Southern Comfort (32 page)

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Put the egg yolks in a bowl. Split open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife into the bowl with the yolks. Whisk until incorporated. Add the granulated sugar and whisk until smooth. Immediately add 2 cups of the heavy cream and the banana liqueur, again whisking until everything is well combined. Pour the mixture into four 6-ounce ramekins.

Arrange the ramekins in a deep, ovenproof casserole dish. Add hot water to the casserole dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Tightly cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Carefully remove the casserole dish with the ramekins from the oven and remove the foil, being careful of the steam. Transfer the ramekins to a baking sheet to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, chill the ramekins in the refrigerator until they are set and cold, at least 2 hours.

Just before serving, make the sweetened whipped cream. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with a handheld whisk, whip the remaining 2 cups cream until it almost forms a soft peak. Add the confectioners’ sugar and whip until you have soft peaks.

To finish the brûlées, place three slices of banana on each serving, then evenly sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar; tap off the excess sugar. Using a kitchen torch (or place the brûlées under the broiler), melt and caramelize the sugar until a nice crunchy top is formed. Top with sweetened whipped cream and cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt at medium speed until well-blended and light, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to low and add the egg whites, beating well and scraping down the sides. Add the vanilla extract and fold in the sifted flour, blending well.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a number 2 tip. Pipe the batter onto the prepared sheets in small circles, about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until golden brown around the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

To prepare the raisins, combine the raisins, rum, and sugar in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover. Cook on low heat until the raisins are nice and plump, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.

To make the pudding, in a saucepan, bring the water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Whisk in the rice and return to a simmer. Cook until the rice is cooked through, about 14 minutes. Strain the rice into a colander, and return it to the same saucepan along with the milk, heavy cream, the vanilla bean pod and seeds, and the tonka bean. Bring back up to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the sugar and the egg yolks until smooth; whisk some of the hot rice mixture into the egg mixture to temper. Return the tempered yolks to the rice mixture and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the cream coats the back of a spoon, about 6 minutes.

Fill a large bowl with ice. Pour the rice pudding into a bowl and rest on the ice to cool quickly. Remove the tonka bean and the vanilla bean pod and discard.

Once cool, serve the rice pudding garnished with the rum raisins and their liquid on top.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan and set aside.

Combine the vanilla, eggs, oil, and lemon juice in a large bowl and whisk thoroughly. Whisk the salt, cinnamon, and sugar into the oil mixture until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the oil-sugar mixture and whisk until combined. You should have a very thick batter. Fold the diced apples and toasted pecans into the batter with a spatula until thoroughly mixed. Spread the cake batter in the prepared bundt pan.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 1¼ hours.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving platter. Just before serving, garnish it with a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the cake, in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the candied ginger, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract until nice and smooth.