Natilla...Custard With Meringue and Ladyfingers

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This is what every Cuban child of my generation grew up eating for dessert and what I made for my American children when they were growing up.  The original natilla is very simple to make and is rather a common dessert just like custard is in this country.  I would say natilla is softer and this recipe is somewhere in consistency between American custard and creme anglaise.  As to flavor, the combination of lemon rind and cinnamon gives it an addictive taste that keeps you coming back for more, sometimes in the middle of the night!

The only problem you have when you make the classic natilla is what to do with all the leftover egg whites. You can either freeze them or make baked meringues.  I did this for awhile until I wisened up and decided to incorporate them into the dessert.  The ladyfingers were a natural addition and once the dessert  cools completely they become as soft as cake.

I usually make the chocolate variation which I encourage you to try and only requires the additional step of melting some chocolate on  the stove or microwave.  It is very rich and very, very good!

A new generation of grandbabies will definitely grow up on this if Lindaraxa has any say in the matter!

 
Ingredients

1 quart milk

1 piece of lime or lemon rind

1 cinnamon stick

Pinch of salt

8 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

4 TB corn starch

Cinnamon

8-10 ladyfingers (optional)

Meringue (optional)

Directions

Add salt, lemon rind and cinnamon stick to milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from the stove and let cool. Remove cinnamon and lemon peel.

Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until they are fluffy. Continue beating and gradually add the cornstarch mixed with the water and the sugar until it is completely mixed. Gradually add milk to mixture until you have a smooth consistency.  Pass through a sieve into a pan and cook in low heat, stirring occasionally until it's thick and begins to bubble.  Add vanilla and stir. Pour into individual serving bowls or one big bowl. . Chill completely in refrigerator. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top just before serving.

This is where the traditional natilla stops and mine begins.

Submerge about 8-10 ladyfingers in the natilla.  They will come back to the top but don't worry.  You will be covering with meringue.

Make a meringue with the 8 leftover egg whites a dash of salt and about 3TB sugar per egg white.  With a big serving spoon drop in dollops over the custard.  Return to refrigerator and serve well chilled!

Chocolate Variation:  Melt 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate and add to egg yolks and sugar. Proceed as with rest of recipe..

Adapted from Nitza Villapol
Photos Lindaraxa

My Aunt Martha's Caramel Flan

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With a maternal grandmother who was famous for her culinary abilities, I inherited two aunts and a mother who are also great cooks.  It doesn't stop at that...my first cousins are wonderful cooks too and everybody is extremely competitive.   Each of us has developed an expertise and in this case, it it my mother's middle sister who shines in the flan category.  Now keep in mind that once your recipe is  decreed as "best of breed", nobody else in the family should invade that turf.  Your flan is the one everyone makes and when we get together, if it is flan we are having, that person gets to bring it! No, you cannot make that person's recipe for them and if you do so, you must be a glutton for punishment for there is no way yours will turn out as good and all that trouble will be for nothing.

My mother's best of breed recipe is her black beans and my other aunt's a Spanish dessert called Brazo Gitano that even I wouldn't think of tackling.  I tremble every time I have to make my mother's black beans recipe for the family group in this neck of the woods.  But just as I have passed the making of the Christmas tree to my daughter, I am hoping the black bean nod of approval will soon be passed on to me.  Get the picture?

I am making this flan for my son's in laws who will be a great group to serve as judges as they are Southeners and definitely have never had the anointed one's flan.

This is the classic Cuban flan, which is as light and delicious as it is timeless. In this recipe, though, it has more egg yolks than normal which makes it slightly richer but just as light. This basic flan recipe is also used to make flans of different flavors by substituting another liquid for part or all of the milk. For example, the best sweet oranges in Spain come from Valencia and Murcia, and an orange flan, made from freshly squeezed juice, is popular there.  My Aunt Martha also makes a knock your socks off Coconut flan.  That also is part of her turf and nobody has come close to even trying...hmmm, stay tuned!

Because flan takes a while to cool, it is usually prepared the day before.  That way it also absorbs some of the caramel at the bottom of the pan. When making it for a large group, it is practical to prepare a single large flan in a tube pan.  In the summertime, I sometimes fill the hole with strawberries or blueberries and it is very refreshing.

