Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [79]
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lime juice
FOR THE CREPES
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
teaspoon salt
One 5 ½-ounce can coconut milk
6 tablespoons milk (regular, low-fat, or nonfat)
1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature, or 3 tablespoons pasteurized egg substitute such as Egg Beaters, or 6 quail eggs
2 tablespoons sweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon (or more)unsalted butter, at room temperature, for greasing the skillet
1. To make the sauce, purée the peeled kiwi fruit in a food processor, a mini food processor, or a wide-bottom blender. You may need to add 1 or 2 teaspoons water if you’re using a blender. Pour this purée into a small bowl and mix with the chopped pineapple.
2. Cut the passion fruit open and scrape the seeds into the puréed kiwi fruit. Stir in the sugar and lime juice; continue stirring until the sugar dissolves. Set aside. The recipe can be made ahead of time up to this point. Store the sauce, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
3. To make the crepes, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In a separate medium bowl, beat the coconut milk, milk, and egg, egg substitute, or quail eggs until frothy and uniform, using either a whisk or an electric mixer at medium speed. Then beat the coconut milk mixture into the prepared flour mixture, either by hand with a whisk or with the electric mixer; beat just until smooth, about 1 minute by hand or 30 seconds with an electric mixer. Stir in the shredded coconut.
4. Heat a 10-inch skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the butter and swirl the skillet so the melted butter completely coats the bottom. Pour a scant ¼ cup batter into the skillet; shake the skillet vigorously so that the batter spreads out over the entire surface. Cook for 1 minute, just until set. Flip the crepe with a nonstick heat-safe spatula or a heat-safe rubber spatula, then cook for 1 more minute, or until lightly browned. Transfer the crepe to a serving plate and repeat with the remaining batter until 6 crepes are made, placing 3 on each plate. (You can keep them warm in a 250°F oven, if you wish.) You may need to add more butter to the pan, depending on how well seasoned it is, and how sticky the batter has gotten. Add butter in 1-teaspoon increments, swirling it around the pan to coat as necessary.
5. To serve, either spoon some of the sauce into a crepe and fold it closed over the sauce, or roll the coconut crepes into tubes and pour the sauce over them.
NOTE: Passion fruit is ripe when it looks well beyond its prime: the skin should be wrinkled, shriveled, blackened, and quite soft.
Cakes and Other Treats
A cake for two? Why not? With small pans, you can turn out a couple of small cheesecakes or single-serving carrot cakes with even less trouble than required by their larger kin. A dab of icing or a scoop of ice cream—and you’re done. Best of all, you can indulge tonight without staring at the cake on the counter for the rest of the week.
BROWNIES makes 2 brownies
Brownies may be the quintessential American treat. We should know, having written the ultimate book on them! But before the modern conveniences of larger ovens and baking pans, brownies were made in individual tins. So in some senses, we’ve returned them to their roots by making them in two small 1-cup ceramic ramekins. Don’t use paper pastry shells or springform pans—they’re too wide to be successful. The narrower ramekins make dense, fudgy brownies. (For outlets to buy ramekins, see the Source Guide, page 269.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for greasing the ramekins
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the ramekins
½ ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted, and cooled slightly (see page 17)
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pasteurized egg substitute, such as Egg Beaters; or 2 quail eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
teaspoon baking powder
teaspoon salt
l. until smooth, using a wooden