Recipes

1 Preheat oven to 325°F and set a kettle of water to boil. Set four ramekins or oven-safe bowls out and a large baking dish. In a saucepan melt the butter. Once melted add the brown sugar and salt, stir until well combined. Add the cream and milk to the sugar mixture. Heat to a boil and remove from heat.

2 Slowly, in a thin stream, pour the heated sugar-dairy mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm mixture, but not cooked by it. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour through a fine mesh sieve to catch any cooked bits of egg.

3 Ladle the mixture evenly into the ramekins. Place ramekins in the baking dish and pour the hot water into the baking dish until the water rises an inch from the top of the ramekins. Lightly tent the pan with some vented foil and bake for 50-65 minutes or until set (the sides should be firm and the center a bit wobbly). Be sure to rotate the pan half way through cooking. Allow to cool or, preferably, chill before serving.

Serves 4

1 Start by cutting the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and placing in the freezer for at least 15 minutes (preferably an hour or longer) so that they become thoroughly chilled. Dough is ready to shape into discs.

2 In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again.

3 Remove dough from machine and place on a clean surface. Carefully shape into a discs. Do not over-knead the dough! You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These bits of butter are what will allow the result crust to be flaky. Sprinkle the disc with a little flour on all sides. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

4 Remove the crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Gently fold in half. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.

1 Prepare the pâte brisée crust. Roll it out to a 13-inch circle and press it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (if you don't have a tart pan, a pie plate is just fine). Fit the dough into the edges and then trim off the excess dough leaning over the top. Put the crust in the freezer to chill for a half hour. Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2 To prepare the frangipane beat together the almond paste and sugar to break it apart. Beat in the butter. Mix in the egg, flour, salt, and almond extract and beat until light and fluffy. Don't fret if there are a few little chunks of almond paste. Also, don't worry if it seems like you didn't make enough as the frangipane will rise during baking.

3 Peel and core the pears, and then slice them thinly, about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Places the slices in a bowl with the lemon juice to help preserve their color.

4 Spread the frangipane over the bottom of the tart shell. Next, carefully arrange the pear slices in a decorative pattern (they can slightly overlap, but don't build them up in layers or the tart will lack a refined appearance). Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pears take on a bit of color and the edges of the tart shell are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

• 5 While the tart bakes, place the apricot jam, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and water or Riesling into a small sauce pan wand warm over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes, constantly stirring. Once it has reduced and thickened take it off the heat and set it aside. Once the tart is out of the oven brush the apricot glaze over the pears. Serve.
• Makes 6 servings.

• Make Filling: (Prepare at least 2 hours or up to 1 day in advance.)
• 1. Whisk together 1/4 cup milk with cornstarch until smooth. Add 3 egg yolks and whisk until blended. Set aside.

2. Combine remaining 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in small heavy saucepot and heat to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk half of milk mixture into egg yolk mixture. Return mixture to pan. Heat to a boil. Simmer gently for 1 minute, whisking constantly until slightly thickened.

3. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla extract and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Transfer filling to a covered container and refrigerate for several hours until thickened and completely cool.

• Make Cupcakes:
• 1. Position oven rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups with paper liners or grease muffin cups and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour; tapping out excess.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Place 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar in small bowl. Scrape out vanilla bean seeds into sugar with a small knife. Mix to distribute seeds in sugar; set aside.

4. In medium bowl beat butter and sugar mixture with electric mixer at medium-high speed about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add 6 egg yolks, two at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions. Beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

5. Reserve about 2 cups batter. Spoon remaining batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Make a slight well in center of each filled muffin cup using the back of a teaspoon. Add about 2 tablespoons custard filling over each filled muffin cup using a pastry bag or small ice cream scoop. Completely cover filling with reserved batter.

6. Bake cupcakes in two batches, for 22 to 24 minutes or until tops are golden brown and set. Cool cupcakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

• Make Frosting:
• 1. In small saucepot, add cream and heat to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted and set aside.

2. Using small angled spatula spread about 2 tablespoons frosting in an even layer over top of each cupcake. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes to set frosting. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 12 large cupcakes