Menu: Breakfast with Fledge
Menu: Breakfast with Fledge
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Toffee Fruit, Creamy Hot Vanilla, & Tea Cake with Tumnus
Toffee Fruit
Digory is so eager to prove himself to Aslan and complete the task set before him that he jumps on Fledge the flying horse and takes off with Polly without a thought for provisions. So when they settle down for the night, the two children are dismayed to find that dinner isn’t ready. Fledge suggests they eat grass—it’s the best kind he’s ever tasted—but Jill explains that they can’t eat grass any more than Fledge can eat a mutton chop. The children share between them a bag of toffees, and on an impulse, Digory plants the last toffee. And lo! In the morning they find that a toffee tree has sprung up. Toffee fruit is softer and juicier than the hard crunchy Heath Bars you might have had in mind and resemble dates.
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavoring, optional
1.Place brown sugar, milk, heavy cream, corn syrup, salt, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan (at least 4 quarts to allow mixture to expand). Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. The mixture will appear curdled but will smooth out as it cooks. Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in hot water and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
2.Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 238° F, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat immediately. Continue stirring until the temperature drops to 236° F.
3.Wait till the temperature drops to 120° F. Add the vanilla and butter flavor, if using, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture turns opaque and crumbly and is impossible to stir. Scrape the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap, cover completely, and knead gently for a few minutes to soften the mixture and form it into a smooth mass.
4.Using a small cookie scoop or your fingers, scoop out or pinch off 1 1/2 inch pieces of the mixture. Work with a few pieces at a time and keep the mixture covered with the plastic as you work to prevent it from drying out. Roll the pieces into small logs to resemble dates and lay them on a sheet of parchment.
5.Transfer the Toffee Fruit to an airtight container. The candies will keep, stored properly, for several weeks, though they most likely won’t last that long.
Note: The butter flavor gives the candy a richer toffee flavor.
Creamy Hot Vanilla
You’re looking at this recipe and saying “creamy hot vanilla what?” But if we have hot chocolate, why not hot vanilla? I imagine that this is what the creamy hot drink the White Witch gave Edmund tasted like.
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated nutmeg, optional, for serving
1.Combine the milk and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch until smooth. Add the cream mixture to the milk mixture, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until thickened and bubbling. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
2.Divide the hot drink among 3 to 4 teacups. Sprinkle the grated nutmeg on top, if using. Serve immediately.
Serves 3 to 4
Tea Cake with Tumnus
A flickering fire in a cozy cave and tea with Tumnus—no wonder Lucy is lulled into believing Tumnus is harmless. Which he does turn out to be, after all! Recreate their tea with this classic tea cake.
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar, divided
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
1.Preheat the oven to 350 F and have on hand a 10-inch tube pan, light metal (as opposed to dark) and NOT non-stick.
2.Beat the egg whites on medium-high speed with the salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla until soft mounds begin to form. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to overbeat the egg whites (the egg whites should be glossy; if they turn dry and cottony they’re overbeaten). Set aside.
3.In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, remaining sugar, and lemon zest and juice on medium-high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 10 minutes. Slowly pour in the oil; the mixture will thicken and lighten further. Add the sifted flour in 2 batches, stirring on slowest speed to combine. Finish mixing by folding with a rubber spatula.
4.Add 1/4 of the beaten egg whites to the yolk mixture to lighten it and beat until combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula. Scrape the mixture into the pan. Tap lightly on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.
5.Bake for 45 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately invert over a wine bottle. Leave the cake over the wine bottle until completely cooled.
6.To remove the cake from the pan, run a knife along the outer and inner edges. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Makes 1 10-inch cake, which will feed 10 dainty eaters or 5 hearty ones
(or just 1 or 2 serious cake lovers!)