Basil Custard With Apricot Caramel Dessert Food

TIETON APRICOT TART WITH BASIL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, almond meal, 1 tablespoon sugar, lemon zest, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is in pea-sized crumbles. Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together.
• Press dough evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 12x16-inch tart pan or sheet pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Whisk egg yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed pot. Whisk in milk. Add whole basil sprigs.
• Cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to steam, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Remove basil sprigs with tongs and discard. Whisk vigorously until custard thickens, about 1 minute.
• Set a wire mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour custard into the strainer; use a rubber spatula to press it through the strainer into the bowl. Whisk vanilla extract into the custard. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.
• Pour cooled custard over crust; spread evenly to edges of crust with a rubber spatula. Arrange apricot slices on top.
• Scoop apricot jam into a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high until melted, about 1 minute. Brush jam over apricot slices.

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Slice the apricots 3/4-inch thick, discarding the pits. Place the apricots in the prebaked tart shell in a decorative pattern. Set aside.
• Combine the sugar, egg yolks, and cream in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Stir in the flour and salt. Carefully pour the creamy mixture over the apricots.
• Sprinkle the almonds over the top of the tart. Bake until the custard is almost completely set, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg and cream together. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Using the paddle attachment on low speed, mix in the butter until it is the size of small peas. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg mixture. Mix the dough just until it is no longer dry looking. It will still be loose and crumbly at this point.
• Place the dough on the work surface. With your hands, combine and form the dough into a single ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm but still malleable.
• Roll out dough and fit it into a 9 1/2-inch tart shell. Prebake the shell in a preheated 325 degree F oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes
• Yield: 1 (9 1/2-inch) tart shell

LEMON SNOW PUDDING WITH BASIL CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Make snow pudding:
• Stir gelatin into cold water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in hot water, sugar, and lemon zest and juice until sugar has dissolved. Set bowl in an ice bath and stir often until mixture is cold and thickened (consistency will be similar to that of raw egg whites), about 45 minutes.
• Beat gelatin mixture with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until very frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat whites until they hold soft peaks.
• Add whites to gelatin mixture and beat at high speed until tripled in volume and thick enough to form a wide flat ribbon that holds its shape on top of mixture when beater is lifted, about 5 minutes (longer if using a hand-held mixer). Transfer to a large serving bowl and chill until set, about 3 hours.
• Make custard while snow pudding sets:
• Bring milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt just to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
• Put yolks in a small bowl. Strain milk mixture through a sieve into another bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding basil, and return to saucepan. Whisk about 1/2 cup warm milk mixture into yolks, then whisk into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer.
• Transfer custard sauce to a bowl and chill, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 2 hours.
• Assemble dessert:
• Spoon snow pudding into glasses or bowls and top with custard sauce.

APRICOT BREAD PUDDING WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Simmer Grand Marnier and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan 5 minutes. Cool mixture completely. Whisk Grand Marnier-water mixture, cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg in large bowl to blend. Place croissant pieces in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; add apricots and toss to combine. Pour custard over croissant-apricot mixture, pressing down gently with rubber spatula so that croissant and apricot pieces are evenly covered. Let stand 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Place dish in larger roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of baking dish. Bake 1 hour.
• Remove aluminum foil and continue baking until bread pudding is golden brown on top and firm to touch, about 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread pudding from oven and from water bath; cool slightly. Drizzle bread pudding with Caramel Sauce, if desired, and serve warm.

SPICED ORANGE CARAMEL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place the ramekins in a deep oven-safe pan or dish. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla bean and scrapings, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, orange zest and ginger over medium heat. Cook until it comes to a simmer. Turn off heat and let it steep for 10 minutes.
• While the heavy cream is steeping, place the sugar and water in a medium saucepan with tall sides. Before turning on the heat, gently mix until the sugar turns the consistency of wet sand. Then cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until the sugar starts to melt and turns deep amber. Turn off the heat and slowly whisk in the warm heavy cream mixture.
• In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and salt. Slowly stir in the warm caramel mixture. Strain this custard through a fine sieve and discard spices.
• Pour the custard into the ramekins and fill the baking pan with boiling water to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to let the water enter inside the ramekin. Cover the baking pan with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil and place inside the oven.
• Bake for 60-75 minutes until the center of the custard is set but still jiggles slightly. Remove from oven and let the ramekins sit in the pan until cool enough to handle. Dry the bottoms of the ramekins and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with whipped cream and chopped pistachios.