Lemon Cup Custard
This week for Tuesdays with Dorie, Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles selected Lemon Cup Custard for everyone to test out.
I want to say I really liked this one, but I didn’t. It wasn’t awful or anything, but there was an initial strong egg smell and taste on each spoonful that I had a hard time getting past. It finished with a nice lemon aftertaste so it wasn’t eggy all the way through which did save it a little. All in all though, it was not for me and I tried it twice at different times just to make sure. The boyfriend really liked this one so he was on the total opposite end of the spectrum. Like usual!
I made the standard lemon version and added the optional lemon extract (which I doubled). There are other flavor combinations that are suggested for this custard and maybe those would work out a little better. All this being said I’m glad I tried it anyway. This was my first recipe out of over 50 of Dorie’s that didn’t thrill me so no big deal, right?
Thanks to Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles for the choice this week! Head on over to Bridget’s blog here to view the recipe and to see what she thought. Next week, Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction has selected French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze. See you next Tuesday!
Floating Islands… My 50th TWD!
Floating Islands are a classic European dessert consisting of puffs of meringue floating on a “sea” of crème anglaise. They are my new favorite dessert right now. Sooo good.
The meringues were nice and fluffy but, honestly, were the component of this recipe I liked the least. The Crème anglaise (a vanilla flavored custard) was to die for, it was by far my favorite part. My second favorite was the caramel strands for the texture and flavor they added. To me, the taste was similar to crème brûlée. You can’t ever go wrong there in my opinion.
This was one of the most fun weeks of all of the Tuesdays with Dorie I’ve done. It was a new challenge for me working and shaping meringues and while frustrating a bit at first, it got easier as I went along.
This dessert is definitely one that impresses. My boyfriend’s reaction was “wow!” when I showed him the finished product and we both loved the end result. The prep times are not that bad so this wouldn’t be out of reach for a nice dinner party with friends or a romantic meal with your significant other. The crème anglaise can even be made up to 3 days in advance.
Thanks to Shari from Whisk: a food blog for selecting Floating Islands for the February 10th, 2009 edition of Tuesdays with Dorie. The recipe can be found here at Shari’s blog or in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my home to yours on pages 401-402. Next week, it’s the Devil’s Food White Out Cake as chosen by Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater.
Floating Islands marks my 50th completed Tuesdays with Dorie selection. It’s funny to think back to my first week with the group when I was wondering if I could even keep up with it for two weeks in a row! I haven’t missed a week since I started, it’s such a part of my routine that I don’t even think much about it. Here’s to another 50 recipes from Baking: From my home to yours! See you next Tuesday!
Crème Brûlée
Oh yeah. Seriously, what an awesome choice Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake made for this week’s Tuesday with Dorie recipe. I love, love, love Crème Brûlée with all my heart. It’s got simple ingredients, great texture differences and the flavor possibilities are endless (although I prefer mine plain). Plus, even if you’re totally stuffed from dinner, you can always manage to squeeze some in since it’s so light. At restaurants, if it’s on the menu, it’s what I’m getting for dessert. Unless Key Lime Pie is also on the menu, then an inner turmoil is created and Key Lime Pie usually wins out (I’m on some sort of weird quest for finding that “perfect” restaurant slice).
Anyway, I’ve made “burnt cream” a few times at home, and almost always Alton Brown’s version. I’m so used to baking the dishes in a water bath that it threw me when it wasn’t in Dorie’s directions. I read and re-read the recipe, for sure that I missed it somewhere. But I didn’t, the dishes just cook in a 200 degree oven for about an hour, which is kind of nice. I mean, cooking in a water bath is no big deal but it’s great to be able to cut steps here and there. From start to finish, this was a breeze to make. What a relief too, because I got home from work late Monday night and had to rush to get this started. What else is new? I feel like a broken record. 
I LOVED this! Again, Dorie does not disappoint.
Stop by Mevrouw Cupcake to see the recipe and what Mari thought of her choice. For next week, it’s Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake selected by Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy. By the way, if you’ve been following Tuesday with Dorie and have been interested in joining but haven’t done it yet, now is the time since membership to the group will close as of October 31st. See you next Tuesday!
