Giorgio Tramonto is one lucky kid. His parents, especially his mother, know how to make great desserts and they’ve written a book to prove it.
This will come as no surprise to Chicagoans familiar with the names Gale Gand and Rick Tramonto. The pair, the force behind the restaurants Brasserie T in Northfield and Tru in Chicago, have pretty much covered the savory and sweet possibilities of the kitchen for years.
Gand in particular is a noted baker of homestyle desserts, and it is easy to see her flour-dusted hand guiding the recipes in the new cookbook, “Butter Sugar Flour Eggs” written with help from food writer Julia Moskin (Clarkson Potter, $32.50)
Unlike some of the pastry and baking books released this year that have proposed detail-heavy and labor-intensive confections for dazzling guests, “Butter” takes a more laid-back approach.
Here are equally worthy but simpler subjects, such as raspberry-stuffed French toast, coconut cream pie with chocolate-painted crust and dark German chocolate cake with toasted almond-coconut “goo.” Anything with goo, in this case a creamy caramel, we like.
More than 175 recipes are divided into chapters by a defining ingredient, such as chocolate, citrus, nuts, cheese (and butter, sugar … etc.), but none veers from a common goal of creating unpretentious, flavor-rich desserts.
In the Tribune test kitchen, we first tried the recipe for Cathy’s Lemon Buttercups, a specialty of Tramonto’s aunt in Rochester, N.Y. How much more vouching for does a recipe need than that these are a family favorite year after year? The buttercups turned out to be squares of flaky pastry dough wrapped around a lemony cream cheese filling and baked in muffin tins. The four corners of the pastry do indeed spread like flower petals, but they wouldn’t even have to look pretty to taste as good as they are: lightly sweet, softly creamy and utterly simple.
We also spooned delightedly through a cranberry bread pudding that was as good cold the next day as it was warm the first. The toasted, eggy bread is moistened with half-and-half and whipping cream and scented with vanilla and orange juice along with the bright cranberries; it’s a no-brainer that would serve beautifully for a holiday gathering.
Our final experiment was the Sharrow Bay sticky toffee cake, garnered from a hotel in England’s Lake District and now a Gand signature dessert.
It’s sticky all right, due to a generous coating of warm caramel sauce that partially sinks into the light cake and eventually runs down your fork. Brown sugar, brandy and minced dates give the cake an irresistibly earthy aroma, and the plain whipped cream, no sugar added, cuts the sweetness nicely. This is the kind of dessert you get after dinner when you’ve been very, very good.
We ran into some minor complications along the way, though. The buttercups could have used more baking time, as they were slightly underdone on the bottom when we pulled them from the cups. Oven temperatures do vary, so it’s worth checking to see how your pastry browns before serving them all. We ended up using more bread in the bread pudding than called for in the recipe because it seemed as though there was an excessive amount of custard in the bowl, but again, that may vary in your kitchen depending on the density of the bread and to what degree it has been toasted.
A number of pretty color food photographs inside should give an idea of what you are aiming for, but the recipes are not difficult to follow. A chapter on “Basics” gives baking tips and advice.
Bakers with a minimum of experience should be able to master many of the recipes here; others can just wait to see if someone is willing to make these comforting desserts for them.
CREAMY CRANBERRY BREAD PUDDING
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Resting time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
From “Butter Sugar Flour Eggs.”
1/2 large bakery challah (about 8 ounces bread)
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups whipping cream
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup dried cranberries
Confectioners’ sugar
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the crusts off the bread and cut into 1-inch cubes. You should have about 3 1/2 cups of cubes. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Leave oven on.
3. Heat the half-and-half, cream, salt and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not let it boil), turn off the heat. Set aside to infuse 10-15 minutes.
4. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot cream mixture. Strain into a large bowl to smooth the mixture and remove the vanilla bean. Add the bread cubes, toss well, and let soak until absorbed. Fold the mixture occasionally to ensure even soaking.
5. Bring the orange juice to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the cranberries and simmer until plump and softened, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
6. Divide the cranberries among 6 ramekins, custard cups or dessert cups (or use a deep baking dish), reserving enough to sprinkle on the top of each pudding. Divide the soaked bread among the dishes, then pour any remaining custard over the bread. Dot with the remaining cranberries. Arrange the puddings in a hot-water bath. Bake until set and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes for individual puddings and 40-45 minutes for one big pudding. Serve warm or chilled, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.
Note: To make a hot-water bath, or bain-marie, line a 2-inch deep (at least) roasting pan with paper towels or newspapers. This is to create a layer of water under the dish as well as around it; direct contact between the metal roasting pan and the baking dish would create a “hot spot” where they meet. Also, the paper will keep the dishes from sliding around. Arrange the dish or dishes in the roasting pan, leaving room between them and making sure they are not touching the sides of the pan. Then fill the pan with very hot tap water until it comes halfway up the sides of the dishes. Immediately place the pan in a preheated oven.
Test kitchen note: The bread pudding was tested in a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Other dried fruit also can be used, such as cherries or blueberries.
Nutrition information per serving (calculated by the Tribune):
Calories ………… 755 Fat …………. 44 g Saturated fat .. 26 g
% calories from fat .. 53 Cholesterol … 355 mg Sodium ……. 335 mg
Carbohydrates …… 73 g Protein ……… 14 g Fiber ……… 2.4 g
SHARROW BAY STICKY TOFFEE CAKE
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Cooling time: 1 hour
Yield: 10 servings
Named for a hotel in England’s countryside, this recipe, from “Butter Sugar Flour Eggs,” makes a warm and comforting cake for dessert or a snack.
For the cake:
12 ounces dried dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the sauce:
2 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon brandy
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
To finish the dessert:
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9- by 13-inch baking pan with parchment or wax paper.
2. Make the cake: Combine the dates and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and gradually mix in the baking soda (it will foam up when you add it). Set aside.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder together.
4. Cream the butter in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer) until smooth and fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and mix until smooth. With the mixer running, add 2 of the eggs and mix. Add the remaining 2 eggs and the vanilla and mix.
5. Add about a third of the flour mixture and a third of the date mixture and mix. Repeat until all the flour mixture and date mixture are incorporated into the batter. The batter will be thin.
6. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake until firm and set in the center, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.
7. Turn the cake out onto a sheet pan and peel off the parchment paper. (Tribune test kitchen note: First run a knife gently along the edges of the pan to release any cake stuck to the sides.) (The recipe can be made up to this point up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
8. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
9. Make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, half-and-half and brandy to a boil over medium-high heat. Let simmer 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in the vanilla.
10. Pour the sauce slowly and evenly over the top of the cake (you may not use all the sauce). Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cake is heated through, about 5-8 minutes. Let cool briefly before serving.
11. Meanwhile, in a mixer fitted with a whip attachment (or using a hand mixer), whip the cream into soft peaks.
12. Cut the hot cake into squares and serve immediately, topped with whipped cream, and pass any remaining sauce at the table.
Nutrition information per serving (calculated by the Tribune):
Calories ………… 845 Fat ………… 31 g Saturated fat .. 19 g
% calories from fat .. 32 Cholesterol .. 165 mg Sodium ……. 415 mg
Carbohydrates ….. 138 g Protein ……… 9 g Fiber ……… 3.7 g
