Desserts
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Apple Tarte Tatin - 10 Mar 2010
This French classic gets a contemporary make-over from Michelle Poteaux, co-owner and co-chef at Bastille. Easy to do - though perhaps not quite as beautifully as professional pastry chef Michelle has done - it's a star at any party year round. read more...
Barbara Kafka's Crème Anglaise in 6 minutes - 9 Sep 2009
Crème Anglaise is such a seductive, soothing vanilla sauce wonderful with fall fruit tarts and cobblers, it's tempting to ignore the dessert it coats and just eat this perfect custard. Cookbook writer and regular New York Times food pages contributor Barbara Kafka has a brilliant short cut to perfect Crème Anglaise that you don't need to stand over fearfully to prevent it from curdling. It's one of two good reasons to invest in a microwave. (The other is heating milk to froth for coffee...) read more...
Baskin Robbins' French Vanilla is no more! - 21 Jul 2010
It doesn't matter how inventive an ice cream company gets (consider the wacky concoctions from Jen & Berry's, as I know them). Bottom line, if you can't make a decent vanilla or a decent chocolate, then the rest of your flavors won't be much good.
So does Baskin Robbins suspect its French Vanilla is no great shakes? Because to celebrate its 65th birthday, it's taking the flavor off the market. read more...
Berries - ripe for picking - 24 Jun 2010
Berry picking is one of the highlights of summer, with different fruits following each other through the season, even the rare blackcurrants and gooseberries. read more...
Bittersweet Mocha Grappa Torte with Walnuts - 23 Apr 2010
Domenica Marchetti, author of Big Night In, from which this recipe is taken, says: "I can't even count the number of times that chocolate tortes have been a source of disappointment to this chocolate lover...either too liquored up, too jammy, too nutty, too dry, or too dense (giant chocolate truffle, anyone?). That's why I am so in love with this recipe; it delivers everything it promises."
So I tried it. And she's right. But the photo is of my version not her elegant one. Tidying up its overspill was a treat - I just ate the bits I sliced off for beautification... read more...
Clotted cream - home-made - 3 Jun 2009
Real clotted cream is good to dollop on summer's fresh berries. It's a far cry from the ultra heat-treated stiff paste you get in those glass jars in the supermarket. So have a go at making it yourself. read more...
Cream teas - a summer staple - 20 May 2010
The British love their afternoon tea in town. Cream teas are another passion and no tourist to Devon or Cornwall should leave without having had one. They're named for the fresh baked scones smothered in jam and a cream so yellow and thick you could hang tiles with it. The great debate between the two English counties is whether the cream or the jam goes down first.
Clotted cream, the ultra heat-treated, stiff white paste sold in glass jars here is no relation to the real McKoy which you can make yourself. read more...
Cupcake mania? I don't get it. - 12 May 2010
Aside from Ladurée in Paris which launched beautiful, crisp yet melting, highly-colored, scented macaroons as a patisserie to cross town for, the joy of indulging desire for a cake is to linger over a case full of éclairs, japonnaises, babas, fruit tartlettes, confections of chocolate, cream and custard, before pointing at the one gateau of the moment's desire.
A cupcake bakery offers you - cupcakes. I don't get it. Okay, you can pick between flavors and toppings. But cupcake is cupcake. Besides, cupcakes are so last tea party. The next fad coming down the pike is the individual whoopie pie. You read it here first. read more...
Desserts: Affogato al caffe - 5 Nov 2008
Aside from serving a bowl of M & Ms at the end of a dinner, this is the easiest stand in for dessert you could find. And one of the most delicious. read more...
Desserts: Baked Chocolate Sabayon - 3 Jan 2008
Tom Power has moved his restaurant Corduroy to 1122 9th Street NW. If you wonder why that's of interest, Corduroy is one of those restaurants chefs say they love to eat at. So if you can't get there, here's his recipe for Baked Chocolate Sabayon to cheer you up. read more...
Desserts: Blue Duck Tavern Apple Pie - 3 Sep 2009
You can't have enough apple pie recipes. Here's a very different one with phenomenal, though very challenging, pastry from Laurent Merdy, pastry chef of The Blue Duck Tavern. It was selected by USA Today as one of the Top 25 Best Dishes of 2006. read more...
Desserts: Chocolate tart - 14 Jan 2008
This Chocolate Tart, the recipe of Tom Power, owner-chef of Corduroy, is an elegant and deeply chocolate dessert that will pass you off as a master patissier. It's not hard to make, despite its apparent length. But Chef Power says it's important to read the recipe right through before you begin. read more...
Desserts: Classic Bistro Pot de Creme - 9 Nov 2007
Peter Brett, pastry chef of Circle Bistro's recipe, is the height of luxury, yet can be made in minutes before work on the day of a dinner party. Just make sure you use a good quality chocolate. read more...
Desserts: Eton Mess - 26 Aug 2009
This aptly named Mess is an easy English recipe to make the most of strawberries. You get the stages ready ahead, to put together at the last minute. It's named after the posh private school of Princes and sons of parents with deep wallets near Windsor Castle - so convenient when Queen Granny wanted to visit William and Harry.
On the 'Fourth of June', a holiday with The Procession of Boats - the top crews row past in vintage wooden rowing boats (Brits find this kind of thing normal) - scholars and parents gather to celebrate the birthday of Eton's patron, King George III (the mad one - that's normal, too). Eton Mess is the pudding de rigueur. ('Pudding' is the posh English word for 'desserts' - a word that would never cross the lips of an old Etonian.) read more...
Desserts: Greenage tart - 2 Jun 2008
Greengages are little green plums. I found them recently at the Afghan Mini Market on Backlick Rd, Springfield and at Iransara, in the Peking Gourmet shopping strip, at 6039 Leesburg Pike. Buy ones that are soft only. But you can make this tart with any kind of plum - or with apricots or apples. It's quick, it's easy, it's mouthwatering. read more...
Desserts: Hot Chocolate Cake - 10 Nov 2007
Morton’s executive chef Bob Kiebler cooks by the book, This recipe from the Morton’s Steak Bible is the chain's No.1 dessert. “If you like molten chocolate cakes, you’ll be thrilled at how easy they are to make,” it says. “To get the right consistency, though, you must bake small, individual cakes; for these, you will need 6-ounce soufflé dishes or ramekins.” read more...
Desserts: Mango mousse - 10 Nov 2007
An easy and glamorous dessert - and a favorite secret of Washington's Middle East diplomatic community. Okay, the recipe doesn't use 'purist' ingredients and it smacks of some of those weird gelatin desserts of the 1950s. But it works. And is served with great success and admiration. read more...
Desserts: Passion fruit syllabub - 6 Nov 2007
Passion fruit, in its wrinkled purple shell, may be one of the most expensive fruit to buy fresh in Washington, but in Australia and New Zealand, it grows so prolifically it is almost a weed. read more...
Desserts: Pumpernickel ice cream - 3 Feb 2009
This rich ice cream from RJ Cooper III, chef de cuisine of Vidalia, couldn't be easier or faster to make. Or more sophisticated to eat. read more...
Desserts: Sopa de Chocolato Blanco con Compota de Frutos Rojos - 24 Jun 2010
This is one of those recipes we all hunt for: a dish, in this case a dessert, that is impressive to taste and to look at, that can be whipped up with little effort and time. It came from Santi Zabaleta, when he was chef of Taberna del Alabardero. Now you'll find his cheerful face at A & H Seafood & Gourmet in Bethesda, which he owns. read more...