MARSALA CREAM POTS — The Kitchen Scholar

Sep 21

Sep 21 MARSALA CREAM POTS

The Kitchen Scholar

Eggs and Dairy

SOURCE: PAUL BERTOLLI AND ALICE WATERS. CHEZ PANISSE COOKING.

When he was still supervising the Chez Panisse kitchen from 1982 to 1992, executive chef Paul Bertolli brought Sicilian subtlety and refined brilliance to this creamy French dessert with Marsala wine and duck eggs, respectively. After all, if the fortified apertif can frequently show up in Italian zabaglione or tiramisu, then why not bind its sweet fragrant presence to a liaison of egg yolks and cream? Meanwhile, duck egg yolks have a higher fat level and low water content, thus giving an addictively silky and luscious body to the custard that any chicken egg just could not calorifically replace at the expense of texture! The cream pots are optimally served and eaten while slightly warm wherein the alcoholic vapors of Marsala are milder and less pronounced than those completely chilled. — When he was still supervising the ***Chez Panisse*** kitchen from 1982 to 1992, executive chef Paul Bertolli brought Sicilian subtlety and refined brilliance to this creamy French dessert with *Marsala* wine and duck eggs, respectively. After all, if the fortified *apertif* can frequently show up in Italian *zabaglione* or *tiramisu*, then why not bind its sweet fragrant presence to a liaison of egg yolks and cream? Meanwhile, duck egg yolks have a higher fat level and low water content, thus giving an addictively silky and luscious body to the custard that any chicken egg just could not calorifically replace at the expense of texture! The cream pots are optimally served and eaten while slightly warm wherein the alcoholic vapors of *Marsala* are milder and less pronounced than those completely chilled.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups/360 mL heavy cream

1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar

3 duck egg yolks OR 4 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons/30 mL Marsala, preferably semi-secco OR secco grade

Specific Equipment

Small saucepan

Wire whisk

Mixing bowl

Spoon

Fine-mesh sieve OR strainer

4 ramekins

4 sheets of aluminum foil large enough to completely cover the ramekins

Roasting pan

Wire rack

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.

2. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the heavy creams comes close to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Beat the egg yolks with a wire whisk in a mixing bowl, without allowing them to foam. Pour in the hot cream gradually and stir the mixture constantly. Stir in the Marsala.

4. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer into the ramekins, dividing the mixture equally. Cover the ramekins tightly with aluminum foil and place them in a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot water until the water level reaches up to two-thirds the height of the ramekins.

5. Bake the ramekins inside the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the custards are set. The custard should be no longer wet but jiggle slightly at the center.

6. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and transfer the ramekins onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.