Makes 12 servings


Ingredients

For the flan:

4 cups whole milk

1 strip lime zest

1 cinnamon stick

6 whole eggs

6 egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

For the caramelized sugar coating:

1 1/2 cup sugar

You will need a tube pan


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

To prepare the caramelized sugar coating, spread the sugar evenly in the bottom of a heavy saucepan and place over medium-low heat. It may take several minutes before the sugar begins to melt. Without stirring, watch the sugar closely as it begins to liquefy at the edges. All of it will slowly turn first into a yellowish and then golden syrup and finally into a brown caramel sauce.

When the liquefied sugar is turning from golden to brown, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat. (If you miss this point, the sugar will quickly turn too dark and taste bitter and you will need to discard it and begin again.)

Working swiftly, pour the liquid caramel into a tube pan and tilt to cover the bottom, the sides of the cone and the sides of the dish evenly. It is important to do this transfer quickly, as the change in temperature causes the caramel to solidify rapidly. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, lime zest, pinch of salt and cinnamon stick over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes to infuse the milk with the flavor of the seasonings. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and granulated sugar and whisk to blend well. Pour the cooled milk through a fine-mesh sieve held over the egg mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour the mixture into the coated tube pan.

Arrange the pan in a large, deep baking pan or roasting pan. Pull out the oven rack, put the baking pan on it, and pour boiling water to a depth of about 1 1/2 inch into the pan to create a water bath. Bake for about 1  hour, or until set when tested with a thin-bladed knife in the center. Take out of the oven and let the flan cool in the water bath.

You can cover and refrigerate the cooled flan in the tube pan overnight.  The next morning, run a knife around the inside of the mold and the sides of the cone to loosen the edges of the custard and then invert the flan onto a dessert plate.  Pour all of the caramel that is left on the mold over the flan.  Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Tapas Desserts...Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream)

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If you like Creme Brulee, you will LOVE Crema Catalana.  Crema catalana (Catalan 'Catalan cream') or crema de Sant Josep, is the Catalan version of crème brûlée. It is usually served on Saint Joseph's Day March 19. The custard is flavoured with lemon or orange zest, and cinnamon.

Catalans claim that their crema catalana is the predecessor of France's crème brûlée, though many regions lay claim to the origin of the dessert. The chief difference between the two is that crema catalana is not baked in a bain-marie as crème brûlée is.

I frankly prefer it over creme brulee but I think you owe it to yourself to try it before you make such an important decision.  If you have a tapas party, this is the dessert to have at the end of the table.

For 4 servings in casuelas
or 8 servings in ramekins


Material

- 4 small, shallow heat-proof dishes, preferably cazuelas

Ingredients

- 4 cups whole milk

- 1 cinnamon stick

- Rind of 1/2 lemon

- Rind of 1/2 orange

- 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 8 medium egg yolks

- 2 cups sugar

- 2 tbsp. cornstarch

- 1/2 cup (3 oz) brown sugar to caramelize


Directions

In a saucepan, gently heat 250 ml (1 cup) milk; infuse the vanilla bean and cinnamon stick.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar; blend in the cornstarch dissolved in 750 ml (3 cups) cold milk, and the zests.

Pour into the hot milk. Heat gently, stirring briskly.

When the mixture thickens, immediately remove the pan from the heat; remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean.

Pour the cream into individual ramekins and let cool.

Just before serving, caramelize with a torch or under the broiler (see chef's notes).

Notes: 

Catalan cream is served cold. To caramelize the cream, ideally use a torch. If you want to caramelize the cream under the broiler, put the ramekins into a shallow pan containing ice cubes so that the custard doesn't heat up. Afterwards, stick it back in the refrigerator so it will remain cold until you serve it.  I usually caramelize it in the afternoon, and stick it back in the fridge until dinner time.  This will ensure a hard caramel crust on the top and a very cold cream underneath.

Poires Babette...Pear Custard Gratin

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My love of pear desserts knows no bounds, so I am constantly on the prowl for new recipes to add to my repertoire. This morning, I came upon a marvelous dessert that I had made a long ago from a book that, unfortunately, is out of print--- The Cuisine of Normandy by Princess Marie Blanche de Broglie.  I think she still has her marvelous cooking school in Paris where, since 1975, she has been offering food-lovers the world-over the opportunity to discover French gastronomy and the art of entertaining, à la Française, in a traditional way that is adaptable to modern living.

