Saturday, September 13, 2008

Comfort In A Spoon

There really is something incredibly comforting about baking. Maybe it's the knowledge that there is something yummy is in the making, or perhaps whipping eggs and beating butter and sugar together somehow gives some kind of odd, sadistic satisfaction--though I have no idea how that is at all comforting and I doubt that this is the source of any comfort. Perhaps the comfort is all in eating.
Either way, after spending the morning slowly reading my way through Ignatius' letters to various churches--which, by the way, has been very interesting--I knew, just as Pooh often does, that I needed something sweet and deliciously rich to beckon me to hurry with my reading.

 (Well, Pooh just eats his honey. I would eat my honey, too, but I really do enjoy honey with toast, and there is no toast in this house. :( )

In between paragraphs, I pondered what sort of pudding would deliver top-class comfort on a reading-filled, rather gloomy day as today. Then I found this website with a recipe for vanilla pot de creme and crumbly chocolate shortbread. This sounded suitable--creamy, vanilla custard accented with the dark tones and crumbly texture of the shortbread.  

The pot de cremes were surprisingly easy to assemble, and after baking, I set them in the fridge to cool. They had plenty of time to chill, since I promised to abstain from eating them until the majority of today's text had been read. 

Some hours later and some chapters later, I made the chocolate biscuits to go along with the custards.

And here is where I make my confession: I was going to try to finish all of the assigned letters for Ignatius, but I gave into temptation at three chapters left and went downstairs to indulge in the sweet pleasure of dessert. I fear I do not regret this, since I probably would not have finished those three chapters until eleven or so this evening, and I never like to eat right before bed.

The custard was quite divine, if I can dare say that without being too heretical? When baked in the waterbath, it had formed a bit of a thicker crust of cream on the very top, which cracked slightly as I dove in with my spoon. It was very reminiscent of creme brulee, sans the crispy sugar topping, of course, and a tinsy bit less extravagant since I had used half cream and 
half whole milk. The biscuits were wonderful with the custard, as well. Crumbly, buttery dark chocolate biscuits with the cool creaminess of the custard.
This was pudding well worth every minute spent away from my reading, and it definitely delivered much comfort in each spoonful. :)




(Sorry for the poor quality of the photo! My camera was missing so I used the camera built-in my laptop. Cameras in computers? What will they think of next? Built in showers? That might come in handy while on the road.....)

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Ooh, how delicious Miss Emily! You always have the yummiest blog posts, it makes me hungry just to come read over her :)
I made some lovely pumpkin bars yesterday to celebrate fall, I do like baking during the fall because of all the lovely flavors of apple and pumpkin and maple and spice that one can use. Welcome fall!

Gabriel said...

Listening to you describe food is a joyful pleasure. It's like listening to an artist describe his painting...making food is an art! Ramble Ramble. =] Was wonderful/lovely post. Thank you.

hanne said...

Hi! I just saw your link to my post about pots de creme and cookies while I was doing a bit of blog admin stuff. I'm so glad you enjoyed them, and that they gave you a bit of (I'm sure very well-deserved) enjoyment in your study day. There is something about baking, isn't there? I think it's that the work/reward balance is nearly perfect, and you end up feeling nice about eating sweets instead of guilty. Anyway, just wanted to say hi and I'm glad you liked your dessert.

Unknown said...

I am SOOOOO hungry right now. I should not read your blog just before lunch.

Calvin said...
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