LAVENDER & TUPELO HONEY CRÈME BRULÉE



Sondra Bernstein is the Proprietor of the girl & the fig™ in Sonoma and the fig café & winebar in Glen Ellen, California. She wrote the girl & the fig Cookbook (Simon & Schuster, 2004), and has created the girl & the fig line of gourmet food products, available nationwide.

4 Servings

7 Egg yolks
2 oz. Sugar
2 oz. Savannah Bee Tupelo Honey
1 1/2 Cups Heavy cream
1/2 Cup Milk
3-4 sprigs Lavender (or 1 Tbs dried lavender)
3 – 4 Tbs Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put cream and milk into a saucepan with lavender. Bring to a boil and turn off. Let stems steep for about 15 minutes or until the milk has a lavender flavor.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, sugar and honey until smooth. Pull sprigs out of the cream and milk mixture and whisk into eggs. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and skim off any foam.

Pour into four ounce ramekins or brulee dishes. Set into a baking pan, add enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides. Place in oven and bake 25 - 30 minutes or until they are set. Test by jiggling the dish.

Cool in the water bath. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Before serving, sprinkle tops with a thin layer of granulated sugar and caramelize with a small torch or under a high temperature broiler. Garnish with lavender blossoms or candied violets.

the girl & the fig
110 West Spain Street
Sonoma, CA 95476
707-938-3634
www.thegirlandthefig.com

CHOCOLATE HONEY CAKE



This recipe appears in Nick Malgieri's new book "Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Show Stoppers" (HarperCollins, $40.00). Nick is the director of the baking department at Peter Kump's Cooking School in New York and a frequent lecturer at cooking schools across the US. He has written for major food and general interest publications (Gourmet, Food & Wine, Chocolatier,The New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal) and is the author of How To Bake, Nick Malgieri's Perfect Pastry, and Great Desserts.

1 3/4 Cups Pastry flour
1/4 Cup Cocoa (Dutch process)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
8 Tbs (1 stick) Unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup Honey
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Buttermilk

One 10-Cup Bundt pan buttered and dusted with fine dry bread crumbs

1. Set a rack at the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt, soda, ginger, and cinnamon onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Set aside.
3. Use an electric mixer set on medium speed to beat the butter with the honey until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and continue beating until smooth and light, another 2 minutes.
4. On low speed, beat in half the dry ingredients, then scrape down bowl and beater(s) with a rubber spatula. Beat in the buttermilk and scrape down again. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted halfway between the side and the center of the tube emerges clean.
6. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack, remove pan, and finish cooling.

SERVING: This cake works well served either alone as a tea cake, or with butter pecan ice cream.

STORAGE: Keep the cake at room temperature under a cake dome, or double-wrap in plastic and freeze.

www.nickmalgieri.com

ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY ICE CREAM

This dynamite recipe for Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream comes from Mia Cucina, a jam-packed restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Yields 1 _ quarts

3 Cup Half and Half or heavy cream
2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
_ cup Savannah Bee Orange Blossom Honey


Combine ingredients together making sure all the honey is dissolved in the cream. (The cream need not be hot to achieve this.) Place mixture into an ice cream machine and follow manufacturers instructions. Or place mixture in a plastic container and freeze for 8-10 hours stirring frequently. Serve drizzled with Savannah Bee Orange Blossom honey and the fresh fruit of your choice.

http://www.theplaceforfood.com