Basil Custard With Apricot Caramel Dessert Recipes

TIETON APRICOT TART WITH BASIL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, almond meal, 1 tablespoon sugar, lemon zest, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is in pea-sized crumbles. Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together.
• Press dough evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 12x16-inch tart pan or sheet pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Whisk egg yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed pot. Whisk in milk. Add whole basil sprigs.
• Cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to steam, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Remove basil sprigs with tongs and discard. Whisk vigorously until custard thickens, about 1 minute.
• Set a wire mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour custard into the strainer; use a rubber spatula to press it through the strainer into the bowl. Whisk vanilla extract into the custard. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.
• Pour cooled custard over crust; spread evenly to edges of crust with a rubber spatula. Arrange apricot slices on top.
• Scoop apricot jam into a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high until melted, about 1 minute. Brush jam over apricot slices.

SALTED CARAMEL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place 6 (6.5 ounce) ramekins in a baking dish.
• Place sugar evenly in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Without stirring, allow sugar to slowly melt around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. When edges start to bubble, shake and swirl pan to dissolve remaining sugar but without stirring it. Keep pan moving until you have a clear, dark caramel, about 10 minutes. When sugar is completely dissolved, whisk in cream; caramel will cool into a lump; this is normal. Keep stirring over medium heat until caramel melts and mixture comes up to temperature and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat
• Stir in kosher salt, vanilla, and cold milk; mix well.
• Place egg yolks in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in a ladleful of caramel/milk mixture to the yolks. Add 2 more ladlefuls, one at a time. Then mix in the remainder of the caramel/milk mixture to the yolks, whisking until thoroughly blended.
• Divide custard mixture evenly among the ramekins. Carefully pour into the baking dish enough water so that it comes halfway up the sides of the filled ramekins.
• Bake in preheated oven until custard is set and the top of custard jiggles evenly across the surface, 45 to 60 minutes (depending on the size of your ramekins and how full they are). If the center seems looser than the edges, continue to bake another minute or so.
• Transfer ramekins to a cooling rack; cool to room temperature. Cover ramekins with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour until they are very cold.
• Serve topped with a pinch of light, flaky sea salt.

CARAMEL CUSTARD

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, cook and stir 3/4 cup sugar over low heat until sugar is melted and golden. Pour into eight 6-oz. custard cups, tilting to coat bottom of cup; let stand for 10 minutes. , In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining sugar until blended but not foamy. Pour over caramelized sugar. , Place the cups in two 8-in. square baking pans. Pour very hot water in pans to a depth of 1 in. Bake at 350° until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. , To unmold, run a knife around rim of cup and invert onto dessert place. Serve warm or chilled.