sea salt for garnish

Crust Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350˚.
  2. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients.
  4. Transfer dough to a 9″ fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  5. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Caramel Directions:

  1. In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°.
  2. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

Ganache Directions:

  1. Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.
  3. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours.
  4. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

Serves 8.

 

 

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page