yields 8
Crème Brûlée
Ingredients
2.75 cups whole milk
2.75 cups heavy cream (40% milk fat)
.75 cups granulated sugar
.33 cup smooth peanut butter
1.33 cups egg yolks (approximately 16 yolks from large eggs)
Procedure
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine milk, cream, and sugar in a 2-quart saucepot. Stir and place on high heat. Remove from heat just before it boils, approximately 8-10 minutes.
Place peanut butter into a heat-proof bowl and pour approximately 1 cup of hot milk mixture over the top. With a wire whip, whisk until smooth. Pour the smooth peanut butter mixture back into the hot milk mixture and stir until fully incorporated and dissolved.
Place egg yolks into a heat-proof bowl and temper hot peanut butter milk mixture in using a whisk. Strain the tempered base into a metal container and place in ice water to cool immediately. (If you prefer, you may pre-heat a convection oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and pour the warm base immediately into 8 6-ounce ramekins which have been placed on a flat baking sheet.)
If you have a brûlée torch, quickly burn off all the small bubbles which have developed on top of the liquid after portioning.
Place ramekins in a dry half sheet pan in center of oven rack and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Open oven door and check the brûlées by lightly tapping the pan – you are looking for a slight jiggle in the center of the brûlée, about the size of a nickel.
Remove from oven and allow the pan to cool completely (approximately 40 minutes) then place in refrigerator until ready to serve. The brûlées can be made 2 to 3 days in advance.
Strawberry Pâte de Fruit
Ingredients
1 pound frozen strawberry purée, defrosted
4 teaspoons powdered apple or citrus pectin
18 ounces granulated sugar, divided
1.5 ounces light corn syrup
Procedure
To prepare the frame to be used for the pâte de fruit, form a square with your 4 9-inch metal rods on a non-stick silicone mat, placed on a marble slab or a 1-inch thick piece of treated plywood. Spray the mat and frame slightly with pan release and place on a flat work space.
Over medium heat, heat the purée in a small 2- or 3-quart sauce pot just until warm, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Combine the pectin with 2 ounces of granulated sugar in a small container and mix together well. Slowly whisk the pectin into the warm purée and then increase heat slightly to medium high. Once the purée begins to bubble and simmer, approximately 5-10 minutes, whisk in the corn syrup and then the additional 16 ounces of sugar. Using a high heat rubber spatula, stir continuously, focusing on the edges and the bottom to prevent burning. Continue cooking on medium-high heat, using a thermometer, cooking until the mixture reaches 223 degrees Fahrenheit.
Immediately add the hot mixture into prepared metal frame and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour. You may also transfer the frame to the refrigerator to set faster. Once the base is completely cool and set, using a large chef's knife dipped in hot water, measure with a ruler and cut 1-inch strips; then cut those strips into 1-inch squares. The frame should yield 81 pieces. NOTE: If you scale this recipe down any smaller, it does not cook properly.
Cinnamon Toast Crisps
Ingredients
2 slices white bread (in New Orleans we use Bunny Bread, but you can use Wonder Bread)
2 tablespoon salted butter, melted
1 tablespoon cinnamon-sugar*
Procedure
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
*To make cinnamon/sugar, mix 2.5 teaspoons granulated sugar with .5 teaspoons ground cinnamon and reserve.
Stack the two pieces of bread on top of each other and cut off the crusts. Using a rolling pin, roll each slice as thin and flat as possible. Cut each rolled slice into four equal pieces and trim up the edges to make perfect squares. Place the 8 squares of bread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle each square with cinnamon-sugar. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 6-8 minutes until golden brown.
Assembly
Sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the chilled brûlée dish and shake off any excess. Using a brûlée torch or a commercial propane torch, burn the sugar until medium to dark caramelization. Place one cinnamon toast crisp on top of the burned brûlée and then one square-cut pâte de fruit on top of the toast crisp, and garnish with micro mint leaves on the very top. The presentation of the dessert is stacked.