Calvados Vanilla Cream Food

CALVADOS CREAM

Steps:

• Whip cream and confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Stir in Calvados. Use immediately.

CALVADOS CUSTARD

Steps:

• Heat milk, cream, vanilla pod and the vanilla seeds to a boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 mins, then discard the vanilla pod.
• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Add to the milk mixture and whisk to combine. Cook very gently until thickened - when it's ready, the custard should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and add the Calvados. Serve warm or cold.

EASIEST VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a saucepan or a microwave-safe container, combine cream, half-and-half and vanilla bean and seeds (or tea and vanilla extract). On the stove or in the microwave, bring mixture to a simmer. Immediately turn off heat.
• Add sugar or corn syrup and salt and mix until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Taste and add more sugar and salt as needed to balance the flavors. The mixture should taste slightly too sweet when warm; the sweetness will be muted when the ice cream is frozen.
• Strain mixture into a container and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
• Churn mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to an airtight container and let freeze until hard.

APPLE CARAMEL CALVADOS CREPES

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, combine flour, milk and egg. Process just until blended. Pour into a pitcher and stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter and the Calvados.
• Place a crepe pan or small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush with butter. Allow pan to heat for about a minute; if it is not hot enough batter will not spread thinly. Ladle a scant 1/4-cup batter into pan and quickly swirl so batter forms a thin pancake. Return pan to heat and watch for tiny bubbles to form on surface and edges of pancake. Flip pancake; it should be light golden brown. Allow to cook about 30 seconds longer, then transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper. Continue making pancakes, layering each one with parchment. Crepes may be covered and stored at room temperature for up to a day.
• Peel, core and cut each apple in two. Cut the two pieces into four wedges, and cut each wedge crosswise. Place in a saucepan and add lemon juice, butter and sugar. Place over medium heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Cover and continue to cook and stir for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
• In a small saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes, then add cream and Calvados. Continue to simmer until thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• To assemble, place a room-temperature crepe on a plate. Spoon warm apple filling into center, and fold edges over it. Drizzle warm sauce on top. Repeat with remaining crepes, and serve.

CALVADOS ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Pour half and half into heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Whisk sugar, yolks and corn syrup in medium heatproof bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot half and half mixture. Return to saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Strain into bowl. Mix in crème fraîche and Calvados. Chill until cold. Transfer to ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to covered container; freeze. (Can be made 3 days ahead.)

APPLE CRUMBLE ICE CREAM WITH CALVADOS AND CRéME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• 1. To make the crumble, preheat the over to 350°F; position a rack in the middle. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg until combined. Add the butter and, using a fork, cut it into the mixture until it resembles wet sand. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or until chilled. Sprinkle the chilled crumble mixture over the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the crumble cool completely before breaking it into small pieces. Set aside.
• 3. To make the apples, in a saucepan, combine the apples, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and let the fruit macerate for 30 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat and cook until the apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in the calvados; let cool to room temperature.
• 4. To make the ice cream base, pour the milk into a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water). Whisk in 1/2 cup (100 grams) of the sugar and the salt and stir until they have dissolved. Warm the mixture until you see stream rising from the top.
• 5. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl and set another bowl over it. Set aside.
• 6. In a medium bowl, with a kitchen towel underneath it to prevent slipping, whisk together the egg yolks with the remaining 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar until uniform. While whisking, add a splash of the hot dairy mixture, whisking it in bit by bit, until you've added about half. Add the yolk mixture to the remaining dairy mixture in the double boiler. Set the heat under the double boiler to medium and cook the custard, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon and reducing the heat to medium-low as necessary, until steam begins to rise from the surface and the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Hold the spoon horizontally and run your finger through the custard. If the trail left by your finger stays separated, the custard is ready to be cooled.
• 7. Strain the custard into a bowl and stir in the crème fraîche. If the mixture seems a bit runny and has lost its thick consistency, return the custard to the double boiler, and cook, stirring, until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. Repeat the finger gap test until the trail left by your finger stays separated. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting over the prepared ice bath, add the vanilla, and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the custard has cooled. Transfer the custard to a quart-size container, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight.
• 8. Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the container in which you refrigerated the custard in the freezer so you can use it to store the finished ice cream. Churn the ice cream until the texture resembles "soft serve." In the last 30 seconds of churning, add the crumble and the cooked apples. You can also manually fold the crumble and apples into the ice cream. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled storage container and freeze until hardened to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can serve it immediately-it will be the consistency of gelato. The ice cream will keep, frozen, for up to 7 days.

