Even after my many years in this steam-heated country, I cannot really enjoy eating cold or frozen desserts in the wintertime! This is, of course, the result of youthful conditioning. When I was a boy in France, and winters were so cold that we children set out for school with a hot baked potato in each pocket to warm our hands and provide a hot snack on the way, cold desserts were reserved for the summer.
Of course, we were not actually cold at home. During the cool months, we lived and ate in one big room, and a great old-fashioned fireplace kept us comfortable while we children did our lessons, Mother prepared our meals, and Father worked over his accounts. And in the deep of winter, the great black cookstove never stopped burning. But even that fell far short of the warmth supplied by the radiator which sizzles under every American window. Naturally, warm desserts held more appeal for us than cold.
Even today in the great hotels of Paris and London, cold weather brings hot desserts to the menu, and fritters, soufflés, and flambéed fruits take precedence over ice creams and mousses. The simpler puddings, too, are served warm; many a gourmet prefers a warm rice pudding or even a warm crème renversée au caramel or warm oeufs à la neige -which come as a surprise to the American palate-to the cold versions. Oeufs à la neige served warm are so popular that they have a traditional garnish: the meringues which float on the warm soft custard are sprinkled with sugar and glazed with a red hot tisonnier, or flat poker, to make an attractive and appetizing crust. I should like to introduce you in this lesson to the pleasures of warm puddings other than the conventional steamed puddings, which of course are always served piping hot.
The range of hot desserts, les entremets chauds, is, you see, very wide, since it includes everything from the homeliest of puddings to the most elaborate and dramatic preparations.
The first flambéed pudding I ever saw was not, as you might logically suppose, a flamed Christmas pudding, but rather our Sainte-Cécile pudding. This is a warm custard dessert traditional in many parts of France. Sainte Cécile is the patron saint of French musicians, and November 22nd, Sainte-Cécile Day, was always the occasion for a banquet in honor of the town's musicians; providing, of course, that our troupe of forty or fifty-most of them trumpetershad done well in the competitions of the previous summer! I was quite a small boy when for the first time the fanfare of our town's musicians won first prize at the concours. After much local discussion, it was decided that the banquet should take place chez Madame Marie. Now, Madame Marie was a good friend of my mother's, and I had made a habit of taking to Madame flowers for her table, the first wild (lowers of spring, which she particularly loved, the traditional muguets, or lily of the valley of the first of May, and other blooms as they came along. As a reward. I was often permitted to watch when special preparations were under way in the kitchen. On the day of the great banquet, I saw the chef fill the great vol-au-vents and carefully replace the fragile crusty covers. I watched with fascination while he pulled the roasted filets of beef from the oven and arranged the garniture around them on the serving platters. But I was most intrigued, because this was something I had never seen before, when my idol, the rosy cheeked chef, warmed kitsch in a copper pan, poured it carefully over many-colored fruits in the centers of warm custard rings in a row and applied a lighted taper to each dish. I still remember those spectacular blue flames, and to this day I like to make a Sainte-Cécile pudding in November of each year, as a souvenir of that happy rime.
The Sainte-Cécile pudding is typical of the custard puddings that are served warm. This month I should like to give particular attention to the warm desserts that use milk and egg custards as the base for rice, bread, or other ingredients, or use the bland, creamy custard as a foil for fruit.
These puddings are baked rather than steamed, and they are unmolded for serving while they are still warm. A hot pudding is admittedly difficult to unmold, but allowing it to stand for a few minutes and running a flat knife around the inside rim to loosen the sides before attempting to turn the pudding out of the mold makes it easier to handle. The many eggs and egg yolks prescribed for these puddings also help the custard to keep its shape. Steamed puddings have a substantial solidity endowed by bread crumbs, flour, fat, and fruit; baked custard mixtures are far from solid. On the contrary, they should be very light and delicate. But if you follow the rules as they are laid down here, you should have successful results. Be careful not to beat the eggs too much; if too much air is incorporated into the mixture it may prove to be too fragile to unmold neatly. The custard is baked tinder carefully controlled temperature conditions; if the water in the pan is allowed to boil, tiny holes may form in the custard as it bakes, and these holes encourage cracks and the collapse of the pudding when the custard cools.
Vanilla is the favorite flavoring for custards. An inch or so of vanilla bean will flavor one pint of milk. Split the bean lengthwise along one side to expose the tiny seeds. The same piece of vanilla bean may be washed, dried. and used again and again until the last bit of flavor has been extracted. If vanilla extract is used, it must be added at the last possible minute, because cooking destroys much of the flavor of the extract.
