Hi everyone! I’m Rachel Danae from the blog Not Rachael Ray. I write about easy and delicious recipes.  I have a daughter and a slightly picky but extremely appreciative husband to feed every day. Oh, and I don’t really have anything against the superstar chef, in case you were wondering. I’m just not her. And you probably won’t catch me saying “yum-o.” EVOO? Maybe.

I was so excited when Justin asked me to guest post because every time I get a package in the mail from Marx Foods, it feels like Christmas. I’m kinda in love with this company of his. On this specific occasion, I was provided with fennel pollen, dried chilies, coconut sugar, granulated candy cap mushrooms, and vanilla beans. I was given the challenge of creating a chocolate recipe with one or more of these quality ingredients.

First, I bought chocolate.

Then I panicked a little.

I needed to do some research.  I wanted to know as much as possible about each of the ingredients I had available for my use. Luckily for me, Marx Foods has some great resources on their website providing information about their products.

Next, I put aside the coconut sugar and vanilla beans. I knew I was going to make a dessert and I wanted a real challenge. These were too “obvious” of dessert ingredients.

Then I started cooking. Pudding. I’ve never made homemade pudding. I found a great recipe on Smitten Kitchen that involved no tempering of eggs. And she gave it rave reviews. I thought, I can do this! I knew I wanted to make three types, so I divided the recipe in thirds because I didn’t want 18 servings of pudding. However, the recipes printed here for 6 servings of pudding, so if you decide to make all three, you may want to adjust the recipes accordingly.

So, without further ado, I present you with:
● White Chocolate, Lemon and Fennel Pollen Pudding
● Milk Chocolate Candy Cap Mushroom Pudding
● Dark Chocolate Pudding Infused with Puya Chilies

If you’re skeptical, give these a try anyway. The flavors are all there but they work really well and give each pudding a special little twist. Candy cap mushrooms have a great maple flavor, and fennel pollen has a nice black licorice type flavor. If you’re still skeptical, the puddings can each be made without these special ingredients, but you’ll be missing out. Take my word on it! I think these would be great served in shot glasses on a small plate. My servings are a little bigger because I didn’t have 3 matching shot glasses. And because I’m a piggy.

White Chocolate, Lemon and Fennel Pollen Pudding
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons lemon zest
3 cups whole milk (I didn’t have whole so I used half skim and half heavy cream)
6 ounces white chocolate coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fennel pollen, plus extra for garnishing

1. In the top of a double boiler (I use a heatproof glass bowl over a large saucepan with a small amount of water in it), combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Whisk in the milk slowly and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the lemon zest. Heat over simmering water, stirring occasionally and using a whisk if lumps form. (After I scraped down the sides, I usually used a whisk to take care of the lumps that would appear after scraping the bowl). Once the mixture starts to thicken and coat the back of the spoon (15-20 minutes), add in the white chocolate and continue to stir for 3-4 minutes until smooth and thick.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and fennel pollen.

3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into serving bowls (or into a large measuring cup so you can pour more neatly). Note: I wanted the flavor of the fennel pollen and lemon to be infused and for the pudding to still be smooth. If you’d prefer a stronger flavor, stir in the lemon zest and the fennel pollen after straining the pudding.

4. Place plastic wrap on the top of the pudding if you do not want “skin.” Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and top with extra fennel pollen before serving.

Milk Chocolate Candy Cap Mushroom Pudding
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tsp finely ground (I used a coffee/spice grinder) candy cap mushrooms plus extra for garnishing
3 cups whole milk (I didn’t have whole so I used half skim and half heavy cream)
6 ounces milk chocolate coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In the top of a double boiler (I use a heatproof glass bowl over a large saucepan with a small amount of water in it), combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and ground candy cap mushrooms. Whisk in the milk slowly and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Heat over simmering water, stirring occasionally and using a whisk if lumps form. (After I scraped down the sides, I usually used a whisk to take care of the lumps that would appear after scraping the bowl). Once the mixture starts to thicken and coat the back of the spoon (15-20 minutes), add in the milk chocolate and continue to stir for 3-4 minutes until smooth and thick.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into serving bowls (or into a large measuring cup so you can pour more neatly).
Place plastic wrap on the top of the pudding if you do not want “skin.” Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and top with extra ground candy cap mushrooms before serving.

