Charlotte's recipes

Crème Patisserie
* 2 cups whole milk
* 6 egg yolks at room temperature
* 5 oz. sugar
* 1 ½ oz. cornstarch
* 1 t vanilla

Bring two cups of milk just to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan. In a stainless steel bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Temper yolk mixture with milk. Put milk and yolk mixture back on the heat, whisking constantly. When mixture starts to thicken, whisk faster until it boils, and then remove from heat. Add vanilla and pour into a stainless steel bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar, and place plastic wrap directly on top of crème. Put in fridge and chill before serving. This can be used as a filling for fruit tarts, Napoleans, cream puffs, éclairs, etc.

Chocolate Raspberry Soufflé
* 1 pint raspberries, pureed and strained
* 8 eggs separated
* 4 oz sugar
* 3 oz all purpose flour
* 8 oz bittersweet good quality chocolate, chopped
* 2 oz Chambord liqueur
* 2T melted butter
* sugar for dusting ramekins

Heat the raspberry puree to lukewarm in a heavy saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks with 3 oz of sugar in large mixing bowl; whisk in flour and raspberry puree, and return mixture to heavy saucepan.

Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick. Do not allow it to boil. Remove from heat, and stir in chocolate until completely melted. Mix in liqueur. Cover the base mixture with plastic to prevent a skin from forming.

Meanwhile, butter six ramekins and dust with sugar. Preheat the oven to 425.

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with the remaining 1 oz. of the sugar. And here is the part where you will see it: the coming together of two very different mixtures, as you fold the egg whites into the chocolate. Neither one will be willing to give up its substance: the darkness of the chocolate will become part of the foam of the egg whites, and vice versa.

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins, just ¼ inch shy of the rim. Bake immediately. The soufflés are done when they are well risen, golden brown on top, with edges that appear dry – about twenty minutes.

Sweet Pastry Dough
* ½ cup + 2T cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
* 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
* pinch of salt
* 1T sugar
* 1 large egg yolk
* 1 T ice water

In food processor combine flour, salt, sugar and butter. Pulse until coarse. In small bowl whisk egg yolk and ice water. With processor running add yolk mixture to flour and butter until ball forms. Remove dough, wrap in plastic, flatten to a disk and chill for 1 hour.

Roll dough out on lightly floured surface, place in tart pan with removal bottom. Chill dough before baking.

Preheat oven to 375. Remove tart pan from fridge, prick crust all over with a fork, line shell with foil and fill with dried beans. Bake for 17 minutes, remove foil and beans and continue baking for another 6 minutes. Cool completely before filling.

Apricot Tart
You will need: 1 x Sweet Pastry Dough Tart shell-blind baked
* 2-3 apricots, sliced
* 2 egg yolks
* 1 cup heavy cream
* ¾ cup sugar
* 1 ½ T flour
* ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts

Peel apricots, slice and arrange in bottom of blind- baked tart shell

Combine cream, egg yolks, sugar and flour. Pour over apricots, sprinkle with almonds. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Divinity
* 2 ½ cups sugar
* pinch of salt
* ½ cup light corn syrup
* ½ cup water
* 3 large egg whites
* I Teaspoon vanilla
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* 1/2 cup dried cherries, blueberries, or cranberries

In a two quart saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Using a candy thermometer, heat to hardball stage, stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. Meanwhile, beat the eggs white to stiff peaks. When the syrup reaches 260 degrees F, add it gradually to the egg whites while beating at high speed in a mixer. Add vanilla. Continue to beat until the candy takes shape – about five minutes. Stir in the nuts and cherries. Quickly drop the candy from a teaspoon onto waxed paper, finishing each piece with a swirl, and let cool to room temperature.

Crème Caramel
Caramel
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/3 c water
* 2 T light corn syrup
* ¼ t lemon juice

Custard
* 1 ½ c whole milk
* 1 ½ c light whipping cream
* 3 large eggs
* 2 large egg yolks
* 2/3 c sugar
* 1 ½ t vanilla extract
* Pinch of salt

You can make one large crème caramel, but I like to make individual ones in ramekins. To make the caramel, mix sugar, water, corn syrup and lemon juice in a medium nonreactive saucepan (a light colored one, so you can see the color of the syrup). Simmer over medium-high heat – wiping the sides of the pan with a wet cloth to make sure there are no sugar crystals lurking that might cause crystallization. Cook for about eight minutes, until syrup turns from clear to gold, swirling the pan to make sure browning occurs evenly. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes, swirling pan constantly, until large bubbles on the mixture’s surface turn honey-colored. Remove pan immediately from heat and pour a portion of the caramel into each of eight ungreased 5 or 6 oz. ovenproof ramekins. Allow the caramel to cool and harden, about 15 minutes. (These can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to two days, but return them to room temperature before you move onto to the next step.)

To make custard, heat milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until a thermometer in the liquid reads 160 degrees. Remove mixture from heat. Meanwhile, whisk eggs, yolks and sugar in a large bowl until just combined. Whisk the warm milk mixture, vanilla, and salt into the egg mixture until just mixed – but not foamy. Strain mixture through a mesh sieve into a large measuring cup and set aside.

Bring two quarts of water to boil. Meanwhile, fold a dish towel to fit the bottom of a large roasting pan. Divide reserved custard mixture between the ramekins and place the filled ramekins on the towel in the pan, making sure they do not touch. Set pan on center rack of a 350 degree oven. Fill pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the ramekins and cover entire pan loosely with aluminum foil, so that steam can escape. Bake 35-40 minutes, until a paring knife inserted halfway between the center and edge of the custards comes out clean.

