Vanilla Custard With Prunes Poached In Lemon Verbena And Maple Caramel Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare an infusion with the lemon verbena or tea bags and 2 cups boiling water. Add the prunes and let soak overnight. Drain the prunes thoroughly and pat dry. Set aside.
• In a small, heavy saucepan, heat the maple syrup to 275 degree, watching carefully to make sure the sugar does not boil over. Remove from heat and whisk in cream and butter. Pour into 6 3-inch ramekins.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
• If using vanilla bean, bring milk and bean to a simmer in a heavy saucepan; remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes. Strain, and discard the vanilla bean. If using vanilla extract, heat the milk and stir in the vanilla.
• Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar and pour in the infused milk. Mix gently. Place 3 prunes in each ramekin and divide the custard among them. Place in a hot-water bath and bake for 45 minutes, or until custard is set. Chill 2 hours. Unmold onto individual serving plates and serve.

Steps:

• For the pears: Remove a large strip of peel from the lemon and set aside. Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl filled with water. Peel, halve and core the pears, adding the pears to the lemon water as you work (this will prevent them from browning).
• Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon stick and reserved lemon peel in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove the pears from the lemon water and add to the wine mixture. Boil the pears until tender, 8 to 10 minutes on each side. Remove the pears from the poaching liquid to a wire rack to cool. If desired, continue to boil the poaching liquid until syrupy, about 10 minutes.
• For the vanilla bean custard sauce: Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the cream mixture along with the scraped bean. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, then remove from the heat and remove the vanilla bean.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Gradually add a little of the hot cream mixture, whisking constantly until combined. Gradually add the remaining cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes. Remove the custard from the saucepan and cool slightly.
• To serve, spoon some of the custard sauce onto serving plates and top each with a pear half. Dollop with whipped cream and sprinkle with candied pecans, if desired.

Steps:

• Combine the cream, sugar, crème fraîche, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the lemon verbena, lightly crushing the leaves before adding them to the pot. Allow the mixture to steep for about 1 hour. Keep tasting as it steeps until it has the flavor you want.
• Meanwhile, pour the milk into a bowl. Add the gelatin and whisk until it dissolves. Add the egg and beat well.
• Once the cream mixture has steeped, rewarm it over low heat until it reaches a low simmer, then pour over the milk-gelatin mixture and whisk until completely combined. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container with a pouring spout.
• Lightly grease 10 ramekins, plastic cups, or coffee cups and line them up on a baking sheet. Divide the mixture among the ramekins and put in the fridge. Chill until set, about 4 hours. Serve with Poached Peaches.
• Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil and prepare an ice-water bath in a bowl large enough to hold the peaches. When the water comes to a boil, scald the peaches for 30 seconds. Using a mesh sieve or slotted spoon, transfer the fruit immediately to the ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Using a paring knife, peel the peaches (the skins should now slip off easily) and put the peels in a saucepan. Slice the peaches into eighths and place in a heatproof bowl.
• Add the sugar, wine, vanilla, and nutmeg to the saucepan and set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue cooking for 5 minutes longer. Pour the boiling mixture over the peaches and set the fruit aside to cool and macerate in the spiced wine. Serve with the panna cotta.