RECIPE: Rec: Turkish Coffee Creams

RECIPE:

pat-nocal

Well-known member
Made this recently for my Cookbook Club when we cooked from Turquoise, a Chef's Travels in Turkey, by Greg and Lucy Malouf. Delicious. See photo below (forgot to dollop cinnamon cream on top before taking photo...bummer).

Turkish Coffee Creams

If you enjoy cardamom-scented Turkish coffee, then you’ll love these indulgent cream petit pots.

2 ounces dark-roasted, plain Turkish coffee, finely ground* (couldn't find Turkish coffee anywhere so I used an Italian roast coffee...please don't tell the authors...LOL)

4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup heavy cream

2 ounces best-quality dark chocolate, grated

5 free-range egg yolks

Heaping 1/4 cup superfine sugar

Moisten the coffee grounds with a little water and put onto a muslin square with the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick, then tie securely with kitchen string to make a bag. Put the cream into a heavy-based saucepan with the muslin bag and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool and infuse for about an hour.

Squeeze the muslin bag back into the pan to extract as much flavor as possible, then discard it (Pat’s note: recommend straining mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer). Reheat the infused milk gently, then add the grated chocolate and stir until it has melted.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Pour on the hot cream mixture (Pat’s note: temper the eggs first with a little of the hot mixture before adding the rest of the eggs) and whisk gently to combine. Pour the mixture back into the rinsed-out pan and cook gently until it thickens to a custard consistency. You should be able to draw a distinct line through the custard on the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat immediately and cool in a sink of ice water. Stir from time to time as the mixture cools down.

Spoon the coffee cream into ramekins or little glasses and chill before serving.

Makes 8 (very small but potent portions)

Source: Turquoise, A Chef’s Travels in Turkey by Greg and Lucy Malouf

http://leitesculinaria.com/9556/recipes-turkish-coffee-cream-custards.html

*Pat’s notes: Quadrupled the recipe using only 4 oz ground coffee (was glad I did, was still a very powerful caffeinated dessert). Used 70% Scharffen Berger chocolate. Heaped the sugar but only slightly and was glad I did less as I didn’t want the outcome too sweet. Cardamom and cinnamon flavors were extremely subtle. Next time, if making multiple batches at once will probably divide the coffee/cardamon/cinnamon bundles and infuse the multi-bundles into the cream in the same pan OR put a cinnamon stick and some cardamom pods right into the cream to infuse. Didn’t want to toss the used coffee grounds as they still seemed to have quite a bit of life left to them so I did another batch of 3 cups cream infused for an hour to use for ice cream.

Served in demitasse cups with demitasse spoons, and topped with my own creation of the following cinnamon whipped cream.

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour the cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon into a bowl. Whip cream with a mixer until soft peaks form.

https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/Finer_Kitchens/Pat-NoCal/100_3523.jpg

 
sooo...would this be the same evening that your friends "conveniently" offered to paint your entire

house? And retile the roof? And resod the lawn? And iron all the clothes in your closet???

 
Pat! I've got that cookbook on the way! *Dreamy photos* What else did your cookbook group

make out of it?

 
We had....

Zucchini Fritters with Dill (2 different members prepared so there were lots of yummy fritters), and yummy at room temp though the recipe says serve hot
Pilaf Pie
Stuffed Vine Leaves, Istanbul-style
Gypsy Salad
Sticky Date Pilaf with Golden Pine Nuts and Almonds
Stuffed Apricots
Spinach & Gruyere Gozleme
Caramelized Rice Pudding
Turkish Coffee Creams
Sultana Yogurt Lemon Cake

There were several other items I'm not recalling right now, including a lamb dish. Everything was tasty and all went very well together. There wasn't one item we wouldn't make again. There was also alot of wine flowing that evening...a tribute to a grand night all around. The book is lovely...a coffee-table type book. Several commented that the Sticky Date Pilaf with Golden Pine Nuts and Almonds would be nice for many occasions including Thanksgiving...and I agree.

Would love to hear what items your group prepares if you choose to do it for your cookbook club.

 
Got it!! Thanks SO much - wow, they look amazing... all they need is a little dip in chocolate *g*

 
My contribution for cookbook club evening was the turkish coffee cream recipe but

everything else contributed by other members was very tasty. Just returned the book to the library. May end up purchasing it eventually, when I take myself off of temporary book-buying restriction. smileys/smile.gif

 
REC: Sticky Apricots Stuffed with Clotted Cream

Sticky apricots stuffed with clotted cream

* Cuisine: Turkish
* Serves 4–6

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 stick cinnamon
6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons pekmez* (or honey)
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or lime juice)
9 oz. dried apricots (preferably whole)
9 oz. clotted cream, mascarpone
Additional caster sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground or slivered pistachios

Preparation

Make sure you use good-quality, large dried apricots; in Turkey the best apricots come from Malatya and these are exported all around the world. It can be difficult sometimes to find whole dried apricots, in which case you’ll have to use apricot halves and sandwich them together. The cream used in Turkey is kaymak, a thick clotted cream made from buffalo milk. Lightly sweetened mascarpone, crème fraîche and strained yoghurt are the best alternatives if you can’t find kaymak.

* Pekmez, or grape molasses, is available from Turkish food stores.

Combine the water and sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. When the syrup is clear, add the cinnamon,
cardamom, pekmez and lemon juice, then increase the heat and bring to the boil. Add the apricots, then lower the heat a little and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the apricots to cool in the syrup.

Remove the apricots from the syrup and let them drain for a moment in a sieve. Reserve the syrup. Sweeten the cream with a little sugar to taste. If you are using whole apricots, slit them carefully along one side and fill them generously with cream. If using apricot halves, sandwich them together with a spoonful of cream. Arrange the stuffed apricots on a serving plate and chill. When ready to serve, sprinkle each apricot with pistachios and drizzle with a little syrup.

Recipe from Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf, with photographs by Lisa Cohen and William Meppem. Published by Hardie Grant Books.

 
SCORE! Your timing is perfect. My book arrived yesterday....

My friend Kathy and I have been drooling over photos & recipes since I saw it at her house. I'm thankful fall has set in and I'm gearing up for more cooking. Thanks Pat. I'll keep you posted on other recipes I try.

 
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