A word of warning about combining eggs with any hot mixture: add a little of the hot liquid to the beaten eggs and then return the eggs to the pan. When eggs arc added directly to a hot mixture, they begin to cook at once, and curdling is the inevitable result.
A baked pudding is more often than not accompanied by a sauce. You will find directions for making the appropriate sauces after the pudding recipes.
Crème Sainte-Cécile aux Fruits
Scald 3 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean and let the mixture steep for 15 minutes. Mix together 4 whole eggs and 4 yolks, add ½ cup sugar, and work all together well. Remove the vanilla beau from the milk and add 3 tablespoons finely crushed almond praline. Stir the milk slowly into the egg mixture and pour this custard into a well buttered ring mold. Set the mold in a shallow pan of hot but not boiling water and bake it in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) about 45 minutes, or until the custard is set. Add a little cold water occasionally to keep the water below the boiling point. The custard is done when a small pointed knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let the custard stand until it is lukewarm.
In the meantime, prepare a macédoine of mixed cooked fruit cut in dice or slices, using any desired combination-pears, pineapple, peaches, cherries, oranges, and so on. Drain the juice from the fruit. To each cup of juice, add 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot . mixed with 2 tablespoons cold juice, and cook the juice until it thickens slightly. For each cup of fruit add 1 tablespoon kitsch, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier and 2 tablespoons pureed stewed dried apricots and a little of the thickened fruit juice. Keep the fruit warm. Invert the custard ring on the serving dish and unmold it. Fill the center of the ring with fruit and pour the remaining juice around the ring. Pour a little heated Kirsch, rum, or Cognac over the fruit and ignite it.
Almond Praline
Mix equal quantities of blanched almonds and sugar, and heat the mixture in a heavy skillet until it is well caramelized, stirring to brown it evenly. Add a few drops vanilla extract. Cool the praline on a heatproof platter until it hardens. Crush the praline to a powder by chopping it and pounding it with a heavy rolling pin.
Pouding an Chocolat
In a warm bowl work ¼ cup butter with a wooden spoon until it is creamy. Add ½ cup powdered sugar and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or a few seeds scraped from a split vanilla bean and continue to cream the mixture until it is fluffy. Work in 6 egg yolks, one at a time. Melt ¼ pound bitter chocolate over hot water and add it to the creamed mixture with 3 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch. Fold in 5 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter and flour a 1 ½-quart round or oblong mold and fill it with the pudding mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 45 minutes. Let the pudding stand for 10 or 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve warm with chocolate cream sauce.
Ponding à la Semoule (Farina Pudding)
Combine in a saucepan 1 quart milk, ½ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, a piece of vanilla bean, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and sprinkle in slowly I cup farina, stirring constantly. Cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring from time to time. Turn the mixture into a bowl and remove the vanilla bean. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 6 egg yolks, well beaten. Fold in 4 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter a cylindrical mold or a mold with a tube in the center and sprinkle the mold with a little farina, fill it with the pudding, set it in a pan of boiling water, and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the pudding stand for 10 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve with fruit sauce or sauce sabayon.
Gâteau de Riz an Caramel (Rice Mold with Caramel)
Wash 2/3 cup rice in several changes of cold water and pur it into a saucepan With 3 Clips cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the rice for 3 or 4 minutes. Drain the rice and put it in a deep baking dish. Scald 2 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean, remove the bean, and pour the milk over the rice. Cover the dish tightly and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for ½ hour. Do not stir the rice.
Cream 2 tablespoons butter with ½ cup sugar and add 3 beaten egg yolks. Add the Cooked rice and milk, tossing the mixture well with a fork. Coat the bottom and sides of a straight mold with caramel syrup (page 70) and fill it with the rice mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot but not boiling water and bake the pudding in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 30 to 40 minutes. Add a little cold water as needed to keep the water in the pan below the boiling point. Let the pudding stand for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Pour a little caramel syrup around the pudding and serve it warm.
Rice Santa Clara
Wash 1 cup rice in several changes of cold water and put it into a saucepan with 1 quart water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain the rice in a sieve and rinse it with cold water. Scald 2 ½ cups milk and add the precooked rice, 6 tablespoons sugar. ¼ teaspoon salt, and a piece of vanilla bean. Bring the mixture to a boil, add 1 tablespoon butter, cover the pan, and simmer the pudding gently for ½ hour or cook it in the top of a double boiler for 45 minutes, until the rice is tender. Toss the rice with a fork to separate the grains and add 4 slightly beaten egg yolks. Butter and sugar a ring mold and fill it with the rice mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and bake the pudding in a moderately slow oven (325° F.) for 40 to 45 minutes. Add a little cold water as necessary to keep the water in the pan below the boiling point. Let the pudding stand for 8 to 10 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish.
