Berry Almond Crisp With Cardamom Custard Food

VERY BERRY CROISSANTS

Steps:

• For the almond cream: Add the butter, almond paste, rum, flour, almond extract and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
• For the streusel: Add the butter, flour, oats, turbinado sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the ingredients become a coarse crumb and set aside.
• To build: Cut each croissant in half lengthwise and place cut-side up on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush the cut sides of the croissants with the simple syrup, about 1 teaspoon per half. Equally distribute the almond cream on the croissants followed by the blueberries, and sprinkle the streusel over the top.
• Freeze, uncovered, until totally set, at least 2 hours.
• Remove from the freezer and wrap individually in plastic wrap (to keep the toppings on), then place in large plastic bags.
• To serve: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the croissants out of the plastic bags, remove the plastic wrap, place on a baking sheet and bake until the almond cream has set and the streusel is golden, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar and serve hot or at room temperature.
• Pour 1 cup water into a saucepan and add the granulated sugar. Stir and place the saucepan over medium heat.
• By the time the edges start to simmer, the sugar should have dissolved and the liquid should be completely clear, not cloudy. Immediately remove from the heat and cool completely.
• Store the simple syrup in an airtight container, in the fridge, until ready to use. Simple syrup stays fresh up to 4 weeks.

BLACKBERRY CRISP WITH CARDAMOM CUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the topping: Put flour, sugar, butter and ground cardamom in a medium bowl. Using your fingertips, work ingredients together until the mixture resembles wet sand with a few stray pebbles. (The topping can be made in advance and refrigerated for 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the blackberries with ½ cup/100 grams sugar and transfer the mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish.
• Sprinkle topping over berries loosely, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the topping is well browned. Let cool for 10 minutes, or serve at room temperature.
• As the crisp bakes, make the custard sauce: Put half-and-half and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cardamom seeds and bring to just under a simmer, stirring. Put yolks in a bowl and whisk until smooth, then whisk in 1 cup of hot half-and-half mixture. Pour the contents of the bowl back into the saucepan and cook, whisking, on a very low flame until the mixture barely thickens, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Serve sauce hot, or let cool and refrigerate until ready to use. (Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance.)
• To serve, scoop large spoonfuls of crisp into individual shallow bowls. Ladle the sauce around each serving or pass the sauce at the table.

BERRY-ALMOND CRISP WITH CARDAMOM CUSTARD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees and position rack in lower third. Combine topping ingredients in a bowl.
• Combine filling ingredients in another bowl. Pour filling into a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle with topping.
• Place dish on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until bubbling and golden, about 50 minutes. (Tent with foil if becoming too dark.) Let cool slightly and serve topped with Cardamom Custard.

CARDAMOM CUSTARD

Steps:

• Put the cream, milk and cardamom seeds in a saucepan. Heat until steaming then remove from the heat, pop a lid on the pan and set aside for 20 mins for the flavours to infuse.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar then whisk in the flour. Pour in a little of the warmed milk mixing well to incorporate then gradually whisk in the remaining liquid.
• Rinse out the pan, then sieve the milk mixture back in to remove the cardamom pods. Cook over a low to medium heat, stirring near constantly for 4-5 mins until you have thick custard that coats the back of a spoon. Pour over your favourite pud, or eat the whole lot with a spoon.