Charlotte Aux Poires William Et Caramel Recipes

POIRE WILLIAM CHARLOTTES

Steps:

• Make cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-12-inch baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter lining; then flour pan, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of milk. On low speed, mix in 1/4 cup brandy and the pear and nuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Invert cake to unmold; peel off parchment. Using a long serrated knife, trim off sides of cake. Cut cake crosswise into quarters (each about 2 1/2 inches wide). Split quarters horizontally into 3 strips each (to make 12 strips total).
• Cut 10 strips crosswise into 6 (1/2-by-2 1/2-inch) rectangles. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds from remaining 2 strips.
• Line 6 charlotte molds (4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches high) or 10-ounce ramekins with overlapping strips, standing them vertically (about 10 strips per mold). Press 1 round onto bottom of each mold. Using remaining 1/2 cup brandy, brush cake in molds.
• Make filling: Puree pear and brandy in a food processor; set aside. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just about to simmer.
• Whisk together yolks, sugar, and salt. Pour half of hot milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add yolk mixture to the remaining hot milk in pan; whisk. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally.
• Beat cream to soft peaks; set aside. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup water in a medium heatproof bowl. Let stand 1 minute to soften. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir gelatin mixture into custard in ice-water bath. Stir in pear puree.
• Whisk mixture in bowl in bath until it thickens to a puddinglike consistency. Whisk in whipped cream. Divide mixture among molds (about 1/2 cup per mold). Cover with plastic wrap directly on surfaces; refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edges of charlottes; invert onto plates. Serve cold.

CHARLOTTE AUX POIRES WILLIAM ET CARAMEL

Steps:

• Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and add the sugar and pinch of salt. Beat the mixture until it is thick, with a light yellow color.
• Combine the milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan and bring the mixture almost, but not quite, to the boil.
• Remove the vanilla bean and gradually add the milk to the egg mixture, beating constantly until all the milk is fully incorporated. Pour this mixture back into a saucepan and cook over very low heat, constantly scraping the bottom with a spoon or whisk. Cook until it coats a spoon like a thick custard. Do not let the sauce boil, or it will curdle. Immediately remove the saucepan from the stove, stirring constantly.
• Dissolve the gelatin in a quarter cup of warm water and stir this into the warm sauce until it is thoroughly dissolved.
• While the custard is cooking, in a heavy pot or sugar pan, add the sugar, salt, vanilla extract and two tablespoons of water. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring, until it is richly browned but not burned. Add this caramel to the sauce. Allow the mixture to cool thoroughly.
• Make the whipped cream (see recipe). Fold the cream into the mixture. Drain very well the can of pears and cut them into half-inch pieces. Fold the pear pieces into the mixture.
• Line the bottom of a two-quart tinned charlotte mold with parchment paper. Cut and trim the ladyfingers into triangles. Arrange them tightly together in the bottom of the mold. Then arrange them on the sides of the mold by placing them parallel to each other.
• Fill the charlotte mold with the pear mixture to the top of the mold. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let it rest for at least four hours in the refrigerator before unmolding.

CHARLOTTE'S CARAMELS

Steps:

• Spray bottom and sides of a 9 by 11-inch baking pan with vegetable oil or rub with 1 tablespoon butter. In a small heavy saucepan, combine cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk. Set aside to warm later.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, combine corn syrup, sugar, water, and salt. Over high heat, cook until sugar is dissolved, about 6 to 8 minutes, brushing down sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water to remove any sugar crystals. Stop stirring, insert candy thermometer, reduce heat to medium and let come to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 250 degrees F (hard-ball stage), about 45 to 60 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place cream and milk mixture over low heat and stir until warm. Do not boil.
• When sugar reaches 250 degrees F, stir in the warm cream and the pieces of butter. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thermometer reaches 244 degrees (firm ball stage), 45 to 60 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Immediately pour into prepared pan without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours without moving. This is the most difficult part, as you will want to eat it!
• To cut into candies, coat a cutting board or marble slab generously with vegetable oil spray. Unmold caramel by turning upside down onto oiled surface. Cut into 1-inch by 1 1/2-inch pieces with a very sharp, heavy knife. Wrap with precut waxed paper squares, twisting ends to seal. If you don't wrap them, the caramel pieces will stick together.