Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [74]
3. Pour the slightly thickened custard into two small, shallow, heat-safe baking dishes, ramekins, or custard cups, each about ¾ cup to 1 cup in size. Place these baking dishes in a medium roasting pan or a shallow casserole dish; add hot water to the roasting pan until the water comes halfway up the sides of the baking dishes. Bake in this water bath for 50 minutes. To test for doneness, jiggle the pan gently—the custard should appear set. Remove the baking dishes from the water bath, place them on a wire rack, and cool for 5 minutes. The dessert can be made in advance up to this point; cool the custard to room temperature, then cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Let the custards return to room temperature before preparing the topping.
4. Sprinkle each custard with 2 teaspoons sugar. Burn the sugar on the top of each custard with a kitchen blowtorch. Alternatively, preheat the broiler and broil the custards on a broiler rack or baking sheet set about 4 to 6 inches from the heat source; broil until the sugar is caramelized, about 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then serve; or let stand at room temperature for up to 1 hour before serving.
Fruit Desserts
Just a pear or two or a crisp apple—a little bit of fruit makes a great dessert for two, whether quite simple, as in Baked Bananas with Rum, or very elegant, such as Lemon Meringue Tartlets. There’s only one rule of thumb for buying fresh fruit: if it doesn’t smell like anything, it won’t taste like anything either. So buy the best you can find and discover fruit desserts—for the first time or once again.
APPLE CRANBERRY COBBLER makes 2 servings
This cobbler filling is thickened with tapioca, which gives the apples and cranberries the rich taste and texture of a pie filling. The crackly topping includes cornmeal for good crunch. Serve with scoops of vanilla ice cream, dollops of sweetened whipped cream, or sweetened crème fraîche.
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
1 quart water
2 cups whole cranberries
1 medium tart apple (about 6 ounces), such as a Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon orange zest
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking oats)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a shallow 2½-cup au gratin dish or any shallow 2½-cup baking dish; set aside. Toast the pecans in a small, dry skillet set over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and fragrant, stirring often; set aside.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over high heat. Add the cranberries and cook for about 2 minutes, or until half of them pop. Drain, then transfer them to a medium bowl. Stir in the apple slices, ½ cup of the sugar, the tapioca, orange zest, the 1 teaspoon melted butter, and teaspoon of the salt. Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish; set aside while you prepare the topping.
3. In a clean medium bowl, mix the remaining 3 tablespoons of the melted butter with the flour, oats, cornmeal, pecans, vanilla, cinnamon, and the remaining teaspoon of the salt, just until moistened. Gently spread this mixture over the apple filling without pushing down. Wetting the back of a metal teaspoon can help spread the crust without its sticking; or use your fingers to crumble the topping over the fruit filling, distributing it evenly across the surface.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the topping is set like a crust. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Cranberries
Buy fresh cranberries in clear