The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets (17 page)

SHAKE IT UP:
For a more intense lemon flavor, substitute limoncello for the cherry liqueur.

Port Ice Cream Sundaes

M
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ABOUT
1
QUART
OR
6
SERVINGS

M
Y FELLOW
S
ERIOUS
E
ATS
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COM
FOOD BLOGGER
Adam Kuban once wrote “there’s always room for ice cream because it just melts around whatever’s already in your stomach.” I couldn’t agree more. I also think there’s always space for a sip or two of port at the end of an evening. Without the food coloring, this ice cream will be only a shade or two darker than vanilla, so if you want a bold wine color, it’s best to add it.

FOR THE ICE CREAM:

1¾ cups heavy cream

1½ cups milk

1 vanilla bean

1 cinnamon stick

6 large egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup port

2 drops red food coloring (optional)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:

1½ cups bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¼ cup milk

¼ cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons port

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon port

TO MAKE THE ICE CREAM
,
combine the cream and milk in a heavy, medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and the pod to the saucepan along with the cinnamon stick. Bring the mixture to just under a boil over medium heat (bubbles will form at the edge of the pan). Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until light and creamy. Carefully and slowly whisk a few spoonfuls (no more than ¼ cup) of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture to temper it, and then whisk the entire yolk mixture into the saucepan with the cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 to 6 minutes, or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove the saucepan from heat and pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Add the port and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours, and then freeze in an ice cream maker according to its instructions.

TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
,
place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Combine the milk and cream in a small saucepan and heat until barely simmering. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add the port and stir until combined.

TO MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM
,
combine the cream, sugar, and port in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

To serve, scoop the ice cream into bowls and top with the chocolate sauce and then the whipped cream.

Beer Profiteroles with Chocolate-Beer Sauce

M
AKES
6
SERVINGS

I
F THIS RECIPE SEEMS A BIT INTIMIDATING
,
crack open a cold one before tackling the first step. The end results—scoops of beer ice cream nestled in pastry puffs and dripping with beer-infused chocolate sauce—are well worth it. If you’re short on time, substitute store-bought coffee or vanilla ice cream for homemade. Or, for a dessert Homer Simpson would love, use purchased donut holes in place of the puff pastry. The ice cream can be made up to five days ahead, and the profiteroles will keep well for a day or two stored in an airtight container.

FOR THE BEER ICE CREAM:

2½ cups heavy cream

1½ cups milk

5 large egg yolks

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (8 ounces) chocolate stout, or other dark beer

FOR THE PROFITEROLES:

½ cup water

¼ cup whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

FOR THE CHOCOLATE-BEER SAUCE:

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

⅓ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons chocolate stout

TO MAKE THE BEER ICE CREAM
,
combine the heavy cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is barely simmering (you will see steam rising from the surface, and small bubbles at the edge of the pan). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until thick and pale yellow. Very slowly whisk ¼ cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture to temper it. Then transfer the egg mixture to the saucepan with the rest of the cream mixture and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 6 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon without running.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Add the vanilla extract and stout. Chill for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

TO MAKE THE PROFITEROLES
,
preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine ½ cup water, milk, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the
pan. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool slightly. Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Spoon the mixture into a large, zip-top plastic bag and snip off one of the corners. Squeeze 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them an inch or two apart. Bake until puffed and golden, about 22 minutes. Turn off the oven, set the door slightly ajar, and allow the profiteroles to rest for another 5 minutes.

Remove the profiteroles from the oven and prick each one with a toothpick to allow steam to escape. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.

TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE-BEER SAUCE
,
place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Combine the cream and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until just barely simmering. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts. Stir in the stout.

To assemble the dessert, cut each profiterole in half crosswise. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom half of the profiterole and sandwich with the top. Drizzle generously with the chocolate-beer sauce and serve.

SHAKE IT UP:
Substitute another richly flavored beer, such as an India Pale Ale, for the stout.

Brown Velvet

4 ounces chilled Champagne or other sparkling wine

4 ounces chocolate stout

Pour the Champagne into a large wine glass. Very slowly, pour the chocolate stout over the Champagne so that it floats on top.

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DRINK

LUSH AND FRUITY DESSERTS

When I was a kid, every once in a while
my mom would serve little bowls of canned fruit cocktail after dinner. I thought it was a total cop-out. I liked the candy red cherries and the pieces of syrupy pineapple, but why were the grapes peeled? And what were those little white chunks? Fruit, I maintained, was not dessert.

Twenty years later I’m still not entirely sure what was in that canned cocktail (Seriously, were those apple pieces? Asian pears?), but I often savor fruit at the end of a meal. I’m not talking about diet-friendly grapefruit halves, though. By “fruit desserts” I mean crisps and crumbles, shortcakes and slumps, most made better with a scoop of ice cream, and all enhanced with alcohol.

Pisco-Roasted Pineapple

M
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6
SERVINGS

P
ISCO IS A COLORLESS
S
OUTH
A
MERICAN LIQUOR
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Similar to wine, it is made from grapes. In the late nineteenth century, a San Francisco bar began serving pisco punch, a potent blend of pisco and pineapple. It has since become the city’s signature drink. I’ve combined those ingredients in a tropical dessert reminiscent of the more traditional rum-roasted pineapple.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup pisco

1 medium pineapple, cored and cut crosswise into thick slices

1 or 2 whole nutmeg

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and pisco. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook just until the sugar dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat.

Arrange the pineapple slices in single layer in a 13 × 9-inch baking dish. Pour the pisco mixture evenly over the pineapple slices. Add the nutmeg to the dish and roast 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pineapple is tender.

Allow the pineapple slices to cool slightly. To serve, scoop the ice cream into bowls and top with the pineapple slices. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve.

Pisco Punch

1 large pineapple, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 (750 ml) bottle pisco

1¾ cups simple syrup

⅔ cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice

Lime or lemon slices, for garnish

Combine the pineapple and pisco in a large jar. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days, shaking occasionally. Strain the pisco into a large pitcher and discard the pineapple. Add the simple syrup and the lime or lemon juice. Stir to blend. Serve in glasses over ice, garnished with a lime or lemon slice.

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ABOUT
12
SERVINGS

Boozy Baked Apples

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6
SERVINGS

T
HE BEST BAKED APPLES TASTE LIKE THE INSIDE OF APPLE PIE
:
spicy, warm, and a bit gooey. This version is a true autumn treat, flavored with brown sugar, raisins, maple syrup, and plenty of rum. Watch your apples carefully when they are in the oven. They probably won’t be exactly the same size, so some may be done before others.

My friend Peter makes an insanely delicious version of Hot Buttered Rum. It would be perfect to serve with these apples on a cold winter’s night.

6 large baking apples, such as Golden Delicious or Jonagold

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar