The Pioneer Woman Cooks (68 page)

3. Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and add the ¾ cup sugar. With a whisk, mix the eggs and sugar together. Now, break out your elbow grease and take a deep breath. You’re going to need to whisk the mixture like crazy for a good 3 or 4 minutes, until it’s very light yellow in color. This kills my arm every time, and I usually have to stop and take a few breathers along the way. Consider this your exercise for the day.

4. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour the hot cream into the bowl through the strainer. This will filter out the tiny bits of vanilla bean.

5. To temper the egg mixture, very slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot cream into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously to prevent the eggs from cooking. Continue adding the rest of the hot cream to the bowl very slowly, whisking constantly. You can add the cream a little more rap-idly as the mixture warms.

6. Place 6 ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and ladle in the custard until the ramekins are three-quarters full.

Place the pan inside the oven, then pour water into the baking sheet until it reaches halfway up the ramekins.

7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custard is set but not brown. Watch carefully to avoid browning!

8. Remove the ramekins from the pan and allow to cool. Refrigerate the custards, covered, for at least 2 hours or overnight.

9. When you’re ready to serve dessert, sprinkle the top of each custard generously with 1 tablespoon superfine sugar. Use a kitchen torch to burn the sugar to a crisp, working quickly to avoid cooking the custard below.

Serve immediately with spoons. Prepare yourself for moans and groans.

Variation

Top with berries and whipped cream for extra decadence!

SWEETS

MY FAVORITE PART

PATSY’S BLACKBERRY COBBLER

Makes 8 servings

Everyone has his own interpretation of cobbler. Some folks like a flat pie crust on top of the fruit. Others spoon a biscuit-like topping on the top. Still others use a bottom and top crust and try to convince themselves they’re not eating pie, which has always kind of confused me. But I’m not going to judge them.

What I am going to do is show you my favorite kind of cobbler. Though I doubt it would win any blue ribbons for Cobbler Recipe That Most Resembles the Original, I happen to think it’s the most delicious. (Thank you, Patsy!)

¼ pound (1 stick) butter, melted1¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar1 cup self-rising flour 1 cup milk2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries (or blueberries, peaches, raspberries, and so on)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter.

2. Place the stick of butter in a microwave-safe dish. Heat in a microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, until melted.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of the sugar with the flour and milk.