Baked Brown Sugar Custard

Make this rich, silky baked custard this weekend. Thank me later. 


Baked  brown sugar custard with dates

10 fresh dates, pitted and cut in half - See Note

1 vanilla bean, split lengthways & seeds scraped

 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) pouring (whipping) cream

375 ml (13 fl oz/11/2 cups) milk

10 large egg yolks

140 g (5 oz/3/4 cup) soft brown sugar

fresh nutmeg, for grating

serves 6

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 2–3). Grease an 8 cm (31/2 inch) deep, 1.5–2 litre (52–70 fl oz/6–8-cup capacity), non-metallic baking dish. Evenly distribute the date halves around the bottom of the dish — it should be a neat fit.

Put the vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan with the cream and milk over medium heat and slowly bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat, then cover and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until smooth. Strain the infused milk mixture and gradually whisk it into the egg yolks until smooth. Carefully pour the mixture over the dates, trying not to disturb them. Finely grate enough nutmeg over the custard to lightly cover the surface.

Place the baking dish in a large roasting tin, then pour in enough warm water to come halfway up the side of the baking dish. Bake for 11/2 hours, or until the custard is dry and golden on top but still a little wobbly.

Remove the baking dish from the oven, but leave it in the water bath for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the baking dish from the water bath and allow the custard to rest for a further 10 minutes, before serving on its own or with some lightly whipped cream.

NOTE: You can omit the dates - or use Prunes, fresh figs, rum soaked raisins or similar.


Recipe Copyright  - Jane Lawson from her cookbook 'Grub - Favourite Food Memories'
published by Murdoch Books
Photo by Steve Brown http://www.stevebrownphotography.com/

Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Butter

For those who asked for the Banana Bread recipe from my book Grub  - here 'tis!
It's similar to the banana bread you have in Australian cafes and is great toasted with or without the brown sugar butter! Plain good quality butter works just as well.



BANANA BREAD RECIPE from GRUB by Jane Lawson
makes 1 loaf (serves 6–8)

150 g (51/2 oz) unsalted butter, chopped & slightly softened
115 g (4 oz/1/2 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
45 g (13/4 oz/1/4 cup) soft brown sugar
2 large eggs 250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5–6 (about 900 g/2 lb) very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract 125 g
(41/2 oz/1/2 cup) sour cream (you can use a good creamy yoghurt too)
50 g (13/4 oz/about 1/2 cup) walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts, chopped, optional

BROWN SUGAR BUTTER
125 g (41/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
45 g (13/4 oz/1/4 cup) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 160°C (315°F/Gas 2–3).
Grease the base of a loaf (bar) tin approximately 22 cm (81/2 inches) long, 9 cm (31/2 inches) wide and 9 cm (31/2 inches) deep. Line the base with baking paper.

Cream the butter with the caster sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon with a pinch of salt, then beat it into the butter mixture to form a thick batter.

Combine the banana, vanilla and sour cream and fold into the butter mixture, with the nuts if using, until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth over the top.

Bake for 11/4 hours, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

While the cake is cooling, make the brown sugar butter by beating the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. (Do not refrigerate unless you are preparing the butter in advance, in which case remove it from the fridge before serving so it softens enough to spread easily.)

Thickly slice the banana bread using a bread knife or serrated knife. Toast and serve hot, spread with the brown sugar butter.

VARIATION: Top a slice of banana bread with thinly sliced banana, dollop with a little of the butter and place under a hot grill (broiler) until lightly golden.

Pssst... For those trying to eliminate/cut back on wheat flour there is another version here.  It used almond meal and potato flour etc but sometimes I replace them with coconut and coconut flour . Sometimes I add yoghurt, sometimes dates, or other nuts if not using almonds. Sometimes honey, sometimes maple syrup. A bit of chopped dark chocolate stirred through the batter is pretty damn good too.



*Image above by the seriously lovely Photographer Steve Brown
Grub was published in 2007  by Murdoch Books and is now out of print. Jane Lawson now owns the copyright of text and images which must not be used without permission. 

Purin プリン

Friendly faced Purin cups. 

Purin is the Japanese version of what our friends in America may call pudding cups, what those of us in Oz probably call creme caramel and others may call flan - it is chilled, baked custard with caramel in the base, which becomes a sauce/topping when the custard cup is inverted. 

Purin appears on menus and in supermarkets across Japan. When something takes off in Nihon it really takes off and there are even plush toys and phone straps dedicated to the humble purin. 

There is no escape from purin in all its glorious forms and flavours - pumpkin is a bit of a person fave. That is all. 

Strawberry Milk Dorayaki

Well this was a first.  Found in Okayama. Strawberry flavoured Dorayaki gong cakes filled with strawberry milk filling. 

Usually the outside pancake-ish layer is plain with a traditional filling of sweet red beans. These days  they sometimes contain matcha (green tea) in the pancakes and also folded through whipped cream which can accompany the red beans. Also it is becoming popular to fill the gongs with various flavours of custard. But I've never seen one quite like this.  Shoulda grabbed one. 

