Freshfruitsflambe Recipes

TROPICAL FRUIT FLAMBé

Steps:

• Set a large pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Pour apple juice into the pan and add brown sugar; let it simmer until golden and bubbling, about 4 minutes.
• Put mango, banana, and strawberry slices in the pan with cinnamon. Stir to cover fruit with the sauce and cook for 3 minutes.
• Remove pan from the heat and add rum. Place back on the heat and use a long lighter to set it on fire. Once the flame has gone out, cook for 1 more minute.
• Divide fruit evenly between 3 bowls and top each with 1/2 scoop ice cream.

FRESH FRUITS FLAMBE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a flambe pan.
• Add sugar and stir over medium heat until the mixture begins to caramelize.
• Add the orange and pineapple juice and bring to a boil.
• Add the pieces of fruit and stir to blend well with the caramel.
• Pour in the Maraskina, Grand Marnier and Cognac and flame.
• Allow the liquid to thicken slightly, but do not overcook the fruit.

FLAMBE ORANGES AND CREAM

Steps:

• In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add butter and melt. Stir in ginger, orange zest, orange juice and star anise and bring to a simmer. Add orange segments and crepes to warm through. Add orange liqueur and remove from the heat. Carefully light the mixture with a long kitchen match to flambe. Allow the flames to die down and remove star anise. Divide crepes among serving plates, spoon orange segments and sauce over and top with scoop of ice cream. Garnish with orange zest and serve.

STRAWBERRY CREPES FLAMBE

Steps:

• Fold crepes in quarters. Heat in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-high, flipping once, until warm and crisp, 5 minutes; divide between 2 plates.
• Return skillet to heat; melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in packed light-brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt; cook, swirling pan, until darkened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add halved strawberries; cook until tender, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add silver rum.
• To flambe, return skillet to medium-high heat. If using a gas burner, carefully tilt pan away from you to ignite; if using an electric burner, use a lit long match held just above the sauce. When flame subsides (5 to 10 seconds), spoon strawberries over crepes. Return skillet to medium-high heat and reduce sauce until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes; pour over crepes. Whisk heavy cream until thickened slightly. Drizzle over crepes; serve.

STRAWBERRIES FLAMBé

Steps:

• Drain berries, reserving syrup.
• Stir reserved syrup in cornstarch in a wok or other wide deep pan.
• Stir in lemon juice.
• Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes.
• Stir in berries and almonds.
• Heat 1 minute longer.
• Heat liqueur in a small saucepan or large ladle until just warm.
• Ignite with a long match and pour over berry mixture.
• When flame dies, stir and serve immediately over ice cream.

FRESH FRUIT TART

Steps:

• Make the Pate Sucree. Make the Pastry Cream and set it aside.
• Remove the pate sucree from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and knead it slightly to make it malleable if it feels stiff. Using a rolling pin, press the dough to flatten it into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. Generously flick flour over the work surface and the dough. Make sure the surface you are rolling on is well floured so that the dough does not stick to it; likewise, make sure the disk itself is floured well enough to keep the rolling pin from sticking to it. Carefully roll out the disk into a circle about 10 inches in diameter. Roll from the center of the disk outward and gently rotate the disk 90 degrees (a quarter-turn) after each roll to ensure that the disk gets stretched out evenly into a nice circle. Use a bench scraper to help move the dough by scraping underneath the dough and moving it around. Don't worry if the dough breaks a bit, especially toward the edges. You can easily patch these tears up once you've lined the tart pan.
• Once the dough circle is about 10 inches in diameter, dock it by poking it all over with a fork or a pastry docker (see Cook's Note). Roll it gently around the rolling pin, then unfurl it over an 8-inch tart pan. Press the dough into the tart pan, taking care to press into the corners. Trim the edge of the shell even with the top of the tart pan. Use any scraps or odd pieces to patch up any tears or missing bits. Make sure the entire tart pan is completely covered with dough, and press one last time all the way around to ensure that any holes have been patched up.
• Refrigerate the tart shell for at least 30 minutes to let the dough rest; the gluten needs a little time to relax so it doesn't shrink in the oven. (At this point you can wrap the tart shell well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 2 weeks.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking time, until it is golden brown all around. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. (At this point the tart shell can be stored, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 1 week.)
• In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream until it holds a peak and is thick and soft. Fold the pastry cream into the whipped cream until thoroughly combined.
• Gently pop the tart shell out of the pan. Place the tart shell on a serving plate. (Hint: The tart shell has a tendency to slide around a bit, so anchor it to the plate by putting a small spoonful of the pastry cream mixture directly on the plate before placing the tart shell on it.) Fill the tart shell with the pastry cream mixture and spread it evenly with a spatula.
• Stem and quarter the strawberries and place them on top of the cream with one cut side down, spaced randomly but evenly. Peel the kiwi and slice it in half lengthwise. Slice each half into 1/2 -inch-thick half-moons. (If using green grapes instead of kiwis, slice the grapes in half.) Place the kiwi slices in the cream against the cut side of the strawberries. Peel the mango and cut it into thin slices about 1 x 1 inch. Place the mango in the cream next to the kiwi. Slice the blackberries in half if they are large and place them in the cream in random places. Fill the empty spots on the tart with raspberries, blueberries, and any extra mango. The goal is to cover the whole tart with fruit and not have any cream visible. The tart must be eaten the same day it is assembled or it will get soggy. If not serving the tart immediately, store it in the refrigerator; serve within 6 hours.
• 1 large egg yolk (about 20 grams), at room temperature
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and light. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula. Add the flour and paddle on low speed for about 30 seconds, until the flour is entirely incorporated. The mixture will look like wet sand. Add the egg yolk and mix until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds. Remove the dough from the bowl, press it into a disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before using. The dough can be tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the milk on medium-high heat until just before it comes to a boil, when bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan. In a small bowl, thoroughly mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. (Mixing the cornstarch into the sugar will prevent it from clumping when you add it to the egg yolks.) Whisk the egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl until blended. Slowly whisk in the sugar-cornstarch mixture until completely incorporated. Remove the milk from the heat and slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs.
• When the milk is all whisked into the egg yolk mixture, return everything to the saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Whisk continuously and vigorously for about 1 minute. At first the mixture will be very frothy and liquid; as it cooks more, it will slowly start to thicken until the frothy bubbles disappear, the mixture starts to steam, and the whole thing become more viscous. After 1 minute, stop whisking every few seconds to see if the mixture has come to a boil. If not, keep whisking vigorously. As soon as you do see it boiling, whisk vigorously for about 10 seconds, then immediately pour the pastry cream through a sieve into an airtight container. Stir in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the pastry cream (to prevent a skin from forming) and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until cold, before using. The pastry cream can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

POACHED FRUIT FLAMBE

Steps:

• Place tea in a 3-quart saucepan. Add cinnamon sticks, star anise, allspice, lemon juice and honey. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Add cherries and prunes. Cut stems off figs and add. Cook at a very slow simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside 30 minutes or longer.
• To serve, divide ice cream among six bowls. Return fruit to a simmer and transfer all the fruit and sauce from the saucepan to a shallow serving dish.
• Pour the Scotch into the saucepan and heat briefly over low heat until warmed. Light a match, grab it with an oven mitt, stand back and ignite the Scotch. Pour flaming Scotch from saucepan over the fruit in the bowl; immediately spoon it over the ice cream.