Fill the center of the ring with prunes prepared as follows: Soak ½ pound prunes for several hours in cold water and drain them. Simmer them with 1 cup red wine. I cup water, and 2 slices lemon until they are soft and the liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Add 3 tablespoons puree of cooked dried apricots. Pile the prunes in the center of the mold and pour around the ring the sauce in which the fruit was cooked. Serve warm.
Ponding au Riz à la Parisienne (Hot Rice Pudding Parisian)
Wash ½ cup rice in several changes of cold water and put it into a saucepan with 3 cups water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain the rice in a sieve. Scald 2 cups milk and add the rice, 2 tablespoons sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon butter. Cover the pan and simmer the rice gently for ½ hour, until it is very tender. Add ¾ cup crème patissière (March, 1956) and toss the mixture with a fork. Spread the rice in a shallow heatproof dish, sprinkle it with powdered sugar, and brown it lightly under the broiler. Serve the pudding warm with light cream or thin vanilla sauce.
Souffle dc Riz (Rice Pudding Soufflé)
Wash 1 cup rice in several changes of cold water and put it into a saucepan with 1 quart water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain the rice and rinse it with cold water. Scald 2 ½ cups milk and add the rice, 6 tablespoons sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and a piece of vanilla bean. Bring the milk to a boil, add 1 tablespoon butter, cover the pan, and simmer the pudding gently ½ hour or cook it in the top of a double boiler for 45 minutes, until the rice is tender. Toss the grains with a fork to separate them and stir in 5 egg yolks, slightly beaten. Fold in 5 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter and sprinkle with sugar a deep ring mold and fill it two-thirds full with this mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and cook the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 45 to 50 minutes. Let the soufflé stand for 6 to 8 minutes before unmolding it on a serving platter. Four vanilla sauce or sauce sabayon around the ring.
Titubate Paysanne ( Country-Style Timbale)
Wash 2/3 cup rice in several changes of cold water and put it in a saucepan with 3 cups water. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the rice stand for 5 minutes. Drain the rice in a sieve and rinse it with cold running water. Scald 1 ½ cups milk and add the rice, a pinch of salt, 4 tablespoons sugar, and a piece of vanilla bean. Bring the milk to a boil, add ½ tablespoon butter, cover the pan, and simmer the mixture very gently for ½ hour or cook it in the top of a double boiler for 45 minutes, until the rice is render. Remove the vanilla bean and toss the rice with a fork to separate the grains. Mix in 2 lightly beaten egg yolks. Fill an unbaked 9-inch pie shell two-thirds full with thick apple sauce and bake the pie in a hot oven (425° F.) for 20 minutes, until the shell is lightly browned. Fold into the rice mixture 2 egg whites, beaten stiff. Spread the rice on the apple sauce and sprinkle it with sugar. Bake the pie in a moderately hot oven (375° F.) until the top is browned. Serve hot or warm.
Ponding an Riz à l Anglaise (English Rice Pudding)
Combine 2 ½ cups milk and ½ cup rice in the top of a double boiler, set the pan over hot water, and cook the rice for about 45 minutes, stirring it occasionally with a fork. Beat 2 egg yolks with ¼ cup each of sugar and cream and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Combine the egg mixture with the rice and milk and pour it into a buttered baking dish. Bake the pudding in a hot oven (400° F.) until the top is browned, or brown the top quickly under the broiler. If desired, 2 or 3 tablespoons raisins may be added to the pudding.
Cabinet Pudding
Soak 2 tablespoons raisins in a little warm water to make them plump. Drain them and mix them with 3 tablespoons diced candied fruit and 1 tablespoon kitsch or another liqueur. Scald 2 cups milk with a piece of vanilla bean. Beat together 3 eggs, 2 egg yolks, and ½ cup sugar. Add the milk slowly to the egg and sugar. Strain the custard. Spread half the mixed fruit in the bottom of a buttered charlotte mold and cover it with 3 ladyfingers or macaroons broken in small pieces. Pour half the strained custard over the fruit. Add a second layer of ladyfingers and the rest of the custard. Cover the mold, set it in a pan of hot water, and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture is set and a pointed knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let the pudding stand for 10 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish and serve it warm with vanilla or sabayon sauce.