Matcha Eclairs

Matcha eclairs - green tea icing and green tea creme patisserie. Wrap your laughing gear around one of these next time you visit Kyoto Daimaru! I say that because I want you to tell me how it was.. I neglected to taste one this trip - anybody willing to volunteer?

Animal Doughnuts

Are these not the cutest doughnuts you have ever seen?

Where from: Floresta Nature Doughnuts

You'll find 'em: on the east side of Kawaramachi street just south of Sanjo street in downtown Kyoto

They are moreishly chewy and made from real ingredients  -  chocolate, nuts & fruits of the season. 

They have some wonderfully simple, traditional Japanese flavours such as red bean, green tea, black sugar etc - but I can't take my eyes off their animal range. There are all sorts of cute critters which change regularly. I'll add more next time I pass by the sweet little shop. 

But do check out their website for a peek at their range. And don't forget to switch on the automatic translator in Google chrome so you can read their titles and what goes into them. 

Now I'm hungry... what's for breakfast?

These are a few of my favourite (sweet) things....

"Western" style cakes and pastries have become extremely popular in Japan during the last few decades however very few homes (at least in Kyoto) have 'western' style ovens to bake them in. As a result there are plenty of wonderful pre-made goodies available for taking home or visiting friends.  

In the basement foodhall of Takashimaya department store (corner of Shijo and Kawaramachi streets in the centre of town) is one of my favourite places for picking up medication for my sweet tooth - 'Gramercy New York'. I'm yet to decipher the connection to the big apple but hey.... I don't actually care.  Their stuff rocks! Looks great and tastes better. 

And I love that you get to keep the little baskets or cups they are presented in (ie the ceramic or glass  versions - not plastic ok!!) . You can see from above that the prices are pretty reasonable for such quality. Currently you are looking at about 100 yen to the Australian Dollar so you'd be paying an average of about $5.50 a piece.  Absolutely worth it. (and half what we would pay in Oz for the good stuff!)

and, and, AND... in summer they sell THE most amazing almond tofu (annindofu /annin tofu -below) - served chilled with fruits in syrup. Oh god, I can taste it now. I think a container of this may have been responsible for saving my life on one particularly cruel summer's day. Refreshing, creamy, sweet and restorative.

Natsu Mikan なつ ミかん

                                 

I've been wanting to try one of these for so long but somehow every time I stopped to admire them in the shiny glass cabinets of the local food hall I would shrug my shoulders, turn and keep walking... there was some lingering memory, way in the back alleys of my child-mind that somehow linked to the vision and reminded me of those "healthy" kid's b'day parties from my childhood when some "do-gooder" parent would go to the trouble of making relatively "healthful" party treats - when all we wanted was some cocktail franks, fairy bread and lolly bags filled with all kinds of crap  - and on that odd basis I was worried I'd be disappointed in this delicacy as a dessert.  Particularly odd and ironic as I would be the first one to be "do-gooding" should I be hosting my own children's parties... should I not have forgotten to have kids...  

Natsu Mikan is a particularly large summer Mandarin or Tangerine - they are very refreshing, a little tart but with just enough sweetness. This wagashi (traditional Japanese sweet), from Kyoto's famous Oimatsu in Arashiyama, is available in early summer when the fruit is in season. I was fortunate enough to be gifted one by my friend Tamai san when he came to visit one afternoon. I was extremely happy to receive it as, finally, I would get to taste this sweet that I'd been ignoring for the most obscure of reasons. 

It was delicious - served chilled , the sweet-tart jelly made from the freshly squeezed juice was one of the most refreshing desserts I might ever possibly enjoy on a summer's evening.  I highly recommend seeking one out if you are in Kyoto town during summer. And I might just have to steal the idea for my next book... shhhh...

B&P Sweet Studio

Eat at your heart out Willy Wonka. The very clever and talented Darren Purchese and Ian Burch are the masterminds behind this most incredible sweet studio/shop - B&P Sweet Studio. If they weren't such nice people I could possibly hate them for introducing me to a world of such temptation and potential over-indulgence. Not that I need much of a push in that direction - ever... 

Chocolate joy including these gold bars above ( thin chocolate casing houses a luxurious salted caramel in packets of three) is the perfect little gift to pick up for a friend (including yourself) but don't feel you have to stop there. The half and half jars of salted caramel and hazelnut chocolate spread or chocolate and strawberry jam or passionfruit curd would also do just as nicely as a small "hostess" gift or a 'just because' pressie...

 You probably won't be able to resist the beautifully packaged chocolate bars such as the toasted macadamia in caramelised white chocolate ( yeah I said caramelised chocolate - sensational! and not as sweet as you might expect - this is my favourite so far but I am yet to work my way through), the Persian Delight in dark Chocolate, the mint white chocolate, the spiced almond in milk chocolate, raspberry milk chocolate or perhaps the fruit salad chocolate... 

Of course if you are more in the market for some edible chocolate art you might like to commission an installation like these pretty flowers....

What you will notice as soon as you enter the store is the large glass cabinet on your left - brimming with the most divine cakes/desserts - my tip is to get in early if you want access to the full selection - they are  currently being slammed on a daily basis!