Dark Chocolate Pudding Infused with Puya Chilies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 whole puya chile, reconstituted and coarsely chopped
3 cups whole milk (I didn’t have whole so I used half skim and half heavy cream)
6 ounces dark chocolate (mine was 60%) coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cayenne powder for garnishing

1. In the top of a double boiler (I use a heatproof glass bowl over a large saucepan with a small amount of water in it), combine cornstarch, sugar and salt. Whisk in the milk slowly and use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add in chopped puya chile. Heat over simmering water, stirring occasionally and using a whisk if lumps form. (After I scraped down the sides, I usually used a whisk to take care of the lumps that would appear after scraping the bowl). Once the mixture starts to thicken and coat the back of the spoon (15-20 minutes), add in the dark chocolate and continue to stir for 3-4 minutes until smooth and thick.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into serving bowls (or into a large measuring cup so you can pour more neatly).

4. Place plastic wrap on the top of the pudding if you do not want “skin.” Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and garnish with cayenne pepper before serving. (Or you could grind your own chile powder from extra puya chilies but I took a short cut.)

Verdict: Yum, Yum, and Yum.

Husband’s take: Only tried the dark chocolate variety–which I didn’t tell him included chile peppers (shh!), but he loved it. The flavor is muted and just subtly adds a complexity and deepness to the pudding.  Note: Later, I told my (non-adventurous when it comes to food) husband what each of the puddings had in them. His exact words? “Eww!” Then, the next thing that came out of his mouth, “It was so good, I could eat it every day.” Let me know if you can figure that one out.

Changes I would make: None!

Difficulty: Lots of stirring and standing over a double boiler to make three types, but other than that, very easy!

Drink Pairing: White Dessert Wine

Ingredients:                                     Makes Six Servings
1 1/4 cup Huckleberries (fresh or thawed frozen)
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
3/4 cup Whole Milk
1 tbsp Orange Zest, microplaned or finely minced
Butter for the pan
Granulated sugar for the pan
Salt

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Butter your baking dish (gratin pan, skillet, bottom of a dutch oven) & sprinkle it with a coating of granulated sugar.

3. Sift together into a bowl the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and pinch of salt.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, orange zest and milk.

5. Combine the wet & dry ingredients, then whisk to combine (just until smooth).

6. Put the huckleberries in the bottom of the dish & pour the batter over them, almost to the top of the dish.

7. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until set.

8. Remove the clafouti from the oven & dust it with powdered sugar.  Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Ingredients: (Makes 6 or more small servings)
1 cup + 1 tbsp Yuzu Juice
1 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp 50/50 Simple Syrup (how to make simple syrup)
¾ cup Water

Directions:

1. Mix together all the ingredients.

2. Chill thoroughly.

3. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Immediately move to the freezer to harden.

5. Serve!

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Citrus Recipes

Why Candy Citrus Peel?
Candied citrus zest (aka candied citrus peel, crystallized citrus peel) is very useful as a garnish or as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes.   You can use it as a garnish for cocktails and other drinks too.  It is sweeter and more tender than plain zest.  This method is often used to make candied lemon peel, candied orange peel, or candied lime peel.  It can also be used to candy grapefruit peel, yuzu peel, buddha’s hand peel & meyer lemon peel. 

How to Candy Citrus Peel

1. Peel the zest in large strips off of the washed citrus fruit.
The easiest way to remove zest from citrus fruit is using a conventional vegetable peeler and long broad strokes.  As each large strip comes off the fruit, inspect the inside of the piece for white pith.  If you’re using the zest raw instead of candying it, it is important to remove as much of the pith as possible (scrape it off with a knife point).  If you’re going to be candying the zest, it is less important to to remove the pith.

2.  Make a 50/50 simple syrup. 
Simple syrup is so named because it is simple.  All you have to do to make simple syrup is dissolve 1 part granulated sugar in 1 part water (i.e. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water) in a saucepan on the stove. 

3.  Cook the zest in simmering syrup.
Stirring occasionally, cook the peel until it becomes semi-translucent and shiny.

4.  Lay the zest out on parchment paper to cool.
Take the zest out of the syrup with a pair of tongs or slotted spoon (do not throw the syrup away!  See uses below).  Lay them out on a sheet of parchment paper to cool, making sure the strips of zest aren’t touching, or they will stick together.

5a. Make soft zest
For soft, chewy, zest: let it cool slightly, slice to your desired thickness (chiffonade-like thin strips are traditional) and toss in granulated sugar to coat.  Store in an air-tight container and use in cookies, cakes, mousses and ice creams.