Bread and Butter Pudding
Scald 1 quart milk with a piece of vanilla bean. Beat 5 eggs with 1 cup sugar, combine eggs and milk, and cook the custard in the top of a double boiler until it thickens, stirring constantly. Strain the custard through a fine sieve. Arrange 6 slices of buttered toast or of toasted brioche in a 1 ½-quart casserole, or in 6 individual casseroles, sprinkle the toast with 1 teaspoon each of currants and seedless raisins, and slowly add the custard. Set the pudding in a pan of hot water and bake it in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Ponding an Pain à la Française (Bread Pudding French Style)
Scald 1 quart milk and in it soak 5 to 6 cups soft bread crumbs and 1 cup sugar. Rub the mixture through a fine sieve. Beat together 4 eggs and 6 yolks and combine them thoroughly with the bread crumb mixture. Fold in 4 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter a tall 2-quart cylindrical mold, sprinkle it with fine dry bread crumbs, and fill it with the pudding mixture. Set the mold in a deep pan of hoc water and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until it is firm. Let the pudding stand fur about 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve it hot or warm with vanilla or sabayon sauce, or any fruit sauce.
Bread and Fruit Pudding Stephanie
Sauté 2 cups bread cut into small dice in 3 tablespoons butter, tossing them in the butter until they arc golden on all sides. Add 1 ½ cups hot milk. Peel and core 2 tart apples, cut them in dice, and put them in a bowl with ¼ cup finely chopped candied orange peel, ½ cup each of powdered almonds (May, 1956), seedless raisins, and sugar, and the grated rind of 1 lemon. Add the milk and bread and mix all together. Add 3 beaten egg yolks and fold in 3 egg whites, beaten stiff. Butter a Lquart mold and fill it with the mixture. Set the mold in a pan of hot water and bake the pudding in a moderate oven (350° F.) for 45 minutes. Let the pudding stand for about 15 minutes before unmolding it on a serving dish. Serve with a red wine sauce made as follows: Boil 1 cup red wine with 2 tablespoons sugar for 2 or 3 minutes and add 3 tablespoons thick puree of cooked dried apricots or apricot jam. Serve the sauce warm.
Sauce Vanille à l'Anglaise (Vanilla Sauce)
In the top of a double boiler scald 1 cup each of milk and cream with half a vanilla bean. Whip 4 egg yolks with ½ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon flour until the mixture is very light. Add the hot milk and cream slowly, stirring vigorously, and return the custard to the top of the double boiler. Cook the custard over simmering water, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard through a fine sieve and cool it, stirring from time to time. This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for two or three days. For a lighter, richer sauce, fold in just before serving time ¼ cup cream, whipped light and frothy.
Crème à l'Anglaise au Cbocolat {Chocolate Cream Sauce)
Stir into 2 cups vanilla sauce 4 ounces sweet chocolate, or 2 ounces bitter chocolate and 2 tablespoons sugar, melted with 3 tablespoons water.
Coffee Sauce
Omit the vanilla from vanilla sauce. Add to the finished sauce ¼ cup double-strength coffee.
Rum Coffee Sauce
To coffee sauce add 2 tablespoons rum. Cool the sauce and just before serving, fold in ¼ cup cream, whipped light and frothy.
Apricot Sauce
Wash ½ pound dried apricots, soak them in water to cover for several hours, and simmer them in the same water until they are soft. Rub the fruit through a sieve or puree it in an electric blender, add ½ cup sugar, and stir the puree over heal for a few minutes. This sauce will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator, if it is packed in a sterile jar and a little rum or Cognac is poured over it.
Sauce Sabayon
Whip 4 egg yolks with 2/3 cup sugar until the mixture is very light and pale. Stir in 1 cup white wine. Sherry, or Madeira. Pour the custard into the top of a double boiler over lukewarm water. Cook it slowly, stirring vigorously all the time, until the water reaches the boiling point. At this time, the mixture should be creamy in consistency. Remove the top of the double boiler from the hot water and continue to stir the sauce for a few minutes. A very little rum or kirsch may be added. Serve the sauce hot.
Sauce sabayon may also be served cold. In this case, use 6 instead of 4 egg yolks and stir the sauce vigorously as it cools.
Fruit Sauce
Combine 1 cup unsweetened fruit juice-cherry, plum, strawberry, or raspberry, for instance-with ¼ cup sugar and the juice of ½ lemon. Bring the mixture to a boil. Mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot with 2 tablespoons cold fruit juice and add it to the boiling juice. Cook the sauce until it is clear and slightly thickened. Serve hot or cold.
Raspberry Sauce
Bring to a boil ½ cup strained raspberry juice and ½ cup currant jelly. Mix 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold raspberry juice and add it to the boiling liquid. Cook the sauce until it is clear and slightly thickened. Serve cold.
Caramel Syrup
Mix equal parts of sugar and water in a heavy skillet and cook the mixture, stirring, until it forms a golden syrup. To coat molds, use the syrup hot. To make a less brittle coating that is easier to handle, add a little more water and cook the caramel, stirring, until it dissolves. Caramel syrup can be stored in the refrigerator.