Julia's Kitchen Wisdom (21 page)

DESSERT SOUFFLÉS

Soufflé for dessert—that always means a party. The same general principles of the beating and folding in of egg whites apply to sweet soufflés as to main-course soufflés, but since dessert soufflés should be light and airy, there are differences in the sauce base. You could use a white sauce or a pastry cream, but I prefer the
bouillie
, outlined below, and you’ll note that the egg whites are given more body by being beaten with sugar.

MASTER RECIPE

Vanilla Soufflé
For a 6-cup soufflé dish, serving 4 people

3 Tbs flour

¼ cup milk

⅓ cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

2 Tbs butter, softened (optional)

5 egg whites

2 Tbs pure vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar in a fine sieve

Prepare the soufflé dish
and affix the paper collar as directed in the box. Slide the rack onto the lower-third level of the oven, and preheat to 400°F.

Whisk the flour and half the milk in a saucepan. When well blended, whisk in the remaining milk and the ⅓ cup sugar. Then bring to the boil and boil slowly, whisking, for 30 seconds. This is now a
bouillie.
Remove from heat; let cool for a moment, then, one by one, beat in the yolks and the optional butter.

Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons sugar, and beat to stiff,
shining peaks
. Whisk the vanilla into the sauce base, then whisk in a quarter of the whites to lighten it. Delicately fold in remaining whites and turn the mixture into the prepared dish.

Set in the oven, reduce heat to 375°F, and bake until the soufflé has begun to puff and brown—about 20 minutes. Rapidly slide out rack, and dust the top of the soufflé with confectioners’ sugar. Continue baking until it has puffed high into the collar.
When is it done?

Remove collar and serve at once.

VARIATIONS

• ORANGE SOUFFLÉ GRAND MARNIER.
  Follow the master recipe above, but purée the zest (colored part of peel) of a large orange with the ⅓ cup sugar in a blender or food processor, and use in the sauce base. Stir only 2 teaspoons vanilla into the base, but add 3 tablespoons orange liqueur.
  

• CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ.
  Follow the preceding master recipe, but prepare a 2-quart dish to serve 8. Preheat oven to 425°F. Melt 7 ounces semisweet chocolate with ⅓ cup
  strong coffee
  . Make sauce base as directed in master recipe, using ⅓ cup flour and 2 cups milk; whisk at the slow boil for 2 minutes. Off heat, beat in 3 tablespoons optional butter, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, a big pinch of salt, 4 egg yolks, and the melted chocolate. Whip 6 egg whites to soft peaks, add ½ cup sugar and whip to
  shiny peaks
  . Combine by ladling chocolate base down sides of egg-white bowl and folding rapidly to combine. Turn mixture into dish, set into oven, reduce to 375°F, and bake for 40 minutes, or until puff starts. Dust with confectioners’
  sugar and bake until done
  . Serve with lightly whipped
  crème Chantilly
  .
  

SAVORY CUSTARDS

We often think of custards only as desserts—particularly everybody’s favorite, caramel custard (I’d like to be spooning up one of those right now!). But custards can also be main-course luncheon or supper dishes, or can accompany roasts, broils, and steaks. Whenever you are thinking of a soufflé on the menu, think also of its alternative, the custard—or timbale, in fancy-food language. It’s easier to make, and you need have no qualms about the perfection of your egg whites or about collapses. The custard holds, it waits, it can be rewarmed, it’s a smooth and sensuous pleasure to eat.

MASTER RECIPE

Individual Broccoli Timbales—Molded Custards
For 6 to 8 servings in 5-to-6-ounce (⅔-to-¾-cup) molds

1½ to 2 Tbs softened butter (for the molds)

4 “large” eggs

2 cups cooked, chopped, well-seasoned
broccoli florets

2 Tbs grated onion

½ cup
fresh white bread crumbs

2 to 3 Tbs minced fresh parsley

½ cup (2 ounces) lightly pressed down grated Swiss, cheddar, and/or mozzarella cheese

½ cup cream or milk

½ tsp salt

Several grinds of white pepper

Drops of Tabasco, optional

Smear softened butter inside the molds, slide rack onto lower-third level of oven, and preheat to 350°F. Provide yourself with a roasting pan to hold the molds, and have a kettle of boiling water ready.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl to blend yolks and whites, then fold in all
the remaining ingredients. Taste carefully, and correct seasoning. Ladle the mixture into the molds, filling them by about two-thirds.