In the early 70's she met Julia Child and one of her co-authors, Simone Beck, through a mutual friend.  Having graduated with the Grand Diplôme from the Cordon Bleu during the time when Madame Brassart (the same dreaded lady encountered by Julia Child in the 1950s) was head of the Cordon Bleu school, de Broglie was just getting launched on a culinary career of her own in Paris. She was introduced by columnist Suzanne Patterson, whom she had previously met at  house party near Antibes given by Marie-Blanche's uncle, Prince Louis de Polignac, first cousin of Ranier of Monaco.    She and Julia Child certainly had a lot in common and became good friends.  As Julia always encouraged cooking enthusiasts and professionals, she warmly encouraged Marie-Blanche - fluent in English - to expand her relationships and courses right into the U.S, an idea she seized on joyously. De Broglie was also thrilled to have a preface on her book The Cuisine of Normandy (1984) written by Simone Beck, the great cooking teacher whose roots were in Normandy and the rich produce and cuisine there.

If you have never been to Normandy or had its cuisine, you are in for a treat.  This is the land of apples and cider, luscious pears, butter and cream, Calvados, the famous chickens from Bresse, and all those rich buttery things that should make us fat but somehow don't when you live there.  Marvelous seafood as well as lamb.  We once rented a house in Normandy for two weeks and loved it.  Remember the post on Barfleur and the Moules Mariniere? 

This recipe is fairly light by Norman standards - no heavy cream or tons of butter.  So go for it!

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 C sugar
3 C water
3 to 4 pears
2 C milk
1/3 C plus 1 TB sugar
6 egg yolks
2 TB flour
2 TB rum or pear brandy
2 TB ground almonds
5 to 6 macaroons crushed (2/3 Cup)*
Powdered sugar (for garnish)

Method

To poach the pears, heat the sugar and water in a large saucepan. Peel, halve and core the pears and immerse them in the syrup.  Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes or until just tender.  Cool them in the syrup.

Bring the milk to a boil with 1 TB sugar and remove it from the heat.  Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and remaining sugar with flour in another saucepan until they are thick and lighter in color.  Pour the hot milk slowly over the mixture, stirring constantly.  Return the mixture to heat, bring it to a boil and cook stirring, 1 minute.  Remove the custard from the heat and flavor it to taste with the pear brandy or rum and ground almonds. 

Spread a thin layer of custard in a buttered ovenproof dish, top with a layer of sliced pears, and sprinkle the pears with macaroon crumbs.  Continue in this fashion forming 2 or 3 layers, ending with a layer of custard sprinkled heavily with macaroon crumbs.  (you may prepare the dessert a few hours ahead to this point).

When you are ready to serve, dust the top with powdered sugar and heat the custard in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Then run under the broiler to brown the top.  Serve hot or warm.

*I use almond macaroons or amaretti cookies which you can buy or make.

Espresso Pots de Creme...Dessert In A Cup

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This is a wonderful dessert to have in your repertoire.  You can serve the pots for lunch or dinner, any time of the year.  If you serve them in fancy cups, which you can do because of the low oven temperture, you can  place a saucer underneath and kill two birds with one stone.  It will take a die hard coffee drinker to ask for a cup after these!

They go well after nearly any entree, but if you serve them on the cool side, they are great after spicy dishes such as the Lamb Tagine, The Shrimp Creole, a curry, or even the Chicken Chili.   After Haagen Daz Coffee Ice Cream, these are my favorites!

This is definitely a rich but lite dessert.  Whatever you do, dont try substituting milk for the cream.  If you must, make something else and save these for a time when you are not watching your figure!  You will be sorry if you do.

Ingredients


2 cups heavy cream

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 vanilla bean, split

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon instant espresso

6 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Chocolate chavings or espresso beans for garnish


Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Combine heavy cream, half-and-half, vanilla bean, and sugar in a 1-quart heavy saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 180 degrees F. Stir in instant espresso until dissolved.

Place egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl and temper the yolks by gradually adding some of the hot cream mixture.

Return the egg mixture to the pan with the remaining cream mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Strain custard and then ladle 5 to 6 ounces into 8 custard cups or ramekins.

Bake, covered, in a water bath for about 40 minutes or until set. Check at 30 minutes; you may need to reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F for the remaining 10 minutes. The centers should not be firm. They should have the consistency of creme brulee.

Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate if not serving right away. Bring to room temperature before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.

Adapted from Crescent City Coolbook