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Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 3 Issue 113 - December 4, 2002 Chef2Chef Recipe Club Member Forum: http://forums.chef2chef.net Un/Subscribe: http://chef2chef.net/news/subscribe.htm -------------------------------------------------- Hello Recipe Club, When my cousin and I were teenagers, we spent summers together either on her side (Atlantic) or my side (Pacific) of the United States. When we were 16 she was on my side, so we planned an outing to San Francisco. We decided we would go to North Beach as we had heard of the infamous Beats and wanted to see what the fuss was about. But we also chose North Beach because of the extraordinary Italian Bakeries. Our plan was to sample as many bakeries as we could survive. We literally walked the streets of North Beach, going from bakery to bakery, eating delicate, rich pastries, and we managed to stray enough outside the parameters of the Italian section to fit in a Chinese and a Mexican bakery as well. In all, I think we went to 13 bakeries. We then caught the bus back home to the Peninsula feeling a little piqued, and had only a cup of soup for supper. Despite our momentary lack of appetite, it was great fun, and we were young enough that we didn't gain eight pounds or burn out on sweets from our adventure. To continue the Italian dessert theme, I'm offering you one of Weezie Mott's specialties. Weezie Mott has run a cooking school in Alameda, California and led culinary tours to Italy for years. When she served me this cake, I was in love with my first bite. I immediately asked for the recipe and promised my undying loyalty to promote her wherever possible. It is soooo good!! It's a little labor intensive, but you will receive so much praise for your effort that you won't mind in the end. Patricia Rain -------------------------------------------------- Italian Custard Cake Courtesy of Weezie Mott Ingredients & Instructions: 1 10-inch angel food cake, cut or torn into pieces approximately 1-1/2 inch square. Put them into a very large mixing bowl and set aside. Oil a 10-inch tube pan or 9 x 13 x 3 inch rectangular plan. Set aside. Custard Sauce: In a small bowl put 1/2 cup cold water. Sprinkle 1 envelope (1 tablespoon, 7 grams) unflavored gelatin over the water and set aside. In a medium size bowl add 6 extra large egg yolks and beat slightly. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup Sherry or dry Marsala wine and 1/4 cup water. Transfer mixture to a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until custard thickens (thermometer should read 170 degrees). Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and immediately strain into a clean bowl. Gently blend in the softened gelatin. Set mixture aside. Put 2 cups whipping cream into a large bowl and beat until cream begins to thicken. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract plus 1 tablespoon Marsala or Sherry. Beat until creamy-thick. Refrigerate. Place the bowl of warm custard sauce over a larger bowl with ice covering the bottom. Stir gently with spatula until the custard sauce becomes cold and begins to thicken. Remove custard sauce from ice and fold in the chilled whipped cream. Pour half of the custard cream mixture over the angel food cake. Using a large spatula, fold the cream into the cake. Add the remainder of custard cream and continue to fold until all the cake pieces are well coated. Pour into the oiled pan. After half the mixture has been transferred, tap the pan to settle the contents to ensure no air holes are present. Add balance of mixture. Cover and refrigerate the dessert cake until fully set (6-8 hours or overnight). The cake must be used soon after because the gelatin may not hold more than a day or two. To Serve: Whip 1 cup heavy cream (1-1/2 cups if using the rectangular pan) with 1 tablespoon Sherry or Marsala and 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract. Unmold the custard cake onto a serving platter and ice with whipped cream mixture. Garnish the cake with seasonal berries and mint or geranium leaves, or grated chocolate. Serve with a pitcher of strawberry-raspberry sauce or a thin chocolate sauce. Strawberry-Raspberry Sauce Ingredients: 2 cups of hulled sliced strawberries or raspberries (or one 16 ounce package of frozen berries without sugar) 2 tablespoons of Chambord Liqueur or Marsala 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste) 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice Place ingredients in food processor or blender and blend till smooth. Add additional liqueur (or water if preferred) if mixture is too thick. Sieve through a mesh sieve to remove seeds. Serve alongside