Over the years, I’ve heard talk of people who love dessert so much they actually start a meal with it. Then there’s the tale of the elderly Frenchwoman, an aunt of food expert Brillat-Savarin, as I remember it, who rang the bell that summoned her butler to the dinner party and announced, “Charles, I am dying. Fetch the dessert.” He did and she did, presumably with a smile on her lips.
I’ve never understood this consuming passion. While I enjoy desserts, I rarely crave them. But tasting the desserts at erwin, the “American cafe” at 2925 N. Halsted St., Chicago, gave me an inkling of how enriching a diet filled with pastry and ice cream and fruit confections can be.
Chef/owner Erwin Drechsler, who creates the desserts himself, wants them to be what he describes as “elevated comfort food.”
“I have fond memories of hanging out in the kitchen watching my mother put together coffeecakes or cookies,” he recalls. “She was Austro-Hungarian and took it for granted that everyone ended dinner with something sweet to go with coffee. It might have been strudel or a turnover with raisins, nuts and cinnamon in the winter or a homey pie with fresh fruit in summer.
“What stuck with me, more than any specific recipe, was that her desserts were simple, seasonal and always made from scratch. What I’ve discovered is developing desserts is a very creative outlet for me and very therapeutic.”
Among the most popular desserts on the current menu are apple pie with apple-cinnamon ice cream, chocolate pots de creme with chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter mousse cake and a walnut brownie with sliced banana, chocolate sauce and cappuccino chocolate ice cream.
“I get a feel from the customers as to what they like,” Drechsler says. “If they keep asking for something I’ve taken off the menu, it goes back on.” And what would he do if they voiced dislike? “I don’t know,” the chef replies. “I’ve never had a dessert sent back.”
The following are adapted for the home kitchen from recipes served at erwin.
CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME
Six servings
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 ounce bar semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks
1. Heat an oven to 325 degrees. Heat the cream and sugar together in a saucepan to just below simmering. Remove pan from heat and stir in the vanilla and chopped chocolate until the chocolate has melted and mixture is smoothly blended. Allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Beat egg yolks in a mixing bowl. Whisk chocolate cream into the yolks thoroughly.
3. Arrange six 4- to 5-ounce ramekins or custard cups in a baking pan. Fill molds with the chocolate cream mixture. Meanwhile, heat water in a tea kettle to a simmer. Pour water into baking pan to come halfway up the sides of molds (to create a water bath).
4. Bake until set but slightly jiggly in the center, about 45 minutes. Remove the molds from the water bath and set on a wire rack to cool to warm. Refrigerate at least four hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a chocolate chip cookie.
PEANUT BUTTER-CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD PUDDING
Six to eight servings
8 ounces (1/2 loaf) challah bread, cubed and lightly toasted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1. Place challah cubes into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
2. In another mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and peanut butter. Mix until smooth. (This is best accomplished with an electric mixer; the mixture will be very thick.)
3. Gradually add cream and milk to thin the mixture and dissolve the sugar. Beat in eggs, one by one, until thoroughly blended. Add the vanilla. Pour the custard over challah cubes and mix together gently. Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow challah to absorb the custard.
4. Heat an oven to 350 degrees. Gently stir chocolate chips and peanut butter chips into bread-custard mixture. Transfer to a 1 1/2-quart buttered baking dish or casserole.
5. Bake until set but slightly jiggly, about 45 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature with vanilla ice cream.
ORANGE-GINGER CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CRUST
Eight to 10 servings
For the crust (8- or 9-inch springform pan):
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
For filling (all ingredients room temperature):
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces (1 cup) ricotta cheese
8 ounces (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
Zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Heat an oven to 325 degrees. For the crust, mix wafer crumbs with sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle with melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Pat firmly into the bottom and part way up the sides of a buttered 8-inch or 9-inch springform pan.
2. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
3. For filling, combine cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl or food-processor bowl. Mix until fluffy (if available, use the flat paddle attachment of an electric mixer), scraping down sides as needed.
4. Add the ricotta cheese and mascarpone and blend until smooth. Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time, until thoroughly blended. Mix in ginger, orange zest and vanilla. Pour filling into prepared crust.
5. Bake until set but slightly jiggly in the center, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
6. Release springform pan side; chill cake before serving. Cut into wedges.
