Candied Bacon And Pecan Meringue Tart With Coffee Frozen Custard Food

CANDIED BACON AND PECAN MERINGUE TART WITH COFFEE FROZEN CUSTARD

Steps:

• For the coffee frozen custard: Roughly chop the coffee beans and add to a pot, along with the milk. Heat until steaming.
• Whisk the egg yolks, whole egg and sugar until lightened, about 30 seconds. Temper the eggs by slowly whisking in some of the hot milk. Add back to the saucepan and heat to 170 degrees F on a thermometer, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, vanilla and espresso powder. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, then cool in an ice bath.
• Transfer the frozen custard base to an ice cream maker, churn according to manufacturer's instructions and then freeze until firm.
• For the pate brisee: Combine the pastry flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the butter and pulse until blended and the mixture looks like sand. Drizzle in the eggs, 4 teaspoons water, and vanilla; process just until a dough comes together.
• Transfer the dough to the counter and shape into two 1-inch-thick disks. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• For the filling: Cook the bacon until crispy, though not burned. Drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat, leaving the remaining fat in the pan.
• Roughly chop the pecans and add them to the bacon skillet, along with the brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook over high heat until the sugar melts. Reserve in a bowl.
• Cream together butter, reserved bacon fat, white sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in the vanilla and orange zest.
• Add the eggs in 3 additions, scraping the bowl in between. Blend well.
• Add the light corn syrup and dark corn syrup; blend until smooth. Reserve.
• Par-bake the tart shell: Roll out lemon-size pieces of pate brisee to a 1/4-inch thickness. Place over nine 4-inch tart pans and gently press in.
• Roll the pin over the tart pans to cut away excess dough, then prick the dough with a fork. Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the foil over each tart and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Pre-bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tart shells are lightly browned. Remove the pie weights and foil. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• Finish the tart: Place enough pecans in each tart shell to fill them level, then crumble over some bacon. Pour the filling into the tart shells, filling up to the edge.
• Bake the tarts for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool.
• For the meringue: With an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until foamy. Slowly add the sugar and then the vanilla; whip to a medium peaks. Transfer to a pastry bag.
• Pipe a rosette of meringue onto each tart, then toast with a kitchen torch.
• Serve the tarts with a scoop of the coffee frozen custard.

ORANGE-VANILLA FROZEN CUSTARD

Steps:

• Whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the eggs, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan; whisk in the cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 cup milk until smooth.
• Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until thick enough to coat a spoon, 7 to 8 minutes (do not boil). Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Add the cream and stir until cool. Remove from the ice bath; stir in the vanilla, orange juice concentrate and orange zest. Cover and chill until cold.
• Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe into cups.

CANDIED BACON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
• Separate the bacon into strips and blot each dry. Spread the sugar on a large plate. Press both sides of each bacon strip in the sugar. Arrange the coated bacon on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with any remaining sugar.
• Bake the bacon for 15 minutes, turn the strips over and continue to bake until golden and glazed, 15 to 20 minutes more (it will still be pliable). Remove to a rack and let cool; the bacon will harden but it won't be super crispy.

FROZEN CUSTARD

Steps:

• Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half. Use the back of the knife to gently scrape the caviar out of the bean and into a large saucepan. Add the vanilla bean, half-and-half and sugar and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Whisk the egg yolks in a mixing bowl until pale yellow and slightly thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Temper the yolks by slowly drizzling a ladle of the hot half-and-half mixture into the bowl, whisking the whole time. Repeat with a second ladle of the hot half-and-half mixture, again whisking the whole time.
• Pour the tempered yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining half-and-half mixture and cook over low heat, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, until it's thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Set a fine-mesh strainer over a clean bowl. Pour the custard through the strainer into the bowl. Add the heavy cream to the strained mixture and stir everything together. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
• Pour the chilled mix into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and place in the freezer until frozen firm, at least 6 hours (but overnight is best for nice scoopable ice cream). Serve on its own or with warm apple crisp.

MERINGUE-TOPPED PECAN CUSTARD PIE

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425° ., Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice. Bake on a lower oven rack until edges are light golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake until bottom is golden brown, 3-6 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 350°., In a large heavy saucepan, mix sugar and flour. Whisk in milk and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat., In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and vanilla., For meringue, in a large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high after each addition until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until soft glossy peaks form. , Transfer hot filling to crust. Spread meringue evenly over filling, sealing to edge of crust. Bake until meringue is golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

PECAN MERINGUES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
• Beat egg white until stiff. Add brown sugar to egg white and beat until smooth. Fold pecans into mixture, using a large wooden spoon and stir until nuts are well coated. Drop by spoon onto un-greased cookie sheets. (About 2 pecan halves per spoonful).
• Bake until golden brown and meringue is completely dry - about 1 hour.

PECAN MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Place egg whites in a bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar to whites; beat on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until sugar is dissolved. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold in vanilla, cracker crumbs and pecans., Spread into a greased 9-in. pie plate. Bake until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. , For topping, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Spread over meringue; if desired, sprinkle with additional pecans. Refrigerate until serving.