cake. -------------------------------------------------- COOKBOOK WIZARD RECIPE SOFTWARE - offers a quick and easy way to organize your favorite recipes on your PC. Top Rated 5 star recipe software. Try it FREE for 30 days, download it now. Visit: http://www.mealmaster.com or Email: banyan@microblast.com -------------------------------------------------- The next two recipes have roots in Southeast Asian cuisine. The first recipe comes from my friend, David Lebovitz, a brilliant and innovative pastry chef and author of Room For Dessert and Ripe for Dessert, both of which can be purchased at www.davidlebovitz.com. David also has an amazing recipe for homemade marshmallows in The Vanilla Chef, which you can purchase at www.vanilla.com All I can say about the Palm Sugar Custard, is that it's worth the search for palm sugar. Palm Sugar Custard Courtesy of David Lebovitz Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/2 cup coconut milk 6 egg yolks 1/2 cup palm sugar, melted* 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped Instructions: Warm cream, coconut milk and vanilla bean over medium heat. Let vanilla steep for about an hour. Lightly whisk egg yolks, then slowly add in warm cream, whisking constantly till well blended. Stir in the warm palm sugar. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Pour into 6 1/2- cup ramekins or custard cups. Bake in a water bath, covered, about 45 minutes at 350 degrees, until just beginning to set, but still jiggley in the center. Cool to room temperature and serve. Makes 6 servings. *Palm sugar, or coconut sugar, is available from Asian food markets. It is the boiled- down sap of palm trees, similar to our maple syrup. It is usually firm or grainy when purchased, but when warmed, it becomes a delicious syrup. -------------------------------------------------- WWKitchens.com Christmas is coming up! Is YOUR Kitchen ready? World Wide Kitchens (wwkitchens.com) -- featuring holiday specials, promos & more in cooperation with cooking.com. If it's not in your kitchen, try ours! Huge selection of cooking tools, bake-ware, table service & small appliances. Gourmet, specialty and international foods. Even an online butcher shop! NEW contests, cooking forums, our HUGE food glossary, tips & techniques. Did we mention over 5000 recipes?? VISIT us this holiday season at: http://html.chef2chef.net/goto.php?id=232 -------------------------------------------------- Coconut Sweet Rice This Balinese dessert is similar to desserts from many countries in Southeast Asia. You can use regular rice, but if you can find a glutinous rice (such as Arborio or sushi rice) it creates a richer texture to the dessert. If fresh mangoes are in season, they pair very nicely with this dessert. Ingredients: 2 cups well-washed glutinous rice 2 cups coconut milk 1 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup water 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup freshly-grated coconut Instructions: In a saucepan, bring the rice and coconut milk to a boil, stir several times and turn off the heat. Let stand for 15 minutes to allow the rice to absorb the milk. Pile rice on aluminum foil in a Chinese-style steamer (or a deep saucepan with a vegetable steamer set into pan), and steam for 20 minutes. Make a fairly thick syrup by cooking the brown sugar, water and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. To serve, place a mound of rice on a plate. Scatter 1 heaping tablespoon grated coconut over the rice, and drizzle syrup over the rice-coconut mixture. -------------------------------------------------- We have Tree Trimming Party Recipes, Caroling Party Recipes and a great Cookie Exchange. Plus you'll find all the holiday recipes you need for a Christmas Morning Buffet, Hanukkah, and New Years Eve. Visit our new Holiday Recipes Feature by clicking here and, go ahead and bookmark or forward it to a friend if you like: http://recipes.chef2chef.net/holiday-recipe-collection/index.htm -------------------------------------------------- Shopping Lists: Angel Food Cake Oil Unflavored gelatin Eggs Sugar Sherry of dry Marsala wine Whipping Cream Pure Vanilla Extract Strawberries or raspberries (or one 16 ounce package of frozen berries without sugar) Chambord Liqueur or Marsala Pure vanilla extract Sugar Fresh lemon juice Heavy cream Coconut milk 6 eggs Palm sugar 1/2 vanilla bean Glutinous rice Coconut milk Dark brown sugar Pure vanilla extract Freshly-grated coconut -------------------------------------------------- QUESTIONS, Comments, Technical Support: http://forums.chef2chef.net -------------------------------------------------- ARCHIVE: All Club e-mails are archived each Friday at: http://chef2chef.net/news/club/ -------------------------------------------------- |