'Last Course' dips into savory Gramercy Tavern desserts
Claudia Fleming has always loved desserts.
Perhaps that is why she is such a success at her career as pastry chef at Gramercy Tavern in New York City. She won the 2000 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef Award and the 2000 and 2001 Best Dessert Award from Pastry Art & Design magazine.
"I've always loved desserts, for both their sweet flavors and their diverse textures, like the crunch of a chocolate-covered pretzel or the silky mouth feel of homemade butterscotch custard," Fleming says. "Growing up, I was the kind of kid who sometimes wouldn't eat dinner but ate ice cream and cookies instead."
Now she's tempting others with her desserts. Her style is sophisticated, yet she forgoes the fancy architectural elements to instead concentrate on producing the ultimate in taste. She includes 175 recipes in her new book, "The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern." The 280-page hardcover is filled with color photographs and easy-to-follow recipes organized seasonally by fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs and flowers, spices, sweet essences, dairy and chocolate.
Use clementines, in stores now, for this elegant, yet easy dessert.
Prosecco Sabayon with
Clementines and Blood Oranges
- 6 clementines
- 3 blood oranges
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup Prosecco or other sparkling wine
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
In the top of a double boiler, or in a large metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add the Prosecco and whisk well.
Set the double boiler top or bowl over simmering water and whisk constantly for about 4 minutes, until the mixture is very thick and glossy. It should hold its shape when spooned onto a plate. Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl set in a larger bowl of water and ice and whisk until the mixture feels cold. Fold in the whipped heavy cream.
To serve, arrange the fruit in 6 bowls. Spoon the sabayon on top and serve immediately. Or cover and chill the sabayon for as much as 4 hours before serving.
Makes 6 servings.
Lemon-Poppy Seed Shortbread
Be sure to use fresh poppy seeds for this recipe. Poppy seeds can turn rancid as quickly as nuts, so taste them first if you are not sure, Fleming suggests.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
In a bowl, combine the flour, poppy seeds and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 3 hours and as much as 3 days, or freeze for as long as 2 months.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of wax paper to a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 10 by 12 inches). If the dough seems soft, return it to the refrigerator to chill for an additional 30 minutes. Cut the shortbread into shapes with a 2-inch cookie cutter, or into 3- by 2-inch bars using a knife, and place them 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets (do not reroll the scraps). Prick the shortbread with a fork and bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until pale golden all over. Cool on a wire rack.
Peeling citrus
Some recipes, such as Prosecco Sabayon with Clementines and Blood Oranges, call for citrus fruit that is peeled and the white membranes removed around the segments. Author Claudia Fleming offers these tips for completing the task:
