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By Root 176 0

gives us an opportunity to highlight the summer berries and lemon verbena grown on Partington Ridge here in Big Sur. To make the custard, we infuse crème anglaise with lemon verbena, combine it with whipped cream, and stabilize the mixture with gelatin. Mulberries are a complex berry with distinctive spicy undertones; if you can’t find them, use organic blackberries instead. As for the drop biscuits, they got their name because instead of being cut in a particular size and shape, they’re simply dropped onto a cookie sheet right before baking.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE LEMON VERBENA CUSTARD:

3 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

20 fresh lemon verbena leaves

½ cup honey

12 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

FOR THE DROP BISCUITS:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

¼ cup turbinado sugar

Serves 8 to 10

Start with the custard: Combine 2 cups of the cream with the milk, lemon verbena leaves, and honey in a medium nonreactive saucepan, and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture steep for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and salt in a large bowl until smooth.

Bring the cream mixture back to a boil and temper the hot liquid into the yolks by adding it, one ladle at a time, while whisking vigorously. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, and return the strained liquid to the pan (discard the lemon verbena). Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Transfer it to a clean bowl, let it cool completely.

Place the gelatin in a medium saucepan and whisk in 2 tablespoons cold water. Let it sit undisturbed until the gelatin absorbs all the liquid and resembles applesauce; this will take a few minutes. Meanwhile, whip the remaining 1 cup cream in a mixing bowl until soft peaks form; refrigerate the whipped cream until you’re ready to use it.

Warm the gelatin over very low heat until it melts. Immediately remove it from the heat and slowly whisk in half of the cooled custard; then add the rest. Fold in the chilled whipped cream, and pour the mixture into a chilled bowl. Refrigerate until cold.

While the custard is chilling, bake the drop biscuits: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until pea-size crumbles start to form. Add the cream and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Drop walnut-size spoonfuls of the biscuit mixture onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the biscuits with the turbinado sugar and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Let them cool completely on the sheet.

FOR THE BERRIES:

4 pints mulberries or blackberries

¼ cup sugar

FOR THE SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM:

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

About 30 minutes before serving, toss the berries and sugar in a bowl, and set it aside. (The berries will start to release their juices.)

Prepare the sweetened whipped cream by whisking the cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. (You want the cream to be a little bit runny.)

To build the trifle, spoon the lemon verbena custard into a large trifle bowl, top it with the macerated berries, and then sprinkle the biscuits over the berries. Finish the trifle with the sweetened whipped cream. Scoop the trifle into individual bowls and serve immediately.

Photographs by Sara Remington

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Roasted Apricots

Apricots handle roasting remarkably well. Their sweetness concentrates, and you can get a really special flavor by adding a sprig of lavender or a vanilla bean to the roasting pan. Our favorite variety is the Blenheim apricot because it has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness and tends to be a little smaller than other varieties. Serve these apricots with whipped