| 322 | 323 | 324 | 325 | 326 |
| 1 | 103 | 205 | 308 | 410 |
|
stylish, elegant mousses, the less familiar creams (or crèmes), the old-fashioned fools, whips and the
culinary tour-de-force, sweet soufflés. Although their preparation ranges from simple to difficult,
they all satisfy your sweet tooth like nothing else.
Who is who
Puddings and custards are based on milk (or cream), eggs and sugar in varying combination
as well as flavorings. The thickening agent is egg. Recipes may also call for flour, starch or gelatin
to ensure a firmer structure. Although these thickeners are not essential, they reduce the chance of
failure in case your eggs turn out scrambled instead of thickener.
There is a subtle difference between custard and pudding. Usually anything thickened with
eggs only are called custards, while puddings also contain another thickener. The basic preparation
for both is the same and both used to be more popular than they are today. They are easy to prepare,
nutritious and inexpensive, and institutions often served them to save on labor. When cheap instant
pudding powders appeared on grocery store shelves, they made home preparation remarkably easy.
Just stir the powder into water, heat and you have instant dessert. Today bakers still serve them as
informal everyday desserts, though less frequently.
Gelatin desserts are also in this category. (See Gelatin in this chapter.)
Creamsand mousses are closely related and similar to custards and puddings in consistency.
Creams (the French call them crèmes) are heavy cream and flavorings whipped together without
any thickeners. Mousses are whipped cream and flavorings with added gelatin to give a firmer
structure. If there are eggs in the mousse, they are not for thickening but for extra flavor. Some
recipes fold in beaten egg whites for a cloud-like texture. Mousses today are especially fashionable
desserts.
Fools and whips are always fruit based desserts. In case of fools (originally a British term of
endearment from where the name came), you fold sweetened whipped cream into puréed or finely
chopped fruits, while whips use a similarly prepared fruit with sweetened beaten egg whites folded
into them, instead of cream. Both are best when cold. Fools are uncooked but whips may be baked
before serving. Just as easy to prepare as creams and mousses, they can also be just as impressive
and delicious. For some reason they are not nearly as popular as mousses. They are particularly
good summer desserts when plenty of fresh, good-flavored fruits are in season, especially berries.
Their frosty, refreshing chill is a welcome sight on a hot summer dinner table.
Rhubarb fool
Fools are particularly good when you make them from tart fruits, such as gooseberries or
currants but the tart rhubarb (even though it is a vegetable) also well qualifies.You may serve this
not only as dessert but to accompany roast or fried chicken or pork, but reduce sugar to ½ cup when
you serve it as side dish.
Ingredients
1
¾
2
½
¼ pounds (570 g) rhubarb, cut into 1 inch dices
cup sugar, divided into 10 and 2 tablespoons
½ teaspoons tapioca or arrowroot starch, mixed in 2 tablespoons cold water
cup heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized), chilled
play © erdosh 324
Page
Quick Jump
|