Ready for Dessert
It's a good sign for a new cookbook when the food-lovers at the table keep passing it around. At one point on Sunday, I kept grabbing back Ready for Dessert to check on directions for the coconut tapioca pudding simmering on the stove, with my husband flipping the page back to write out his shopping list for peanut butter cookies, and our friend Tea copying directions for yet another irresistible recipe.
The warm reception wasn't a particular shock. David Lebovitz is one of a handful of authors whose books are pure gifts in the kitchen. He helps readers easily stretch into experiments that otherwise would have seemed out of their comfort zones -- marshmallows, meringues, macarons, souffles. Somehow, under his written guidance, they work. It helps that he writes engaging, wry headnotes and blog posts, and it helps that his own gusto for the food comes through on the page. But the proof is in the pudding -- in this case, that includes coconut tapioca, orange-almond bread pudding, and kumquat sticky toffee -- and I find his recipes both unintimidating to prepare and impressive to eat.
In his latest book, which includes a dozen new offerings along with updated hits from out-of-print books, Lebovitz gives some background to his philosophy: "When people tell me 'I can't bake,' I'm truly puzzled because baking is the least fussy of the culinary arts," he writes in the introduction. "Sure, you need to measure carefully, but 1 cup of sugar is 1 cup of sugar. Eight tablespoons of butter isn't really open to interpretation. To me, baking has much of the guesswork taken out of it. (I often think the world would be a safer place if people would drive with the same exactitude and precision that they think is necessary when baking.)"
He also provides some recommendations on kitchen gear, which I appreciate seeing. Sure, as he writes, you can get by pretty well with the basics, but a few extras do make baking easier and more enjoyable. The biggest tip he can offer is to buy the best you can, and "fortunately, the best isn't always the most expensive." A few items on his list: He wouldn't bake without a pastry scraper in reach, he likes heatproof silicone spatulas, especially the Le Creuset "spatula spoon," and his own favorite cookware is All-Clad.
But, mostly what we're here for are recipes, and there are enough here to keep me happily busy for months: Peaches in Red Wine, Pistachio-Cardamom Cake, Rosemary Cookies With Tomato Jam, Nectarine-Raspberry Upside-Down Gingerbread... I can't wait. Already, I can vouch for that tapioca pudding, which my 7-year-old said reminded him of Thai sticky rice with mango. And even as I type these words, the oven timer is beeping to alert me that the peanut butter cookies are done.
Coconut Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups (875 ml) Thai coconut millk
1 3/4 cups (430 ml) whole or lowfat milk
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (160 g) small pearl tapioca
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dried unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, or shards of fresh coconut, toasted
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, milk, sugar, tapioca, and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the saucepan, then drop in the pod. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula to make sure the mixture isn't scorching on the bottom, until the pudding thickens and the tapioca pearls are completely cooked through and translucent, about 20 minutes (Note: Mine took more like 30). Remove from the heat.
2. Briskly stir the egg yolks into the pudding, incorporating them quickly. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand), whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites into the pudding, then stir in the vanilla extract.
4. The pudding can be served warm or cold. Spoon it into individual serving dishes and toss with toasted coconut. A simple compote of fresh tropical fruit, such as cubes of bananas, mangoes, papayas, and pineapple, tossed in brown sugar, is a perfect accompaniment. The pudding will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Serves 8.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz, copyright © 2010. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
-- Rebekah Denn
David on April 13, 2010 at 10:13 AM
Glad you liked the book, and that pudding!
przepisy on April 15, 2010 at 01:37 AM
I'm always ready for dessert!!!