Transfer custards to wire rack and cool to room temperature. To unmold, slide a paring knife around the outer edge of the custard, hold serving plate over the top of the ramekin, invert, and shake gently to release the custard. Serve immediately.

Sunday Morning Sticky Rolls
Dough
* 3 ¾ cup flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 t salt
* 2 packages active dry yeast
* 1 c heated milk
* 1/3 c butter, softened
* 1 egg

Caramel
* ¾ c dark brown sugar
* ½ c unsalted butter
* ¼ c light corn syrup
* ¾ c pecan halves
* 2 T butter, softened

Filling
* ½ c pecans, chopped
* 2 T sugar
* 2 T brown sugar
* 1 t cinnamon

To make the dough, mix together 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the heated milk, the egg, and 1/3 cup butter, and beat at low speed for a minute, pausing frequently to scrape the bowl. Add flour if necessary, to make the dough easier to shape.

On lightly floured surface, turn dough out and knead five minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. This, I will add, was your favorite part – you would stand on a chair and throw your weight into it. When finished, put into greased bowl and turn over once, so greased side faces up. Cover and let proof until double in size, about 1 ½ hours. It’s ready if you poke it and the mark of your finger is left behind.

Caramel comes next: Stirring constantly, heat 3/4 cup brown sugar and ½ cup butter to boiling. Remove from heat and add corn syrup. Pour the mixture into a 13x9x2 inch ungreased pan. Sprinkle with pecan halves.

For the filling, mix together the chopped pecans, the 2 T of sugar and 2 T of brown sugar, and the cinnamon, set aside.

Take your fist and punch down the dough. Then, on a lightly floured surface, flatten it into a rectangle, about 15x10 inches. Spread with 2 T of butter and then dust evenly with the chopped pecan mixture. Beginning at the 10 inch side of the rectangle, roll the dough up tightly and pinch the edge to seal. Roll it, stretch it, mold it until it is even, a cylinder.

Cut the roll into eight quarter-inch slices, and place in pan, not quite touching. Wrap pan tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate at least 12 hours, overnight. Dream of them rising, that proof again, evidence that some things grow bigger than we ever expect.

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately invert on a platter and serve warm.

Blueberry Peach Buckle
For topping
* 1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1/4 cup all purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon fresh ginger-peeled and grated

Batter
* 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
* 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 ½ c flour
* Pinch of salt
* 3 large eggs
* 2-3 cups wild blueberries (can substitute frozen if fresh are not available)
* 2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced*

Butter and flour 8x8 pan; preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First, make the topping: in a small bowl combine butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon and ginger until it resembles coarse meal, and set aside.

Then, make the batter by sifting together flour, baking powder and salt. Set this aside, too.

In bowl of electric mixer using the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar until creamy and soft (about 3-4 minutes). Add vanilla. Beat eggs in one at a time. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in berries and peaches. Spread batter into prepared pan and crumble topping mixture on top of batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean, and the top of the buckle is golden.

*The best way to peel peaches is to cut a small cross at the base of each peach, and drop into a pot of boiling water for one minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately place the peach in ice water. Peel the peach – the skin will come right off – and slice into thin wedges or small pieces for the buckle.

Lemon Meringue Pie
You will need: 1 pie shell, blind-baked

Filling
* 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
* 6 T corn starch
* Pinch of salt
* 1 1/3 cup cold water
* 2 T unsalted butter
* ½ c fresh lemon juice
* 5 egg yolks
* 1 T grated lemon zest

Prepare pie shell. Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn starch, salt, and water in a non-reactive saucepan. Mix until there are no lumps and whisk as it gradually comes to a boil. Remove from heat, add butter.
In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Add a small amount of the hot liquid mixture and whisk until smooth. Add egg mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, continuing to whisk as it thickens, approximately two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest.

Meringue
* 6 large egg whites at room temperature
* Pinch of cream of tartar
* Pinch of salt
* ¾ cup sugar

On low speed beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until combined. Increase speed and whip until they form stiff peaks. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add lemon filling to the prebaked crust and top with meringue. Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to touch the edges of the crust. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let the pie cool for about two hours, and then refrigerate to prevent weeping.

Willow’s Sabayon, with Clouds
Sabayon
* 6 egg yolks
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup light rum or Grand Marnier
* 2 cups heavy cream, whipped

Whisk eggs and sugar over double boiler. Once they are completely mixed, fold in whipped cream. Remove from heat, pass through a sieve, and add rum.

Clouds
* 2 cups milk or water
* 5 egg whites
* 1/3 cup sugar
* pinch of salt

Place egg whites and pinch of salt in mixing bowl; on low speed mix whites until smooth. Gradually increase speed and sprinkle in sugar. Beat until whites hold a soft peak – this is meringue, the cloud I imagine you resting on nowadays. Meanwhile, simmer water or milk. Take spoonful of meringue and gently drop into simmering liquid. Cook meringue for 2-3 minutes and with slotted spoon, turn over and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Transfer poached meringue to paper towel. They are fragile.

Spun Sugar
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon corn syrup
* Cooking spray

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, wiping any excess off with a paper towel. Place the sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Raise heat to high and bring mixture to a boil, until a candy thermometer registers 310 F (hard-crack stage). Remove from heat and cool slightly. Let stand to thicken, about 1 minute.

Dip a fork into the sugar syrup and wave back and forth over the baking sheet to paint long threads of sugar. The syrup will begin hardening almost immediately. With practice you can form the strands into lace, swirls, the letters of your name.
To serve, take some of the sabayon sauce and spoon it in a shallow bowl or large plate and top with 2 poached meringues. Gently place a few threads of spun sugar around the meringue, not on top, or it will deflate.