If you’ve been clenching your teeth in the last few days, from crunching numbers for your tax return, you may need some comfort food to chew away the frustration. Each of us has a different list of comfort foods. For me, it might be garlic mashed potatoes, Thai coconut soup, bread just out of the oven, or dark chocolate anything. What is it for you? In her beautifully photographed cookbook, aptly named “Comfort Food,” author Maxine Clark presents “simple, indulgent food” that will remind you there is still something to be happy about. The book offers some delicious breakfast and main dish recipes, but the desserts are real standouts. This food will definitely lift your mood and leave you feeling rich; if not in your wallet, at least in your tummy.
Hazelnut pain au chocolat pudding
A most decadent bread pudding with creamy custard and oozing melted chocolate. Prepare to feel very rich. Makes six servings.
4 large or 6 small pain au chocolat French pastries (chocolate filled croissants)
3 ounces chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella or other brand)
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Butter a 7 1/2 cup shallow baking dish. Cut pain au chocolat pastries into thick slices, then spread them with the chocolate and hazelnut spread. Arrange slices, spread side up and overlapping, in the prepared dish. Pour milk and cream into a saucepan. Add vanilla bean; cook over low heat for 5 minutes until mixture is almost boiling and well-flavored with vanilla. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and superfine sugar until light and creamy. Strain milk into the egg mixture, whisking well. Pour egg mixture evenly over pain au chocolate; allow to stand for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baking dish in a large roasting pan; pour in enough boiling water to come half way up sides of dish. Bake pudding for 45 to 50 minutes or until custard is soft set and top is crisp and golden brown. Remove from oven; leave pudding in pan of water until just warm. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve.
Real hot chocolate with churros
Churros, those crispy little doughnuts, fried and rolled in sugar, taste wonderful dipped in hot chocolate. This is a double-comfort combination of crunchy and creamy. Sip and chew while looking at the stars and contemplating how long it will be before they’ll be paying taxes on Mars. Recipe makes two servings.
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Superfine sugar or confectioners’ sugar
Sift flour onto a small sheet of baking parchment. Bring water and milk to a boil in a saucepan. Add flour; beat vigorously with a wooden spoon, stirring until dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan. Remove pan from heat; let dough cool. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding just enough to give a piping consistency. Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil in a deep fat fryer or wok until a piece of dough sizzles as soon as it hits the oil. Squeeze piping bag over pan, snipping off 4-inch lengths with kitchen scissors. Fry churros in batches of four to six until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Place on baking tray; keep warm in oven while making hot chocolate.
Hot Chocolate
1 2/3 cups milk
4 ounces semisweet chocolate (with more than 60 percent cocoa solids)
Bring milk to the boil in a small pan. Break up chocolate; put in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. When chocolate melts completely (about 10 minutes) remove from heat and stir in a little milk. Whisk in remaining milk until frothy. Pour into mugs and drink hot. Remove churros from oven, roll in sugar, pile into a basket and eat immediately, dipping into hot chocolate.
Caramel rice pudding with apricot and almond compote
Sticky, gooey, warm and creamy with a hit of chilled apricots on the side. This will get you through almost anything. Makes four servings.
6 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
1/4 cup short grain pudding rice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup ready-to-eat dried apricots
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
To make the caramel, put the sugar and half the water into a heavy pan. Cook over low heat, without stirring, until sugar has dissolved and liquid is clear. Increase heat; boil until liquid turns a caramel color. Quickly remove pan from heat, stand back and add remaining water. Be careful, as it will hiss and sputter. Return pan to low heat; stir to dissolve hardened pieces of caramel. Take caramel off the heat and leave to cool for 2 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. To make the rice pudding, put the split vanilla bean, milk and evaporated milk into a pan; bring slowly to a boil. Stir in the rice and cooled caramel, bring back to a boil, then pour into a shallow, 3 3/4 cup ovenproof dish. Bake pudding about three hours or until a brown skin forms on top and rice beneath is cooked and creamy. Meanwhile, make the compote: Put superfine sugar and 1 1/4 cups water in a pan; heat until sugar has dissolved. Add apricots, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes until very soft. Stir in almonds; cool, then chill. Serve rice pudding warm with the chilled compote spooned on side.