Then remove and stir. Reheat if necessary for 10 seconds at a time and stir again until completely melted. (3) If you do not have a microwave, use a double boiler or create one by placing a dry, heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Place chocolate in the bowl or top of double boiler and stir until melted.
Poor Girl’s Crème Brûlée
What makes this a “poor girl’s” crème brûlée? The lack of a pricey kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar. Clare suggests you do what French housewives have done for years: use the oven broiler. The caramelized crust that forms on top of the dessert will not have the hard shell-like texture that comes from using a professional kitchen torch (or even an industrial model à la the firefighter’s bake sale), but the taste of the crunchy, warm sugar atop the creamy silk of the egg custard will be sinfully satisfying. This recipe calls for 6 egg yolks, but do not discard the whites: you can use them to make Nonna’s Brutti Ma Buoni (“Ugly but Good”) Italian Cookies. (See the recipe at www.CoffeehouseMystery.com.)
Makes 4 to 8 servings (depending on ramekin size)
6 large egg yolks
⅔ cup confectioners’ sugar
1⅓ cups whole milk
1⅓ cups light cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For topping: ⅓ cup turbinado sugar or “sugar in the raw” (Do not
substitute granulated white sugar. If you can’t find raw sugar, use light
brown sugar.)
Step 1—Make the custard: Preheat oven to 300° F. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until smooth. Mix in the milk, cream, and vanilla. Pour the mixture evenly into four individual 7-8-ounce size ramekins (or eight 4-ounce size ramekins). Set ramekins in a shallow roasting or baking pan and create a water bath by pouring water into the pan until it reaches halfway up the outside of the ramekins.
Step 2—Bake the custard: Bake until set, about 1 hour. Cooking time may be longer or shorter based on your oven and the size of your ramekins. So when is it done? You are looking for the top to set. The custard may still jiggle slightly, but the top should no longer be liquid. It should feel firm (spongy but set) when lightly touched, and when a toothpick or skewer is inserted down into the custard at the edge of the cup, it should come out clean. Otherwise, keep baking and checking.
Step 3—Chill it, baby: Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Cover each ramekin tightly with plastic wrap and chill completely in fridge for 4 hours or overnight. (Note: Covering with plastic will keep a skin from forming, but be sure to allow the custard to cool completely before covering.)
Step 4—Caramelize the top: Okay, here’s the “poor girl” part. If you do not have a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar, then take Clare’s advice. Before serving, sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top, set ramekins in a shallow pan filled with ice (to keep custard cool), and place under your oven broiler for a few minutes to caramelize. Check often. Do not let sugar burn. Serve immediately. (Note: If substituting light brown sugar, re-chill in fridge to harden top.)
Clare Cosi’s Blueberries ’N’ Cream Coffee Cake Pie
Mix, pour, bake, eat. Given the flour and eggs on the ingredient list, this supremely easy batter filling gives you a unique cross between a dense coffee cake and a fruit pie. Blueberries are truly the star of this confection, and their fresh, sweet, slightly tart flavor bursts brightly in your mouth with every delicious bite (and it’s just as good, if not better, right out of the refrigerator the next day).
Makes one 8- or 9-inch pie
2 pints fresh blueberries
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
teaspoon salt
⅔ cup half-and-half
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Clare’s Cinnamon Graham Cracker Crust (recipe follows) or
prebaked 8- or 9-inch graham cracker or shortbread crust
Step 1—Toss blueberries with flour: Rinse and dry your blueberries. Toss with 2 tablespoons of the flour. (You are coating the berries with flour to soak up excess liquid during baking.)
Step 2—Make batter: Preheat oven to 375° F. Using a simple hand whisk, gently blend the flour, sugar, salt, half-and-half, eggs, and cinnamon. Do not overmix or you’ll toughen the batter. Carefully fold in the flour-tossed blueberries. (You are not crushing the berries, just gently folding.)
Step 3-Bake: Pour the batter into your pie shell. If using an 8-inch crust, there may be a bit too much batter, that’s okay, just hold it back. (See