Decadent dessert shared after a family dinner
Since my sister offered to come over to my parents’ house last
weekend to cook dinner and serve up fettucine alfredo
– the kind made with all the cheese and cream, not the healthy
version I made on New Year’s Eve – I decided to take a break from
the healthy meals temporarily.
As she would be cooking the main meal, I decided to keep with
the Italian theme and make one of our favorite desserts at home. We
both love tiramisu and often order it when we eat out at Italian
restaurants. It’s one of those desserts, that if it is on the menu,
I find it especially hard to pass up. I’ve never made it at home,
but the recipe seemed easy enough. My only concern was the use of
raw egg yolks, so I was sure to follow the Food Network website
warning and picked up eggs at the grocery store right before I knew
I’d be making the dessert. I wasn’t really worried about myself,
since my sister and I grew up sampling raw cookie dough (and the
raw eggs that go into the dough) whenever we baked growing up, but
I wanted to be sure the other guests would be fine.
Decadent dessert shared after a family dinner
Since my sister offered to come over to my parents’ house last weekend to cook dinner and serve up fettucine alfredo – the kind made with all the cheese and cream, not the healthy version I made on New Year’s Eve – I decided to take a break from the healthy meals temporarily.
As she would be cooking the main meal, I decided to keep with the Italian theme and make one of our favorite desserts at home. We both love tiramisu and often order it when we eat out at Italian restaurants. It’s one of those desserts, that if it is on the menu, I find it especially hard to pass up. I’ve never made it at home, but the recipe seemed easy enough. My only concern was the use of raw egg yolks, so I was sure to follow the Food Network website warning and picked up eggs at the grocery store right before I knew I’d be making the dessert. I wasn’t really worried about myself, since my sister and I grew up sampling raw cookie dough (and the raw eggs that go into the dough) whenever we baked growing up, but I wanted to be sure the other guests would be fine.
Tiramisu is certainly the kind of decadent dessert to keep for special occasions only, as is the Kahlua chocolate bread pudding recipe on the next page. My mother and I made this for New Year’s Eve with the leftover French bread from Christmas Eve. It was a great way to turn stale bread into a tasty dessert, but this is another one that I will reserve for maybe once a year.
Tiramisu
Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
*6 egg yolks
3 tbsp. sugar
1 lb. mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 c. strong espresso, cooled
2 tsp. dark rum
24 packaged ladyfingers
1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of espresso and mix until thoroughly combined.
In a small shallow dish, add remaining espresso and rum. Dip each ladyfinger into espresso for only 5 seconds. Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart.
Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish, breaking them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom.
Spread evenly 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers. Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture.
Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.
*RAW EGG WARNING
Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.
Kahlua chocolate bread pudding
Recipe courtesy of Foodnetwork.com
Pecan Streusel:
1 c. pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 oz. unsalted butter, cut into tiny bits
Bread Pudding:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 c. cream
6 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 loaf stale French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
Kahlua Sauce:
1/3 c. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 c. Kahlua
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c. whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks, for garnish
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the pecan streusel and toss together with your fingertips until crumbly and evenly blended. Refrigerate until needed.
Butter an 8 x 13 inch glass loaf pan and dredge it with sugar.
In the top of a double boiler, melt chocolate over simmering water. Add the brown sugar and cream, whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a very large bowl, whisk together thoroughly the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla. Stir 1/4 cup of this custard mixture into the chocolate to temper it, then add all of the chocolate mixture back into the custard. Add the bread cubes to the bowl, toss until they are evenly coated, and let sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Pour into prepared loaf pan and place in a larger pan. Fill the larger pan with boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Top with pecan streusel and bake for about 2 hours, until center feels slightly firm. While cooking, make the Kahlua sauce.
In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter and then add the Kahlua and sugar. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Whisk 1 tablespoon of the Kahlua mixture into the egg to temper it, then return the whole mixture to the double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, over simmering water until slightly thickened. Strain into a warmed pitcher and cover with foil to keep warm.
Slice the warm pudding and serve with a pool of the warm Kahlua sauce on one side of the plate and a spoonful of whipped cream on the other.
