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Crème Anglaise

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This creamy, rich and elegant vanilla custard sauce is very versatile, absolutely delicious added on cake, pie, fresh fruit…in another words, can be added to anything you like.

Have you noticed that most of the pleasures in life are usually the simplest…as is the case of this crème anglaise.

– Have you ever had crème anglaise?

Well, I had the opportunity to try it a few times in French restaurants. I loved the richness and the creaminess of the sauce. I remember the first time I had the crème anglaise…it was served in a dessert called floating island dessert…I can assure you if I was not in a public place I would have licked the bowl clean…

– Is there any trick for such an elegant sauce?

No, it is mainly a thin custard with only a few ingredients. And the trick, if you want to call a trick is to avoid the sauce to curdle…by tempering the egg yolks.

– How should I serve this crème anglaise?

This sauce is so versatile…you can pour it over all kind of dessert, cakes, pies, tarts, souffles, fresh fruits (specially berries), the options are endless.

– Can I add other ingredients besides vanilla?

Absolutely, you can add rum, bourbon, brandy and liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, Amaretto, Cointreau or orange zest, lemon zest, mint, coffee…again, endless choices.

– Did I convinced you to give this crème anglaise a try?

This recipe was mainly adapted from Food Wishes…if you like a lighter version you can substitute the heavy cream with milk or mix milk with heavy cream whichever ratio you like.

Here is the recipe for what I did…

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks, sugar and Grand Marnier until smooth paste.

In a small pan heat the heavy cream until almost boiling point, until small bubbles begin to appear around the edges of the pan. Carefully temper the yolks by pouring slowly the hot heavy cream to the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly.

Transfer the custard back to the pan and under low heat stir constantly until the custard thicken.

If necessary, pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer to remove any clumps.

Place the custard into a bowl and let it cool.

Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Good for up to one week in the refrigerator.

– More desserts recipe? Check these out…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Strawberries and Cream

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What can be easier than fresh strawberry with cream? The touch of vanilla in the fresh cream makes this dessert super especial.

This is another no recipe needed…but I could not ignore it…it is literally strawberry and cream and almost nothing else…okay, some sugar and vanilla extract. No need to bake, cook, just mix and serve…what could be easier? Especially now that all the stores are loaded with beautiful and fresh strawberries.

Back in Brazil strawberry was often served with either condensed milk or cream…and I totally forgot about it until a friend took us to a local Mexican food court where fresas con crema (strawberry and cream) were served…apparently in Mexico, strawberries with cream are sold everywhere…I felt in love again with the combination of it…so here I am, posting a very simple and delicious recipe for strawberry and cream.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb fresh strawberries, rinsed and halved
  • 1 cup Mexican cream, or heavy cream, or crème fraiche
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar (more or less according to your taste)
  • Fresh mint for garnish

Method:

Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl, add sugar and gently press with a fork until slightly mushed. The amount of sugar is determined by the tartness of the strawberries or how sweet you prefer.

Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

In the meantime mix the cream, vanilla extract and more sugar, according to your taste.

When ready to assemble the glasses, layer alternatively strawberries and then the cream. Finish with a layer of cream and garnish with mint leaves.

Serve cold

If you enjoy this simple recipe using fresh strawberries, you might want to check on Strawberry Icebox Cake or Strawberry Frozen Yogurt recipes.

 

Did you know that strawberries are packed with vitamin C? Apparently one serving of strawberries (about 8) provides more vitamin C than an orange.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Cream Puff

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This is a classical recipe for cream puff. The dough can be shaped differently, but for party I like to make them like bite size. The puffs are filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache.

I hope all my American friends had a great Thanksgiving get together…

As the holiday season approaches, these little cream puffs are perfect…they are small bites filled with creamy vanilla cream (lighter version of pastry cream) and topped with chocolate ganache. This recipe is adapted from “Flour” from Joanne Chang cookbook.

I must admit that there are many steps in order to bake these little cream puffs, but trust me, it is well worth it.

So here it is…

Ingredients:

Pâte à choux

  • ½ cup butter, unsalted
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup water (240 ml)
  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 4 eggs

Vanilla pastry cream

  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cake flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 5 egg yolks
  • ½ cup heavy cream

Chocolate Ganache

  • 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup milk

Method:

Pâte à choux

Heat oven to 400F.

In a medium pan heat the butter, sugar, salt and water until all the butter is melted. Add the flour all at once and use a wooden spoon to stir the flour into the liquid until fully incorporated. Keep mixing until the dough starts to loose from the bottom of the pan.

Remove from the heat and transfer the dough into a mixing bowl. Mix the dough at medium speed to allow the steam to escape and cool slightly.

Add one egg at the time by beating constantly at medium speed. The dough should be glossy and shiny.

Fit a pastry bag and pipe out little balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Make sure that you leave some space in between the balls. Using a wet finger push down the tips.

Place the baking sheet in the oven (middle rack) and after 15 minutes (after the pastries inflate), turn down the oven to 325F and continue to bake for another30 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Vanilla pastry cream

Place the milk in a small pan over medium heat, and scald it (bubbles forming on the side, not boiling). In the meantime, stir together in a medium bowl the sugar, cake flour and salt. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly add the egg yolks into the flour mix until a thick paste is formed.

Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add the milk into the egg yolk and flour paste whisking constantly. Once the milk is all incorporated, return the mix in the pan and place over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Continue to mix gently until the cream boils and is bubbling.

Remove the cream from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Mix gently.

Place the cream in a bowl and cover with a plastic film directly onto the cream which will prevent a skin to form. Refrigerate until cold.

Before filling the pastries, in a medium bowl whisk the heavy cream until it holds a peak. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cold pastry cream until well combined.
Cover and refrigerate.

Chocolate ganache

Place all the ingredients in a heat proof bowl. Place the bowl in a small saucepan with hot water over low heat without the bowl touching the water.

Gently mix until all the chocolate and butter are completely melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Let it cool to room temperature.

To fill the cream puff with the cream, either make a small hole and using a piping bag filled with the cream pipe into the puffs or cut the puffs and spoon the cream in it.

Using a teaspoon, gently spoon the ganache over the filled cream puffs. Let them sit for a while until the chocolate ganache is set. Refrigerate and serve.

Once the pastries are completely cooled, they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Before filling, refresh the pastries in a 325F oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Let it cool completely and fill.

The cream and the ganache can be made and store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and 1 week, respectively.

To use the ganache, bring to room temperature or warm it up slightly.

I hope you enjoy this recipe…for more desserts recipes please take a look here.

Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for visiting Color Your Recipes!