The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (41 page)

To prepare the raspberry sauce, purée the raspberries, sugar, and rum in a blender or food processor. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds. Spoon some of the sauce onto each dessert plate, and set two meringues on top. Drizzle some of the sauce over the meringues, and serve.

 

Makes 6 servings

Crisp and fragile, these delectable fritters are especially alluring with a rum-laced apricot sauce.

 

Put the bananas into a bowl, and sprinkle them with lemon juice, sugar, and rum. Toss the bananas lightly. Cover the bowl, and let the bananas sit for about ½ hour.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, beer, and enough water to make the batter the thickness of heavy cream. Add the butter, and allow the batter to stand for about 1 hour.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet or heavy pot. Beat the egg whites, and fold them into the batter. Drain the banana slices, dip them into the batter, and fry them until they are golden brown. Drain them on paper towels, and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

To make the apricot sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients but the rum in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rum, and serve the warm sauce with the beignets.

 

Makes 6 servings

This is a wonderful way to transform stale bread into a delicious dessert. Although bread pudding sounds very homey, this is actually a very sophisticated dish, and one our guests dote on.

Bread pudding can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm it in a 350° oven, or serve it cold with hot sauce.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bananas to the skillet, and sprinkle them with 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook them gently until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Set them aside.

Combine the cream, egg, rum, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a bowl. Lay one-third of the bread slices in a well-buttered 5-by-9-by-3-inch loaf pan. Pour about one-third of the egg mixture over. Top with four banana halves. Sprinkle with half of the raisins. Cover with another third of the bread slices, and pour on another third of the egg mixture. Lay the remaining banana halves in the pan, and sprinkle the remaining raisins over. Cover with the rest of the bread slices and, finally, the remaining egg mixture. Bake the pudding until it is just firm to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes.

To make the rum sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the cream, sugar, and salt. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring often. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the rum.

To serve the bread pudding, cut it into slices, top it with vanilla ice cream, and spoon on the hot rum sauce.

 

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Gingerbread is a Caribbean favorite. We have taken the idea a step further to create a glamorous roulade filled with cream and crystallized ginger.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 15-by-10-by-l-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper, or oil the pan, line it with waxed paper, and oil and flour the waxed paper.

Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl until they are thick and pale yellow. Stir in the butter and molasses.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they are foamy. Gradually beat in the ¼ cup sugar, and continue beating until the whites are stiff and shiny but not dry. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, and gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake the cake 8 to 10 minutes, until it tests done.

Spread a dish towel on your work surface, and sift the confectioners' sugar all over it. When the cake is done, immediately loosen it from the sides of the pan, and turn it onto the sugared towel. Peel off the parchment or waxed paper. Roll up the cake and towel together. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack, seam side down.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the filling. Beat the cream until it is foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, and continue beating until soft peaks form. Fold in the ginger.

Unroll the cooled cake, spread it with half the ginger cream, and reroll it. Place the cake on a serving platter, seam side down, and spread the remaining cream on all sides. Decorate the roll by pulling an icing comb or fork down the length of the frosting.

Garnish the roll with the sugared grapes, and slice and serve it.

 

Makes 12 servings

Limes work equally well in this easier-than-pie dessert.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl, and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press the dough into the bottom and part of the way up the side of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake the crust 20 minutes.

Blend the filling ingredients, and pour the mixture into the partially baked tart shell. Bake the tart another 25 minutes.

Serve the tart warm or cool.

 

Makes 1 9-inch tart

Ivor Peters, the Sugar Mill kitchen's master of desserts, counts this among his favorites.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour two 10-inch springform pans. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Put the egg yolks and 1 cup sugar in a mixer bowl, and beat until the mixture is doubled in volume and a slowly dissolving ribbon forms when the beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes. Mix in the rum. Fold this mixture into the nut mixture.