5b. Make hard zest
For crunchy zest or zest powder: Put the parchment paper with the zest in a sheet pan and bake in a 225 degree oven to dry out (don’t let it brown).  Once it is hard and crispy, remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Candied Zest Powder
Make hard citrus peel following the instructions above, and once it is cool grind it into powder using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.  Candied zest can be used to season dishes as-is, or added to spice rubs.  It will keep for about three weeks in an air tight container.

Uses for the leftover candying syrup:
The citrus infused simple syrup can be saved in the fridge and has a variety of delicious uses.  It can used to sweeten and flavor mixed drinks and iced tea, cooked down into caramel, used to make homemade sorbets, or drizzled over cakes before frosting to help keep them moist.

What is Citrus Zest?
Citrus zest is the colorful top layer of citrus fruits’ peels.  Not only is it a good source of color in dishes when used as a garnish, but this layer harbors flavorful and aromatic oils.  This makes zest a great way to add citrus flavor to dishes where the acidity or water content of the fruit’s juice would be a problem.

Using the zest from citrus fruits will help you get more flavor (and therefore value) from your food budget.  Just keep in mind that “bald” fruit which have had their zest removed do not last as long as intact fruit, so try to use them soon after zesting.

Beware the Pith!
Just below the beautiful tasty zest, but above the actual edible fruit, lies the white pith.  This stuff is tough and incredibly bitter.  Any culinary work you do with raw citrus zest should involve a sincere effort to keep as much of pith out of your zest as possible.  If using a grater to remove your zest, this means keeping a careful eye on the fruit as you grate.

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Culinary Techniques

How to Candy Flowers

Flowers add bright color to desserts, cakes, and other plates.  For dishes where a little extra sweetness would be welcome, a great trick to increase their visual appeal is to candy them (candied flowers are also known as sugar glazed flowers or sometimes “crystallized flowers”).  Candying flowers is extremely easy as long as you make sure to use the correct ingredients.  You will need flowers, egg whites, and granulated sugar.

Use the Right Ingredients for Safety & Success

Flowers: Be sure to use only edible flowers for this technique (we’re using edible orchids here).  Not all flower varieties are naturally safe for human consumption, and many flowers sold in shops have been sprayed with chemicals that aren’t safe to eat.

Sugar: Though you could use conventional sugar, we highly recommend superfine sugar for candying flowers as the tiny crystals give better coverage and shine.

Egg Whites: The egg whites used in candying flowers are not cooked.  For your safety, you should use only pasteurized egg whites (usually sold in cartons) or egg whites you’ve separated from pasteurized shell eggs.

How to Candy Flowers:

1. If your egg whites are super fresh, and the egg whites are too thick to brush on, it may help to lightly beat them (not so vigorously that you begin to see bubbles) and/or add a little water to loosen them up.

2. Either dip the flowers in the egg white (this works better with large petals than whole flowers) or brush the egg whites onto the flowers using a very well washed pastry brush.

3. Dip the flowers in sugar or sprinkle sugar over the top. Shake off the excess.

4. Let the flowers dry on parchment paper on the counter for several hours (ideally overnight).

5. Store in an airtight container.  Generally candied flowers can last up to a few weeks, though this may vary depending on the variety used, your local climate, and how thorough your egg-white coating is.

6. Use your candied flowers to decorate cakes, cupcakes, top ice cream and custards, or as a plate garnish for almost any sweet treat.

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Simple syrup is so called because it’s…well…simple.  A base simple syrup is nothing more than 1 part water to 1 part sugar.  Use simple syrup to sweeten cold drinks like lemonade, cocktails or hibiscus tea without endless stirring.  Dab it onto cakes before you frost them to help keep them moist.  It’s also an essential part of sorbet recipes.

Basic Simple Syrup Recipe:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water

Mix the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer on the stovetop to dissolve the sugar.  Once dissolved, remove from heat and you have made simple syrup.

Flavored Simple Syrup Recipes:

Huckleberry Simple Syrup:
Add ¾ cup huckleberry puree (from blending fresh huckleberries or frozen huckleberries) to the above simple syrup.

Tellicherry Peppercorn Simple Syrup:
(from our Huckleberry Crème Puree Recipe)
Simmer 1 ½ tbsp whole Tellicherry peppercorns in simple syrup on the stove for 3 minutes.  Strain out the peppercorns and discard.  This method can be used to make other spiced simple syrups using other whole spices like star anise, although the amount and simmering time may vary.

