Vegan Crème Brûlée

"burnt cream"...Julia doesn't give an english translation for this one...

...this is the 611th and very last final recipe for this blog...

...and I thought it was funny that this very last recipe is a bit odd...Julia gives two entirely different descriptions in the two versions of the book that I have...

...in the 1964 version...

...which describes itself as the sixth printing...reprinted four times...which somehow doesn't add up for me...haha...

...anywhoo...this is the description of Crème Brûlée...

..."Although many people think of it as a French dessert, Crème Brûlée is actually Creole. Make the basic cream exactly like the preceding creme anglaise, but use half the amount of sugar, and whipping cream instead of milk..."

...and then in my 40th anniversary edition from 2009...

...the origin description is completely different...

..."Crème Brûlée originated in England, it appears, at Christ's College in Cambridge..."

...the "it appears" is telling and kind of funny...but she doesn't mention the previous version at all...

...and then wikipedia says this..."The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois, but its ultimate origins are unclear."

...and then there's no recipe really at all... in either version...she just goes on to say...

..." Rather than glazing the top of the cream with brown sugar, try spreading a 1/8 inch layer of pralin, page 583, over the cream. This would then be a Crème anglaise pralinée, and is good as a dessert either by itself or served with strawberries."

...of course you need to make the VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE...

...and pour that into ramekins...

...and you need to make a Pralin...and Julia gives you several options for pulverising it...I just used my trusty Pampered Chef chopper thingy...

...so I sprinkled brown sugar on top of one ramekin and the Pralin on the other...I won't be broiling the pralinéed one...

...and pop it under the broiler until it bubbles...I was kind of surprised that she says to use brown sugar...as broiling regular sugar would carmelize it...

...and indeed the topping was very dark...but I gave it a whack with the back of my spoon...

. ...and it made a satisfying crack...

...it's really delicious though...the crunchy slightly burnt sugar is delicious with the vegan cream...

...and the pralinéed one was really good too...

Substitutions

...you'll need all of the subs for the VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking...pp. 588-590

VEGAN OIE BRAISÉE AUX MARRONS/CANETON BRAISÉE AUX MARRONS

[Braised Goose with Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing]
[Braised Duck with Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing]

...the only notes that Julia gives for the duck version are to "Follow the recipe for braised goose with chestnut and sausage stuffing, page 285."

...y'all already know that I've been having trouble finding chestnuts here...so I finally just ordered these organic ones from Amazon...

...I tried one and they're not horrible...haha...

...I'm using this vegan sausage...

...and a mixture of tofu and walnuts for the liver...

...and for the goose/duck itself...I'm just going to use baked tofu...and I cut it into a spiral...

...and then rolled it out onto a silicone baking sheet...I'm going to bake it first so that it will be sturdy enough to stuff...

...I sprinkled the top with a mixture of vegan beef and vegan chicken bouillon...and baked it for about 1/2 hour...

...then I flipped the whole thing over and baked it again for another 15 minutes or so...

...and when that side was golden...I deemed it sturdy enough to stuff...

...first I laid some roasting twine under the tofu...and then I spread the sausage/walnut/tofu paste onto the seasoned side of the vegan goose/duck...

...and then a layer of the pretty organic chestnuts...

...and then rolled the whole thing up and tied it...

...put it into a dish and measured out some white wine...in hindsight...I think I would omit this...

...and proceeded to make the sauce...with flour...both types of bouillon and the wine...

...and poured that over the trussed vegan goose/duck...

...covered in foil and baked...not for the 2 1/2 hours Julia suggests...but about another 1/2 hour...

...and here it is fresh out of the oven...

...it sliced beautifully...and would make a pretty company dish...

...and it was pretty delicious...even with the chestnuts...haha...

Substitutions:

...roasted tofu for the goose/duck
...vegan chicken and beef bouillon for the broth
...vegan sausage
...tofu and walnuts for the liver

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 285-287 for the goose and 281 for the duck)

VEGAN BOUCHÉES PARMENTIER AU FROMAGE

[Vegan Potato Cheese Sticks]

...Julia says that "Mashed potato gives these little cheese mouthfuls a nice, tender quality..."

...we gathered some ingredients...

...and boiled the potatoes in salted water...

...then put them through a ricer...

...and then you cook them over medium heat for a couple of minutes until "a light film on the bottom of the pan, indicating most of their moisture has been evaporated"....

...beat the flour into the potatoes....add the vegan butter and egg replacer...

...it's almost like biscuit dough but a little bit stiffer...

...add some cayenne and white pepper...and a little grating of nutmeg...

...and add the vegan cheese...

...now it's really thick and chunky...

...and Julia says to pipe them onto a baking sheet...but my piping tool is not sturdy enough for this thick and chunky mmixture so I just shaped them into little logs...

...baked at 425° F until golden brown...

...they baked up so nicely...so light and fluffy...

...right out of the oven these are so delicious...crispy and cheesey...

...and I put them in my Luz de Nambé nickel bowl for the party...

Substitutions:

...egg replacer
vegan cheese...
...and vegan butter

...recipe here...Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 198-199)

VEGAN SOUFFLÉ DÉMOULÉ AUX MACARONS

[Vegan Rum and Macaroon Souffle, Unmolded — a cold dessert]

...this is another soufflé...and otherwise pretty similar to the Ile Flottante that we had a couple of weeks ago...not in texture but in flavor...

...and of course there are lots and lots of steps to this one...

...and since the first step is to butter a caramel lined mold...you'll need to make some caramel...recipe here...

...and line your mold with it...and let it set...

...add some rum to your pulverized macarons...you can see how I made them from aqua faba in this recipe...

...then add some hot soymilk and sugar...

...then beat some aqua faba to soft peaks...

...and then because this is a soufflé and needs to rise...I added some baking powder...

...and a little xanthan gum...1/4 teaspoon...

...and for good measure...or for going overboard...haha...I also added 1 teaspoon of egg replacer...that should be 'eggy' enough...

...then fold in the whipped aqua faba...

...Julia says it will be quite liquid...

...it's definitely poofy and foamy at this point anyway...

...set it in a pan of water...and bake it for about 45 minutes...

...then make a VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE...

...Julia says that the soufflé will shrink as it cools...

...spread your VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE on a serving dish...

...and reverse the soufflé onto it...

...then dissolve the remaining caramel in the mold with some water...

...pour some more VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE and the caramel syrup over the soufflé...

...it's a pretty dish...

...and the soufflé sliced and held it's shape perfectly...

...and it went perfectly with a nice cup of tea...

...and it was so delicious...

Substitutions:

...aqua faba and agar for the egg whites
...egg replacer, baking powder and xanthan gum for the eggs
...and all of the subs for the VEGAN CRÈME ANGLAISE

Mastering the Art of French Cooking (pp. 620-621)