Read Saveur: The New Comfort Food Online
Authors: James Oseland
Saveur: The New Comfort Food (30 page)
Tangy, creamy Key lime pie derives its tartness from its tiny but powerful namesake fruit, the Key lime. Native to Asia and grown now in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, the Key lime, a Ping-Pong ball–size citrus fruit also known as the West Indian or Mexican lime, is the most widely used lime in kitchens outside the United States. It’s an essential ingredient in everything from salads to noodle dishes to marinades, prized for its dynamic acidity (which is at its greatest when the fruit is green and unripe) and copious juice. Mixed with eggs and sweetened condensed milk, the Key lime’s zest and juice make for an intensely citrusy pie filling. The flavor of the Persian lime, the cultivar most readily available in U.S. markets, is much milder by comparison. So, why aren’t Key limes as widely used here as in the rest of the world? It has to do with the fruit’s checkered new-world history. Arriving in the Caribbean with Christopher Columbus, the Key lime thrived in the United States up through the early twentieth century. Then, in 1926, a hurricane wiped out most of Florida’s crop, which was replaced with plantings of the larger, thicker-skinned Persian lime, considered sturdier and therefore easier to cultivate and transport. A few of the original trees survived in the Florida Keys, where the fruit acquired its American name and where, in the nineteenth century, the eponymous pie was invented.
These sweet, spicy cookies are a classic example of how beautifully the flavor of cinnamon blooms in butter.
3 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
1¾ cups sugar
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
Makes 48 cookies
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat 1½ cups sugar and the butter together in a medium bowl until pale and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add 2 tsp. cinnamon and the vanilla; beat for 1 minute more.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add reserved dry ingredients; mix on low speed until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 375°F. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove dough from refrigerator and, using a 1-tbsp. measure, spoon out 48 portions, rolling each portion into a 1-inch ball as you go. Roll each ball in the cinnamon–sugar mixture to coat. Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
The Spanish name for this dessert, popular in the Dominican Republic, is pastel de cuatro leches—“four-milks cake”—a nod to its four key components: heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and the milk-based caramel sauce dulce de leche. That last ingredient is, literally, the frosting on the cake and also what sets it apart from the more common pastel de tres leches.
2 tsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. plus 2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. fine sea salt
6 eggs, at room temperature, separated
1
1
/
3
cups sugar½ cup whole milk
1½ tbsp. dark rum
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 16-oz. jar dulce de leche (milk caramel)
Serves 8–10
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with the butter and dust with 1 tbsp. of the flour. Invert the pan, tap out the excess flour, and set aside.
2. Sift together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside. Put the egg whites into a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. While the mixer is still running, add the sugar in a gradual stream and continue beating again to medium peaks. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the reserved flour mixture and the whole milk in 3 parts, beating until smooth after each addition. Add the rum and vanilla and beat again briefly until smooth.
3. Pour the cake batter into the reserved baking pan and bake until golden brown, 25–30 minutes. Set the cake aside and let cool slightly for 30 minutes.
4. Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a bowl. Using a knife, poke the cake with holes all over, penetrating to the bottom of the pan. Pour the milk mixture over the warm cake and set aside to cool completely.
5. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled and the liquid is absorbed, at least 4 hours. Spread the dulce de leche across the top of the cake and serve.
In this tart—served at the Brooklyn, New York, restaurant Marlow & Sons and its sister restaurant, Diner (server Lindsay Debach is pictured)—a layer of chocolate ganache sprinkled with coarse sea salt gives way to a center of gooey caramel. Dutch-process cocoa powder, less bitter than other cocoa powders, is the best choice for the crumbly, cookielike crust.
FOR THE CARAMEL:1½ cups flour
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp. Dutchprocess unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
FOR THE GANACHE:1½ cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
¼ tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. crème fraîche
½ cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt, for garnish
Serves 8–10
1. Make the crust: Heat the oven to 350°F. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla and then mix in the reserved dry ingredients. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.
2. Make the caramel: In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, without stirring, until caramel smells toasted and takes on a deep amber color (and a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 365°F). Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour the caramel into the cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.
3. Make the ganache: Bring the cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Put the chocolate into a medium heat-proof bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth.
4. Pour the ganache evenly over the tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Sprinkle the tart with the sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.
A version of this recipe accompanied an interview with the actress Katharine Hepburn in the August 1975 issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal. This brownie recipe, which calls for a smaller than average amount of flour, produces incredibly chewy bars with a full but mellow chocolate flavor.
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
¼ cup flour
¼ tsp. fine salt
Makes 9 brownies
1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with butter. Line pan with parchment paper; grease the paper. Set the pan aside.
2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to make a smooth batter. Add the walnuts, flour, and salt; stir until incorporated. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cut and serve.