Alcohol Flavored Simple Syrups:
Most simple syrups found in traditional cakes and tortes are flavored with liquor.  Make a basic simple syrup, and let it cool to lukewarm.  Stir in the liquor of your choice to taste.  Then dab the simple syrup on your cake or torte before frosting in order to keep it moist.

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Huckleberry Recipes
Spice Recipes

Ingredients:                Makes approx. 20 servings
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
1 bunch Fresh Herbs (we used Fresh Mint), thicker stems trimmed

Directions:

1. Make a Simple Syrup with the water and sugar. Remove it from the heat and chill it completely.

2. Blanch the herb leaves in boiling water for about 30 seconds.

3. Immediately transfer the leaves to an ice water bath to shock them.  Once they have cooled completely, remove them from the water.  Squeeze out any excess water.

4. Puree the blanched leaves together with the simple syrup.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

5. Store the syrup in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Mint syrup is particularly tasty with ice cream.

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Drink Pairing: Sauternes or Vin Santo

Ingredients:      (Makes 6 Servings)
3 cups Heavy Cream
1 Bourbon Vanilla Bean (could substitute a Tahitian vanilla bean)
1/3^rd cup Maple Sugar
6 Egg Yolks
6 Heat Proof Ramekins
Baking Dish large enough to contain all ramekins
Turbinado Sugar (could substitute plain granulated sugar, evaporated cane juice or demerara sugar)
Fresh Mint leaves for garnish

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Ensure your ramekins are perfectly clean.

2. Pour the cream into a saucepan.  Add the split & scraped vanilla bean (how to use a vanilla bean).

3. Scald the cream. Stirring occasionally, cook the cream just until it starts to steam.

4. While the cream is warming up, put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them together with the maple sugar.  Add a pinch of salt.

5. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and discard.  Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove (enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins in your baking dish).

6. Temper the cream into the eggs. While whisking constantly, very slowly pour the cream mixture (why you need to temper cream) into the eggs.  Strain.

7. Ladle the custard base into the ramekins and put them in your baking dish.

8. Pour the boiling water into the dish, just enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins.  (Note: if you’re concerned about splashing water on yourself or into your custards, put the baking pan in the stove, then use a pitcher to pour the water in to the dish once it’s already in position).

9. Move the baking dish to the oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until the custards jiggle when shaken (not unlike gelatin).  They will continue to cook while they cool down, so you don’t want them to be 100% set.

10. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let them cool completely.  Move the custards to your refrigerator to chill (ideally overnight).

11. Just before serving, dab off any surface moisture on the custards & brulee them one at a time. 

        a. Coat the top with turbinado sugar.
        b. Using a culinary torch, melt the sugar and caramelize it to your desired level.  Then turn off the torch and immediately pick the ramekin up (by the bottom, be careful of the hot top) and angle it to spread the sugar around in a uniform layer.  It may continue to caramelize slightly after the torch is off.

12. Garnish with a mint leaf. Serve.

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Ingredients:   (Makes approx. 1 Quart)
2 ½ cups Water
½ cup + 4 tsp D’Arbo Elderflower Syrup
¾ cup 50/50 Simple Syrup (How to Make Simple Syrup)

Directions:
1. Mix together all ingredients.

2. Chill thoroughly.

3. Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Immediately transfer to a container in the freezer for several hours to harden.

5. Serve.

To best preserve its quality, store any leftover sorbet in a covered container with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed right up against its surface.

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Elderflower Syrup Recipes
Dessert Recipes

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
2 cups Heavy Cream
½ Bourbon Vanilla Bean or Tahitian Vanilla Bean
½ cup Sugar

Directions: 

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar.

2. In a sauce pan combine the heavy cream and the seeds of the half vanilla bean (how to use vanilla beans).  Stir to distribute the seeds.  Heat the cream mixture just until it starts to steam.

3. Prepare an ice bath large enough to hold a bowl, you’ll want to chill the sauce down as soon as it reaches the correct consistency.

4. Once the cream has begun to steam, temper it into the egg yolk mixture: pour it into the egg mixture in a very slow stream while whisking constantly. Continue until all the cream has been mixed in. (Why temper custard bases?)

5. Place the bowl with the egg mixture over a pot filled with boiling water.  The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.  You want the steam to heat the bowl.

6. Cook the sauce, stirring constantly, until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (aka “nappe”).

7. Immediately pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a fresh bowl on top of the ice water bath.  Stir it to reduce the temperature quickly (else it will continue to carryover cook).

8. Once the sauce has cooled to at least room temperature, move it to your refrigerator to chill completely before serving.

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