The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern by Claudia Fleming with
Melissa Clark.
After having enjoyed Claudia Fleming's wonderful desserts, I looked forward to The Last Course with anticipation and was not disappointed. The book's organization follows a fashion of not organizing by dessert genre, but by ingredient or seasons. What Fleming and veteran cookbook co-author Clark have done is there are 13 chapters of desserts which can stand alone and the 14th chapter is Signature Composed Desserts, which is one dessert plate and multiple components, to create a showstopper for special occasions.
Some of the chapters are surprising - Herbs and Flowers, which includes Tarragon Ice Cream and Basil Ice Cream, neither of which sound appealing, and Black Mint Ice Cream and Lavender Crème Brûlée, which do. The only truly jarring note in this harmonious book is the title of the chapter "Vegetables", which, when you explore a bit further, you find comforting things like Pumpkin Clafouti and Cornmeal Poundcake, though I prefer my tomatoes kept away from my desserts, as they always evoke the dreaded Tomato Surprise Cake.
I tested three recipes from The Last Course and found them to be equally delicious and unusual. They were also among the most stress-free desserts I've ever had the pleasure of making - one step segued into the next and before I knew it, the desserts were finished.
One of the dessert highlights of my childhood was a concoction had on a summer vacation called a Rainbow Parfait. I couldn't tell you what was in it besides ice cream and sticky syrups of many colors, but I remember how enchanted I was at the sight of the striped layers.
Well, Claudia Fleming's Espresso-Orange Panna Cotta Parfaits with Coffee Gelée evoked it, and had a much more adult taste. This is also an incredibly easy dessert, and is elegant in its creamy austerity. The other two desserts I tested were Concord Grape Sorbet and Sugar-and-Spice Doughnuts. The doughnuts have a Middle-Eastern palate to them, flavored with orange-flower water and rolled in cinnamon sugar with ground cardamom. Fleming cuts the doughnuts into beignet-shaped squares, and this is easier and far less tedious than constantly re-flouring and re-greasing a doughnut cutter. It also cuts down on the number of batches you need to fry, because all the doughnuts are the same size, as opposed to with a traditional doughnut, where you have doughnuts and doughnut holes that need to be fried separately.
I can say hands down, that the panna cotta was the best I've ever made. There are two problems with many panna cotta recipes - one is the amount of gelatin. If there's too much, the panna cottas become rubbery and unpleasant - and too little gelatin makes them too soft, and sauce-like.
The second problem is that people often make their panna cottas sticky sweet. One of the pleasures of a well-made panna cotta is tasting the essence of the milk or cream, and not overwhelming it with sugar.
Espresso-Orange Panna Cotta Parfaits with Coffee Gelée
(Yield: 6 servings)
Espresso Panna Cotta
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely ground espresso
Espresso Gelée
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
1 1/2 tablespoons finely ground espresso
3 tablespoons sugar
Orange Panna Cotta
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (about 1 orange, zested)
To prepare the espresso panna cotta, place 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture rest for five minutes, until the gelatin softens. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, the sugar and the ground espresso over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and steep for 5 minutes.
Add the gelatin mixture to the saucepan with the espress cream and place it over low heat. Warm the mixture, whisking, until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let it come to a simmer. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth, then pour it into 6 parfait glasses, dividing it evenly. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
To prepare espresso gelée , place 1/4 cup water ina small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, until the gelatin softens. Bring an additional 3/4 cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the ground espresso and sugar, turn off the heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
Add the softened gelatin mixture to the espresso-sugar mixture and return the saucepan to low heat. Warm the mixture, whisking, until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let it come to a simmer. Strain through a fine sieve lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Let the espresso mixture come to room temperature. Gently pour it into the parfait glasses over the panna cotta layer. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until set, about 1 hours.
To prepare the orange panna cotta, place 1/4 cup of heavy cream in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, until the gelatin softens. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, the sugar, and the orange zest over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
Add the gelatin mixture to the saucepan with the orange cream and place it over low heat. Warm the mixture, whisking, until the gelatin dissolves. Do not let it come to a simmer. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Gently pour it into the parfait glasses over the espresso gelée, dividing it evenly. Cover it with plastic and refrigerate until set, about two hours.
By Sukey Pett
