Lavender Sugar

Vanilla Pastry Crème for Custard Tarts, Cream Puffs and Other Pastries

Recipe by Damon Lee Fowler, featuring

Salt Tables Infused Sugars

Classic Pastry Crème is usually flavored with a whole vanilla bean so that there are no flecks of spice or discoloration from an extract. But The Salt Table’s Vanilla Bean Sugar makes it so much easier to get the flavor and pristine look without fussing with a whole bean. But you don’t have to stick with one flavor: try substituting The Salt Table’s Ginger Sugar, Cinnamon Sugar, or any of the fruit-based sugars. You may need to experiment with proportions to get the right flavor.

Serves 6 to 9

Ingredients:

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Salt Table Vanilla Sugar
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk

How to make it:

1. Lightly whisk together the egg yolks in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl. Prepare the bottom half of a double boiler with 1 inch of water and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Mix the flour and both sugars together in the top pan and slowly whisk in the milk. Bring this to a simmer over direct medium heat, stirring constantly.
2. Whisk ½ cup of hot milk mixture into the egg yolks. Slowly whisk this into the remaining milk and transfer the pan to the simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard is quite thick, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and stir for a minute longer, then set it aside to cool.
3. To use the pastry crème for custard tarts, while it is still quite warm, pipe it using a pastry bag fitted with a plain round piping tip into fully baked tart shells. To use it to fill cream puffs, napoleons, and other filled pastries, let it get completely cool and use a bag fitted with a tube filling tip. You may also spoon it into custard cups, let it cool completely, and then cover and refrigerate until chilled and serve it as is, or topped with raspberry sauce or a fruit coulis.

Custard Jam Tarts

Makes 6

Ingredients:

• 6 pre-baked individual tart pastries
• About 1/3-1/2 cup Peachey’s Peach, Blackberry, or Cherry Jam
• 1 Recipe Vanilla Pastry Crème
• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Salt Table Vanilla Bean Sugar

How to make it:

1. The pastries should be cooled before filling them. Put about 1 tablespoon of jam in the bottom of each pastry (how much will depend on the shape and size of your pastries) and spread it evenly over the bottom. Spoon the pastry crème to the fill the pastry to its top edge. Chill until ready to serve.
2. When ready to serve, pour the cream into a chilled bowl and whip until it’s beginning to thicken. Sprinkle the sugar over it and then continue whipping to soft peaks. Top each tart with a generous dollop of whipped cream and if you like a small ¼-teaspoon dollop of jam.

Suggested Seasonings

Vanilla Bean Sugar

Cinnamon Sugar

Salt Table Ginger Sugar

Christmas Amaretto Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

Recipe by Damon Lee Fowler, featuring

Salt Table Vanilla and Lemon Sugars

The Salt Table’s sugars add instant flavor without fuss: simply mix them in along with the regular granulated sugar in the recipe. You can also change up the flavor of this classic Italian dessert simply by substituting The Salt Table’s Cinnamon, Ginger, Lime, Strawberry, or Blueberry sugars for the Vanilla Sugar called for here.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Salt Table Vanilla Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 recipe Raspberry Lemon Sauce (recipe is below)

How to make it:

1. Sprinkle the gelatin over ½ cup of milk and let it soften for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the remaining milk and cream to a simmer in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the softened gelatin and both sugars. Bring back to a simmer, stirring constantly, and simmer 3-4 minutes, or until the gelatin is completely dissolved, stirring often. Add the liqueur or extract and turn off the heat.
2. Prepare an basin of crushed ice and water. Transfer the panna cotta to a large bowl and set the bowl in the ice bath so that it comes halfway up the sides of the bowl. Stir until it’s cold and beginning to thicken. Lightly oil six custard cups or ramekins and ladle in the cream. Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours. Can be made a day ahead.
3. Before serving, dip the cups briefly in hot water, loosen the edge with a sharp knife, and invert them over serving plates. Shake to unmold. Spoon the sauce over them and serve immediately.

Raspberry Lemon Sauce

Makes about 1 cup

• 2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1 tablespoon Salt Table Lemon Sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Raspberry liqueur or Grand Marnier

1. Put the raspberries and their juice in the work bowl of blender or food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the Lemon Sugar and sweeten to taste with granulated. Pulse until raspberries are pureed.
2. Taste and adjust sugar, pulse to mix, and strain through wire mesh strainer into glass bowl. Stir in the liqueur, cover, and chill until needed.

Suggested Seasonings

Vanilla Bean Sugar

Lemon Sugar

Lime Sugar

Wild Blueberry Sugar

Salt Table Ginger Sugar

Cinnamon Sugar