Arrange the molds in the roasting pan and set in the oven. Pull the rack out, and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the molds. Very gently push the rack in, and bake 5 minutes, then lower heat to 325°F and bake about 25 minutes more. Adjust oven heat so that water in pan is never boiling, just almost bubbling.

When Are They Done?
When a skewer plunged into the center comes out clean.

Carefully slide the roasting pan out of the oven and let the molds settle for 10 minutes—or a little longer, if need be.

To unmold, one by one run a sharp, thin knife around the inside of each mold and reverse it, dropping the custard onto a warm plate.

Serving Suggestions.
Top with a sprinkling of toasted and buttered bread crumbs, or a
tomato sauce
, or a
béchamel sauce
enriched with chopped fresh herbs.

VARIATIONS

• A LARGE TIMBALE.
  Butter a 4-to-5-cup soufflé mold or high-sided baking dish and fill with the custard. Set in a roasting pan and pour in boiling water to come halfway up its sides. Bake as directed above.
  

• FRESH CORN TIMBALE—CORN PUDDING.
  Follow the master recipe, but substitute 2 cups of fresh corn scraped off the cob (8 to 10 ears), and 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley.
  

• OTHER VARIATIONS.
  Cooked chopped spinach, asparagus tips, mushrooms, green and red peppers, shellfish, ham—any of these and more that you will think of can be substituted for the broccoli in the custard. It’s a versatile formula.
  

MOLDED DESSERT CUSTARDS

MASTER RECIPE

Caramel Custard
For a 2-quart straight-sided baking dish, serving 8 to 10

1 cup sugar and ⅓ cup water, for the caramel

6 “large” eggs

5 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

1 quart hot milk

1 Tbs pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Slide rack onto lower-middle level, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the sugar and water to the
caramel stage
, and pour half of it into the baking dish, swirling it rapidly around to coat bottom and sides. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons water to the remaining caramel in the pan and let simmer slowly to melt the caramel, thus turning it into a sauce for later.

Stir with a whisk (but do not beat and cause bubbles) the eggs, yolks, and sugar in a bowl to blend them. Then, a little at a time at first to dissolve the sugar, stir in the hot milk, then the vanilla and salt. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into the caramelized dish. Set dish in a high-sided roasting pan on the oven rack, and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the outside of the dish.

Bake for about an hour, checking after 15 minutes to be sure water in roasting pan is maintained precisely at almost the simmer—little bubbles. If the water is too hot the custard will be grainy, but if not hot enough it will take hours to cook.

When Is It Done?
When the center still trembles slightly, but a skewer plunged in 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.

Remove dish from roasting pan and let custard settle at least 30 minutes. The custard may be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled—if to be chilled, refrigerate, and cover when cold. (It can be refrigerated for 2 days.)

To Unmold.
Run a thin-bladed knife between custard and edge of dish. Turn a serving plate upside down over the dish and reverse the two—the custard will slowly slip out. Pour the reserved caramel sauce around the custard.

VARIATIONS

• INDIVIDUAL CARAMEL CUSTARDS.
  The preceding proportions will fill a dozen ⅔-cup Pyrex bowls 3½ inches across. Line the bowls with caramel as described, fill with the custard mixture, and bake in a water bath at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until set at the edges but with a slight tremble at the center. Unmold for serving.
  

• INDIVIDUAL MACAROON CUSTARDS.
  Caramelize individual bowls, as described above, and when hardened, smear with butter. Sprinkle pulverized macaroons in them to cover bottom and sides. Fill with the custard mixture. Bake, and unmold as described.