When we were testing recipes for this book, our friend Paul came to the house carrying a basket of figs fresh from the tree. Being a warm and friendly team, we happily accepted his offer to make us a dessert. When we first tasted his tarte, we knew the recipe had to be in the book. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll be hooked, too. Figs are a rich source of minerals, including magnesium and calcium, and are also powerful antioxidants. This is a delicious dessert with no refined sugar or gluten—a summer delight.
This is a summer treat to make when peaches are at their best. If you wish, replace the peaches with apricots, the strawberries with raspberries and the Kirsch with Drambuie.
Espelette pepper’s mild heat and subtle fruitiness make it an excellent companion to chocolate. Chefs in the Basque region of France tend to use it in chocolate mousse or layer cakes, but here I add it to an easy cocoa drop cookie, based on a recipe by Sally Sampson of Chop Chop magazine. Note that the butter and the eggs both need to be at room temperature, so don’t forget to set them out at least half an hour before you want to start mixing.
Cake for breakfast is a thing, in case you didn’t know, and one of the best kinds to eat in the morning is angel food cake. It’s light, delicate and sponge-like, making it an ideal vehicle for loads of fresh fruit. Fruit=breakfast, therefore this cake=breakfast. It’s simple math! This recipe calls for strawberries that marinate in sweet sugar and flavorful vanilla bean paste—there’s your fruit! The first time I made angel food cake, I was so proud of myself. Yes, it does require a lot of egg whites, but you can use the leftover yolks in shortbread, Hollandaise sauce or pudding. Or scramble them and eat them for breakfast with your cake.
This one of those traditional old school British desserts - which we call puddings - that really deserves to find favor on this side of the Atlantic too: with its rich breadcrumby custard base and meringue topping, a layer of jam between the two, this is a very aptly named dessert.
For a frozen yogurt that’s dense and creamy—not icy and rock-hard like most versions—the key is controlling the water in the base so that the number of large ice crystals that formed during freezing was minimized.
If bread pudding is mostly bread, it makes sense that the better your bread, the better the pudding. I usually make my bread pudding with challah, the way Luther liked it best. For this book, I decided to mix things up a little. This recipe uses raisin-cinnamon bread for that hint of spice I love. The big secret, as with all bread pudding, is to use stale bread; otherwise, it will disintegrate in the custard.
These lovely light buns with a beautiful shiny surface are perfect for birthday parties, with afternoon tea or a cup of coffee, or enjoyed on a cold day in the fall with a mug of hot chocolate.
This recipe is old-fashioned in the sense that it doesn't involve any canned milk, powders, or artificial flavorings. It results in a flan that is not too eggy thanks to the use half-and-half instead of milk to help thicken it.
Most countries have their own version of rice pudding, and this has a bit of a Scandinavian vibe, with the inclusion of cardamom, a favorite Nordic spice.