Floating Island

(originally posted on Fabric Paper Thread in January 09)

Have you ever eaten Floating Island? I never had but somehow, the thought popped into my head yesterday. I hankered after a light and white sweet, and this was it. Delicious, with lots of texture - melting smooth crème anglaise, marshmallowy meringue, bitter burnt sugar sauce and crunchy sweet praline.

Although this recipe has a lot of steps, it's not difficult at all. Most of it can (and should be) made ahead, even a day or two. I spent a couple of hours puttering in the kitchen in the early afternoon, then did the meringues at the last minute.

Step One:

Burnt Sugar Sauce

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
another 1/4 cup water mixed with 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Heat the sugar and 1/4 cup water in small, heavy sauce pan, stirring once or twice until the sugar dissolves. Cook over medium heat, not stirring, but swirling every few minutes, until the syrup turns a light caramel. Remove from heat and add the water mixed with vanilla. Be careful as the mixture tends to pop and bubble. Return to heat and stir and cook until caramel reached 230 degrees F (thread stage). Remove 1/4 cup of caramel for the praline (recipe follows). Set the remainder aside to cool slightly, then add the cream and stir until combined. This can be made ahead and then reheated slightly when you are ready to assemble the dessert.

Praline

3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup of the caramel sauce

Combine almonds and sauce. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, or until almonds are toasted. Let cool, then break into small pieces. (I like mine quite fine and smashed them with a rolling pin.)

Crème Anglaise

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
dash salt
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the milk and cream in a small saucepan until just hot. (Steam should rise from the milk, but it shouldn't boil.) Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar with the salt. Add a small amount of the hot milk to the eggs, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk. Cook, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens slightly - about 175 degrees. The mixture should not boil. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain mixture into a glass or metal bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper onto the top of the sauce to prevent a skin forming. Chill. (Will keep up to 3 days.)

Meringues

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat 2 egg whites with a dash of salt and 1/8 tsp cream of tartar until foamy. Then increase the speed and add 1/2 cup of white sugar. Beat until the egg whites are very stiff and glossy. Beat in 1 tsp vanilla. Spoon the meringue onto the baking sheet, forming 6 mounds. Bake for 20 minutes (they will be soft).

To assemble the Floating Islands, pour a puddle of Crème Anglaise onto a dessert plate, place a Meringue on top, drizzle a little Burnt Sugar Sauce over top and sprinkle with a bit of Praline.

Enjoy!

Peach Upside-Down Cake

Here in British Columbia we wait a long time for peach season. And when it's here, we enjoy it to the full. Peach ice cream, fresh peaches and whipped cream, peaches eaten out of hand, sweet juice dripping down chins and hands. And this cake. Easy to put together and best served warm, with some lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Peach Upside-Down Cake

2 - 3 large peaches, blanched, peeled, pitted and sliced thickly
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar

In the bottom of a 9 x 9 glass baking dish,  place the melted butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Arrange the peach slices in slightly overlapping rows on top. Set aside while you make the cake.

Sponge Cake

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the eggs until very light and lemon coloured. Beat in salt, sugar, and vanilla. Scald the milk and add the butter to melt it. Add to the egg mixture and stir well. Combine the flour and baking powder and add it to the egg/milk mixture. Stir well to combine but don't overmix. 

Pour over the peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Prize Apricot Jam

Two apricot trees grew beside the house I grew up in in Kamloops. They never grew very tall, but produced quite a few apricots, according to my memory. My mother made this jam every year, filling the house with the smell of hot sugary fruit. The result: jars of golden summer flavour to open in the dark days of winter.

This jam is made the old-fashioned way, without commercial pectin. It relies on the pectin in citrus and natural fruit, along with a long (about 35 minutes) simmer. I like to have a book beside me while I stir, or someone to visit with.

Prize Apricot Jam

8 cups pitted, chopped apricots (large chunks, at least one-inch pieces)
zest of 1 orange
finely chopped fruit of one orange, pith removed
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
4 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Wash and sterilize 8, half-pint jars. Place lids in small saucepan and cover with water. Don't boil them yet.

In large, heavy pot, stir all of the jam ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Lower the heat until the mixture boils steadily, and stir constantly, until 2 thick drops of syrup run together off the side of a cold metal spoon. Alternately, place a plate in the freezer, and drop a spoonful of jam onto the cold plate to test it. When a spoon can be drawn through the jam and the ridge remain clear, the jam is ready. This will take about 35 minutes. The jam will darken in colour, and the apricots break down, leaving bits of fruit and peel.

A few minutes before the jam is ready, boil the lids for 5 minutes, turn the heat off and leave the lids in the hot water.


Ladle into sterilized jars, seal, and let cool. Makes 6-8 half pint jars of jam.

