TIRAMISU FOR 2 RECIPE

The word tiramisu literally means “pick-me-up” in Italian. This is a very quick and easy dessert and you don’t need much experience to get the best results. Use the best ingredients you can afford. Read more

BANANA FOSTER FOR 2 RECIPE

Banana Foster was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was named for Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan's and New Orleans Crime Commission chairman. Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas  with the sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and dark rum. The butter, sugar and bananas are cooked, and then the alcohol is added and ignited. The bananas and sauce are then served over vanilla ice cream.  | Video

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), melted
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large, firm, ripe banana, peeled and halved lengthwise and then halved crosswise
2 tablespoons dark rum, such as Myer Rum
1 tablespoon banana liqueur, such as 99 Bananas
Vanilla ice cream

1. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed 8-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and stir to dissolve the sugar, about 1 minute. If the heat is too high, the butter and sugar will separate instead of combining to form a sauce.
2. Add the bananas and spoon some sauce over each piece. Cook until the bananas are glossy and golden on the bottom. Turn the bananas and continue cooking until very soft but not mushy or falling apart.
3. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the rum and the banana liqueur and wait until the rum has warmed slightly. Wave a lit match over the pan until the rum ignites, shaking the pan to distribute the flame over the entire pan. When the flames subside, divide the bananas among two bowls, scoop ice cream on the bananas, drizzle the sauce over the ice cream and serve immediately.

CREME BRULEE FOR 2 RECIPE

Crème brûlée (French for “burnt cream”; pronounced “krehm broo-LAY”) is a dessert consisting of a rich custard topped with a thin layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, a torch or other intense heat source. Creme Brulee is served cold in individual ramekins. | Video

1 cup heavy cream , chilled
2 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 additional teaspoon
Pinch salt
3 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 – 4 teaspoons granulated sugar or Demerara sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees F. Arrange two 4- to 5-ounce ramekins (or shallow fluted dishes) in a baking pan. In the meantime, boil water.
2. Combine 1 cup cream, sugar, and salt in small saucepan and bring the mixture to a slight boil over medium-low heat, stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
3. Whisk yolks in medium bowl until broken up and combined. Whisk in vanilla extract and about 1/4 cup cream mixture into yolks until combined; repeat with another 1/4 cup cream. Add remaining cream and whisk until thoroughly combined. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into a medium bowl and discard solids in strainer. Ladle the mixture into ramekins, dividing it evenly among them.
4. Carefully place baking pan with ramekins on oven rack; pour the boiling water into the pan, taking care not to splash water into ramekins, until water reaches two-thirds height of ramekins. Bake until centers of custards are just barely set, about 30 to 40 minutes. Check 5 minutes before the recommended time.
5. Transfer ramekins to wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover the creme brulee tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.
6. Uncover ramekins; if condensation has collected on custards, pat lightly with a paper towel on the surface to soak up moisture. Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar , tilt and tap ramekin for even coverage. Ignite torch and caramelize sugar. If you don’t have a torch, place under the broiler until sugar caramelize. Refrigerate ramekins, uncovered, to re-chill, 30 to 45 minutes. Serve.