CALVADOS CRèME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half and the vanilla bean to just a simmer, and then immediately remove the pan from the heat.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and the sugar until they are smooth and add a small bit of the hot vanilla cream, stirring constantly.
• Immediately transfer the warmed egg mixture back into the hot cream and continue whisking until they are completely incorporated.
• Heat the mixture over low-medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reads 170 degrees on a digital candy thermometer or is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove from heat, stir in the Calvados, and chill the custard completely before serving it.

APPLE WALNUT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE WITH CALVADOS CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make topping:
• Peel, core, and quarter apples.
• In a well-seasoned 10 1/4 by 2-inch cast-iron skillet or a 10- by 2-inch non-stick skillet melt butter over moderately low heat just until melted (butter should not separate). Stir in sugar until combined well. Arrange apple quarters decoratively, cut sides up, in skillet and sprinkle walnuts evenly in between apples. Cook mixture, undisturbed, 25 to 35 minutes, or until apples are tender in centers and sugar is a golden caramel.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Make cake batter while topping is cooking:
• Peel apple and chop fine.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In another bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and ginger and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream and with mixer on low speed beat in flour mixture gradually until just combined. Fold chopped apple into batter.
• Remove skillet from heat and spoon batter evenly over topping. With a metal spatula spread batter (being careful not to disturb topping), leaving a 1/4-inch border of cooked apples uncovered. If using a non-stick skillet with a plastic handle, wrap handle in a double thickness of foil. Put skillet in a shallow baking pan and bake cake in middle of oven 25 to 35 minutes, or until a tester comes out with crumbs adhering and cake is golden brown. Cool cake in skillet on a rack 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of skillet and carefully invert cake onto a plate.
• Serve cake warm or at room temperature with caramel sauce and whipped cream.
• To make Calvados caramel sauce:
• In a dry heavy saucepan (about 2 quarts) cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted and cook without stirring, swirling pan, until a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add water and brandy down side of pan (caramel will bubble and steam). Return pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved. Stir in butter. Sauce may be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat sauce to warm before serving.
• Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

APPLE BREAD PUDDING WITH CALVADOS SAUCE

Steps:

• Butter a 6 to 8 cup souffle dish or other baking dish.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the apples and sauté about 5 minutes, until the apples start to brown.
• Add 3 tablespoons sugar and sauté a minute or two until the sugar caramelizes.
• Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and add one half of the Calvados.
• Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in the pan over low heat and add the bread, tossing for a few minutes until the bread is coated with the butter.
• Spoon half the apples into the souffle dish and top with half the bread.
• Repeat with the other half of the apples and the other half of the bread.
• Put some water on to heat while you fix the cream.
• Place the half-and-half in a saucepan with the vanilla bean and scald and stir in 1/2 cup of sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from heat and whisk a little of the cream mixture into the beaten eggs then slowly whisk the eggs into the cream mixture.
• Strain the liquid into the souffle dish and then dust the top of the pudding with the grated nutmeg.
• Place the souffle dish on top of a kitchen towel in a roasting pan in the oven.
• Pour the simmering water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the souffle dish.
• Bake 40 minutes, until just set.
• Meanwhile, boil the cider until it is reduced by half.
• Sift the remaining sugar with the cornstarch and whisk this mixture into the cider.
• Simmer until thickened, then remove from heat and add remaining Calvados.
• Serve the sauce warm on the pudding.