Finding it difficult to successfully select a mere few to take home I enlisted the help of chef Cath Claringbold, Darren's other half who shared that her current favourite was the "smoked white chocolate, coffee, aniseed, lemon"  finely layered with smoked white chocolate cream/ crunchy almond meringue/coffee buttercream/coffee sponge/aniseed syrup/brownie sponge/lemon curd/dehydrated choc rock   - sound good? It was. The combination of flavours and textures were both clever and balanced with no strong overtones of a particular ingredient - which one might expect reading the list of components - it just really worked.  

I couldn't resist the 'roast pumpkin, milk chocolate, maple syrup, bacon'  - a clear cylinder containing olive oil and pumpkin seed cake/spiced choc cream/milk, bacon and pecan crumble/ maple syrup jelly/pumpkin mayonnaise/candied pumpkin seeds/milk choc mousse - ah HELLO! this was an explosion of flavour - layers of spice, earthy depth and subtle sweetness that seemed to morph with each bite - like the famous wonka gum that changes flavours the longer you chew - only in a really GOOD way!! no turkey roast to blueberry pie for me thanks.  So clever. 

But... my favourite was 'violet, white choc, lemon, toasted pinenut' - a cloud of delight. There was much talk about Violet essence when I was in the store as the boys, and a friend who was with me,  are very keen on it   - so perhaps that influenced my choice - I'm not sure. But bloody hell - what a choice. Smooth, creamy, delicate yet pronounced in flavour. There were angels singing. It consisted of the following: Queen mother's lemon shortbread/violet pastry cream/toasted pinenut butter/white chocolate and vanilla mousse/lemon curd/chocolate and violet wafer/white chocolate velvet spray/crystalised lemon. OMG.

Sadly I ate them before I could photograph them.... but if you look very carefully below you will see, immediately to the left of the round pink cakes, a finger of layers (that's the first item I mentioned), the cylinders next to it are the roast pumpkin/choc number and just peeking at you on the far left are the cream coloured violet wonders!

I didn't try them this trip but the ice cream flavours sounded amazing ... since sometime in the late 80's I have been a fan of lavender ice cream but it seems I might be on the turn to violet .... "violet and honeycomb crumble" ice cream anyone? or Very Vanilla (dark with real vanilla) or Butterscotch popcorn?? Yes please. Perhaps a palate refreshing Cucumber and lime sorbet for afters....

There are a number of fabulous additions (which seem destined to grow in range) for pimping up your own sweet concoctions - like the crumbles /clays, (edible soil type numbers as per image directly below - green tea and white chocolate "clay", crunchy coffee crumble, salted oat and ginger crumble),   tiny discs of brownie or biscuit,  honeycomb, or even chocolate flower lollipops - like those that decorate the cakes in the two pics that follow this -

Speaking of cakes - bespoke flavours/designs are a signature of B&P - so if you are looking for something unique - arrange an appointment and sniff your way through sample aromas... God, I sound like a spruiker!!  They have no idea I am posting this and I'm not on the payroll but I do know the boys and respect their work and highly recommend their wares. I suspect there might be some classes in the future so keep an eye out for them. 

Darren and Ian's appearances on Masterchef, The circle and the like have meant that stock is flying off the shelves even more quickly than usual but they are working hard to keep up with demand. As I said above - go early! In fact -go now!!!! And give them all a big hug from me. Well not like in a stalkerish way but you know.... respectfully...

A lovely day for a stroll...

Kyoto is one of those places you can wander for hours as carefree as a spring breeze.

On Friday morning, after trekking to the post office to send the first of a few heavy boxes back home, I made an executive decision to give myself the day off. I needed a break from the book and the book needed a break from me. It felt great to get some plum-blossom-air in my lungs.

The images below trace my meanderings from the full and fragrant bloom outside my front door just prior to ducking around the corner to the local soba joint for lunch before walking long into the moody afternoon and finally dinner in Paris - er upper Teramachi when there was no longer any light and the cool had set in.

Along the way I climbed around Chion-in Temple and one of its gardens before heading further south along the Eastern edge of town towards Kiyomizu temple.

On Sannenzaka I peeked into private gardens filled with koi ponds and stone lanterns before  stopping for necessary sustenance of iced matcha and mitarashi dango (rice flour dumplings with a slightly sweet and savoury glaze).

I ventured west, downhill, through Maiko dotted Gion and across the Kamo river.  In the south part of Teramachi dori just below Shijo Dori  I stole cuddles with an antique store owner's puppy "candy"while we chatted about chirimen Jakko (tiny fish and sansho condiment often eaten with rice) and she wrapped my purchases of  'props' for the book before I continued north around the maze of backstreets near the Nishiki Market where I happened upon the delightful Kyoto Design store  - and refrained from further purchase... Lies!!! Hey I was supporting local craftspeople.

Getting late I stopped for a light dinner in a French Cafe on northern Teramachi above Oike dori before cabbing it home, giving my feet a well earned rest.

A no plan/no expectation/no rules/no direction day that injected my week with much joy  - and motivation for jumping back into the book.