Brazilian Coffee Custard Crème De Café Recipes

COFFEE CUSTARDS

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook ¼ cup of the sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until it is melted and golden caramel in colour.
• Add ¼ cup water carefully (pour it into the side of the skillet) and simmer the mixture, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved.
• Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until it is melted.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Scald the milk.
• In a bowl, whisk the yolks and the whole egg with the remaining ¼ cup sugar and add the chocolate mixture, whisking.
• Whisk in the scalded milk in a stream.
• Add the espresso powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
• Strain the custard through a fine sieve into another bowl, skim the froth, and divide the custard among six ramekins.
• Put ramekins in a baking pan and add enough hot water to reach one-third up the sides of the ramekins.
• Cover pan tightly with foil.
• Bake custards in the middle of the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until they are just set.
• Let them cool completely, uncovered.
• Chill, covered, for 3 hours before serving (may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled).
• Garnish each custard with a rosette of whipped cream.

CAFE AU LAIT POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
• Combine heavy cream, half-and-half, vanilla bean, and sugar in a 1-quart heavy saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until mixture reaches 180 degrees F. Stir in instant coffee until dissolved. Place egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl and temper the yolks by gradually adding some of the hot cream mixture. Return the egg mixture to the pan with the remaining cream mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Strain custard and then ladle 5 to 6 ounces into 8 custard cups or ramekins. Bake, covered, in a water bath for about 40 minutes or until set. Check at 30 minutes; you may need to reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F for the remaining 10 minutes. The centers should not be firm. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate if not serving right away. Bring to room temperature before serving. Garnish with whipped cream.

COFFEE-CARDAMOM POTS DE CREME

Steps:

• Put the coffee beans and cardamom pods in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off several times to roughly chop -- not grind -- them. Turn the chopped beans and pods into a medium saucepan and add 1/2 cup of the sugar. Put the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar starts to melt. Once the sugar has melted, continue to cook, still stirring without stop, until the sugar caramelizes -- you want the color of the caramel to be deep amber, almost mahogany. Now, standing away from the stove so you don't get splattered, slowly pour in 1 cup of the cream and the milk. Don't panic -- the caramel will immediately seize and harden, but it will all smooth out as the liquids warm and the sugar melts again. Bring the mixture to a boil and, when the sugar has melted and everything is smooth again, pull the pan from the heat. Cover the pan (we do this with plastic wrap at the cafe to get a good seal) and allow the mixture to infuse for 20 minutes.
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Working in a bowl that's large enough to hold all the ingredients, whisk the yolks and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar together until the mixture is pale and thick. Strain the coffee-cardamom liquid into a measuring cup (discard the beans and pods) and add enough heavy cream to bring the liquid up to 2 cups. Very gradually and very gently -- you don't want to create air bubbles -- whisk the liquid into the egg mixture; skim off the top foam, if there is any.
• Arrange six 4-ounce espresso or custard cups in a small roasting pan, leaving an even amount of space between them, and fill each cup nearly to the top with the custard mixture. Carefully slide the pan into the oven; then, using a pitcher, fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the espresso cups. Cover the pan with plastic wrap (don't worry -- it can stand the heat) and poke two holes in two opposite corners. Bake the custards for about 40 minutes, or until the edges darken ever so slightly and the custards are set but still jiggle a little in the center when you shake them gently.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let the custards sit in the water bath for 10 minutes. Peel off the plastic wrap, lift the cups out of the water, and cool the custards in the refrigerator. (The pots de creme can be prepared a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator; when they are cool, cover them with plastic wrap.)
• To serve: The pots de creme are at their best at room temperature, so remove them from the refrigerator and keep them on the counter for about 20 minutes before serving.
• To drink: A deluxe cream sherry, perhaps a Pedro Ximenez