Creole Desserts

An entremet (or entremets, from Old French, literally meaning "between servings") is in modern French cuisine a small dish served between courses or simply a dessert. Originally it was an elaborate form of entertainment dish common among the nobility and upper middle class in Western Europe during the later part of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. An entremet marked the end of a serving of courses and could be anything from a simple frumenty (a type of wheat porridge) that was brightly colored and flavored with exotic and expensive spices to elaborate models of castles complete with wine fountains, musicians, and food modeled into allegorical scenes.

Utilize whatever stale bread you have on hand to make this delicious dessert.

INGREDIENTS

1 quart of stale bread
3 eggs
1 cup of raisins
1 1/2 pints of milk
1 teaspoonful of vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Beat the eggs well and mix. When very light add the milk. Add half a cup of sugar. Mix thoroughly. Wet the bread and squeeze it. Then mix in a cup of seeded raisins. Beat the egg mixture thoroughly into this and place in the oven and bake for an hour. Serve with Brandy or Lemon Sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 quart of stale cake
3 eggs
1 cup raisins
1 1/4 pints of milk
1 teaspoonful of lemon or vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Utilize leftover cake in this pudding. Beat the eggs well and when very light add the milk. Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Mix thoroughly. Spread the bottom of the pan with the raisins and then put a layer of cake over them sliced very thin. Sprinkle this with raisins and continue adding the cake and raisins alternately until all are used. Add a little essence of lemon or vanilla to the egg mixture and pour this all over the cake. Set in the oven and bake for an hour. Serve with rum sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.

Photo courtesy of http://looka.gumbopages.com/archive/2008-06.html.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup of Jamaican rum
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoonful of caramel
1 tablespoonful of cornstarch
1 pint of water
The grated outer skin of one lemon

DIRECTIONS

Put the sugar, caramel and lemon zest in a saucepan. When it comes to a boil ass a tablespoonful of cornstarch diluted in four tablespoons of cold water. let all cook for three minutes and then remove ffrom the fire and add the rum. Mix well and serve hot over bread and cake pudding.

Photo courtesy of http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-bread-pudding-595-recipe-074.html.

ABOUT COMPOTES

Compotes are fruits preserved in very little sugar and made as needed in the household. The fruits are always blanched and a little sugar is added for them to absorb and then they are put in fishes and the syrup is poured over them. Creoles often cut the fruits into pretty shapes - especially apples and peaches. All compotes may be served as desserts or entremets.

INGREDIENTS

1 dozen apples
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of water

DIRECTIONS

Pare the apples, cut them in quarters and cut out the cores. Boil 6 apples, 2 cups of sugar and half a cup of water and add the finely cut peel of a lemon together with the lemon's juice. When they are well-blanched, take them out and place in a dish. They must be soft but not pithy. Put the other apples you have cut into the syrup, let them boil to a jelly in the juice. Put all together in a nice dish. Sprinkle with a little grated nutmeg and powdered sugar for an excellent dessert.

Photo courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/apple-compote-recipe/index.html.

The most important rule for making creole fritters is to have the batter at the proper consistency. "La Pate a Beignets" as the Creoles call the batter must be of sufficient consistency to envelope in one single immersion the fruit or other substance with which it is intended to make the fritters.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoonfuls brandy
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Cold water
1 tablespoon of melted butter

DIRECTIONS

Beat the yolks of the eggs and add the flour beating very light. Add the melted butter and the brandy and thin with water to the consistency of a thick starch. Add the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and then dip the fruit into this immersing well at one dipping. Lift out with a large cooking spoon, drop into boiling shortening and fry to a golden brown. The batter must be thick enough to coat the fruit all the way around in one immersion; yet, it must not be so thick as to be overheavily coated or tough.

Always sprinkle a fruit fritter with powdered sugar. Fruit fritters often took the place of desserts among poorer Creole families.

Photo of banana fritters from http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2009/01/banana-fritters-homely-yeastly.html.

INGREDEINTS

3 bananas
Fritter batter a la Creole

DIRECTIONS

Make a Fritter Batter a la Creole. Peel the bananas and cut them into fourths. Slice them nicely according to size. Dip in the fritter batter one at a time, lift out with a large kitchen spoon and drop into boiling shortening and fry to a golden brown. Lift out with a skimmer and set on paper towels to drain. Sift powdered sugar over them and serve hot.

The most important point in making creole pastries of all kinds is to make the pastry crust of the proper consistency. The crust of pies should always be light, flaky, and delicately crisp. To attain this, only the best flour should be used. In making pie crust, always use tepid water for the best results.The great secret for all pastry depends upon the proper manipulation with the fingers.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound of grated coconut
2 tablespoonfuls of melted butter
1/2 cup of white powdered sugar
The whites of 6 eggs
1 glass of white wine
1 pint of milk
2 tablespoonfuls of vanilla
1 tablespoonful of nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Beat the sugar and butter to a light cream and then add the wine and essence of vanilla. Gradually add the coconut, beating in as lightly as possible. Add the scalded milk which has been allowed to cool and finally beat in lightly the whites of the eggs which have been whipped to a very stiff froth. Do this latter with a few swift strokes so that the coconut may stand out fresh and flaky like snow. Bake in pie crusts that have already been set in the oven. Serve cold, sprinkling over powdered sugar. This is a famous Creole pie.

Image from http://jancooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/lawry-coconut-banana-cream-pie.html.

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 2/2 cups of butter or shortening
1 tablespoonful of salt
3/4 cup of tepid water
1/4 cup of baking powder

DIRECTIONS

This recipe will make crusts and coverings for three ordinary two-crust pies or six single-crust pies.

Sift the dry ingredients together, then cut in the shortening until it is the consistency of coarse meal. Then, add little by little the water, kneading gently until you have a soft dough. Lift out the portion that is wet and continue to knead as you mix the flour and water.

Lightly flour the board and tun out the dough onto the board. Roll lightly and quickly into thin sheets. Place a sheet of dough over each pie pan and trim the edges nicely. Set in a quick oven let them bake lightly and then add the filling. Place a light thin cover of crust over the filling and trim and crimp the edges. Decorate prettily using the edge of a fork or spoon and set in the hot oven to bake quickly. When done, set to cool. Sprinkle with white powdered sugar for an elegant taste.

TIPS

* Never wet the flour twice in the same place.
* Do not work the dough - simply mix lightly and thoroughly.
* Cut the recipe into thirds if you only want to make one pie.

INGREDIENTS

1 quart cherries
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoonful of water

DIRECTIONS

Some believe that fruit pies are best when the fruit is previously cooked but this is a matter of taste. Stew the cherries gently, as for a marmalade, and prepare the pie crust according to the directions. Proceed as in directions for making fruit pies.