Apricot Tart

Apricots have such a short season that I knew I must not hesitate to make this tart. The crust is sweet and slightly chewy, like a cookie, and easily presses into a tart pan - no rolling required. The custardy filling is flavoured with honey and almond extract, a perfect pairing with the slightly tart apricot halves. It's not too heavy - a perfect summer treat with tea.

The tart is based on one found on the Epicurious website, but I've adapted it.

Pastry:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of fine salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons finely ground almonds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.

Combine the melted better and sugar in a bowl. Stir. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms. Place the dough in the center of the tart pan and evenly press it out with your fingers to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. 

Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and then into the oven to baked for 12-15 minutes. Sprinkle the ground almonds, if using, over the bottom of the crust.

While the crust bakes, prepare the filling.

Filling:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons honey
1 Tablespoon flour

Fresh apricots, about 1 1/2 lbs, pitted and halved
Icing sugar, for garnish

Combine the eggs, whipping cream, yogurt or sour cream, extracts and honey. Whisk well to blend. Whisk in the flour. Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Arrange the apricots in concentric circles, beginning with the outside of the tart, overlapping slightly. Fill in the center with more apricots. 

Bake the tart 50-60 minutes, or until the filling is firm and the pastry a golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately dust with icing sugar. Cool on rack. Serve slightly warm, or at room temperature. 

Linking to Foodie Friday.

Chocolate Marshmallow Squares

Before moving to Ecuador my husband and I spent 9 months in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, along the Mexican border, studying Spanish. We arrived on a steamy August evening, just after a minor hurricane. I have never experienced such humidity. Never. Even in our jungle years.

Our apartment had no air conditioning. We knew we'd be moving to the jungle and thought that we had just better get used it. Uh huh. We lasted one night, trying to sleep in a steam bath and failing miserably. As soon as the stores opened we were there and plunked down the cash for an air conditioner. It made life bearable for these northern folk. 

Cooking was avoided because of the heat. But those were the days when our figures could still withstand daily sweets and I liked to have baking on hand. No internet in those days. I wrote and asked my mother for a few of her no-bake square recipes. She sent them, typed onto a pale blue sheet of stationery that still resides in my recipe box. I remember her making these squares when I was a child, as a treat for Sunday evening lunch, faspa, we called it. She still makes them. They are fast to prepare, without heating up the kitchen, and are a sweet treat after a meal, or as a little pick-me-up with a cup of tea.

Chocolate Marshmallow Squares

1/2 cup butter
2 squares (2 oz) semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup sifted icing sugar
1 beaten egg
1 cup mini-marshmallows
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
whole graham wafers to line an 8 x 8 square pan.

Line an 8 x 8 pan with whole graham wafers, trimming them to fit, or letting them overlap slightly.

Melt the butter and chocolate together (over simmering water on the stove top or in a glass bowl in the microwave). Add the icing sugar and egg, beating well. Stir in the marshmallows and optional ingredients. Pour over the graham wafers, spread to the corners and place in the fridge until set. Cut into squares. 

Herbed Cottage Cheese Spread

The herb garden is doing well. I love going out to clip a handful - chives, oregano, thyme, parsley, and adding them to salads or soups.

This spread, which could also be used as a dip, uses nothing but fresh ingredients. It tastes better if the flavours have some time to get to know each other in the fridge before serving. Equally good spread on toasted baguettes, crackers, or with fresh vegetables, it's a summery staple that comes together easily.

Note: I used 1% cottage cheese and light sour cream. Feel free to use the fuller fat varieties - you'll probably land up with a creamier taste.

Herbed Cottage Cheese Spread

2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh chives, snipped
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 green onions, green parts thinly sliced and the white parts minced

To chop the fresh herbs, I like to give them a good rinse, dry them well, then place them all in a heap on the cutting board, along with the garlic cloves, and run my chef's knife through them until they are a fragrant heap of green and white on the board.

Combine the cottage cheese, the sour cream, the salt and lemon in a blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chopped herbs. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Almost Piña Colada Popsicles

Summer time treats, for me, always include popsicles. They are easy to make and handy to have in the freezer for a cool taste on a hot day. I'm hoping for many hot days this summer. These are mild in flavour, full of pineapple, coconut milk and banana. A dash of rum or rum flavouring wouldn't come amiss for more of the piña colada flavour, but you might want to leave it out if these are intended for children.

My popsicle molds are old Tupperware ones - they've been around for at least 35, maybe 40 years - they first belonged to my mother. I've lost a few of the handles, but a wooden popsicle stick fits into the slot quite nicely.

Almost Piña Colada Popsicles

1 can (398 ml) crushed pineapple, with juice
1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tablespoon light rum OR 1 tsp rum extract

Whir everything together in a blender. Pour into molds. Freeze. Enjoy on a hot summer day!