Photography by Mark O. Ramirez
BLEU Restaurant & Lounge
Sweet Potato Mousse Cup
6 ounces chocolate cup
6 ounces sweet potato mousse
2 praline candies
2 shortbread cookies
2 ounces caramel sauce
1 ounce crushed candied pecans
Sweet Potato Mousse
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a 3-quart saucepan over medium high heat,
place sweet potatoes, covering them with water.
Cover and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes
or until fork inserted on the center of the sweet
potato comes out easily. Drain and let cool.
Place sweet potatoes in food processor. Add
¼ cup heavy cream, dark brown sugar, vanilla
extract and cinnamon. Process mixture until
well blended. Place into a bowl and let cool in
refrigerator.
In large bowl, place 1 cup of heavy cream. Use
mixer on HIGH setting, mixing until soft peaks
are formed. Gently fold the sweet potato mixture
into whipped cream. Serve mousse in cup; top
with caramel sauce and crushed candied pecans
Praline Candies
1 ½ cup toasted pecans
1 ½ cup white sugar
3/8 cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a
large saucepan over medium heat, combine
pecans, sugar, butter, brown sugar, milk and
vanilla. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F
(112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of
syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball
that flattens when removed from the water and
placed on a flat surface. Drop by spoonfuls onto
prepared baking sheet. Let cool completely.
Itta Bena
Pumpkin Créme Brulee Pie1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 cup vanilla sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 quarts hot water
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and
allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and egg yolks until well blended, and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into a pie crust or 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the
ramekins. Bake just until the crème brulee is set, but still trembling in the center. Remove from oven and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
Remove the crème brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Spread vanilla sugar evenly on top of pie or ramekins. Using a torch, melt
the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the crème brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Salud! At Whole Foods, Poplar Avenue
November 1st Candy Bark1, 12 ounce bag white chocolate chips
Powered candy food coloring, optional
2 cups leftover Halloween candy,
chopped (peanut butter cups, candy
bars, whoppers)
⅔ cups 365 Antioxidant Trail mix or equal
mix dried cranberries, toasted walnuts,
pecans, pumpkin seeds
¼ cup chocolate covered pretzels,
chopped
2 ounces dark chocolate, about 50-70%
cacao*
Sprinkles, jimmies, nonpareils
Set up a double boiler and melt the white chocolate until smooth. If desired, divide the chocolate into bowls and tint with powdered food coloring for candy or chocolate. Pour the white chocolate on the bottom of a parchment lined sheet pan. Scatter the candy, trail mix and chocolate pretzels over the white chocolate, pressing down gently to adhere it to the chocolate.
Melt the dark chocolate over the double boiler until smooth. Dip the tines of a fork into the chocolate and drizzle over top of the bark. Scatter the top with sprinkles, jimmies and nonpareils for some extra color.
*If you like, you can swap the chocolates, using the darker chocolate as the base for the bark and the white chocolate – tinted with food color – for the final drizzle.
Erling Jensen's
Sweet Potato Cake4 eggs, separate whites and yolks
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 large sweet potatoes, roasted,
peeled, mashed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks; chill. Beat sugar and oil until combined, add yolks one at a time, scraping after each egg, add mashed sweet potatoes, hot water, and vanilla. Beat 3-4 minutes. Slowly add all dry ingredients to sweet potato mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in half the egg white, combined, fold in remaining white to mixture. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees.
Owen Brennan's
Sugar Skull Brownie½ cup unsweetened bakers chocolate
½ cup butter, cubed, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Place chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl over a double boiler on medium heat. Melt completely, stir occasionally. Cream together in the bowl of the large stand mixer until completely incorporated. Add to the sugar and butter mix, scrape sides of mixer and incorporate completely. Add chocolate mixture and combine completely. Line sheet tray with parchment paper and non-stick spray. Spread the brownie mix evenly, smoothing the top. Bake at 325 degrees and cool in refrigerator.
Chocolate Ganache
1 ¼ pounds semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
Place chocolate and butter in a mixing Heat heavy cream until almost boiling. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until completely combined. Pour over the cooled brownies, even amounts on each tray, spread smoothly with a rubber spatula. Place back in refrigerator until chocolate ganache is set and cooled. Cut the edges off the brownies squaring the sides.
Once cool, use a skull cookie cutter to cut each individual piece. Once cut, place a sugar skull stencil on top of each brownie. Apply slight pressure to the stencil to ensure adherence to the brownie. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each stencil and apply slight pressure to the sugar. Lightly brush excess sugar off the stencil. Then carefully remove the stencil and enjoy! The perfect dessert to serve with pan seared sea bass and confit potatoes.
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