 You've seen the French Laundry cookbook, you've drooled over the dishes, and you've dreamed of one day trying out the food. Now you get to drool some more, only this time over the desserts! Indulge is the first cookbook by the French Laundry Pastry Chef - Claire Clark. Containing 100 recipes for amazing desserts by Claire you'll once again dream of a visit to the famous Yountville California restaurant. Black Forest Trifle, see recipe below, is but one example of the recipes that range from moderately straightforward to complex. These desserts are gorgeous and Claire presents all of the recipes in exceptional detail. She also lists the ingredients in metric and imperial measures but not in cups because as Claire says "baking is about precision and accuracy". Everyone will drool over the pictures in Indulge but you'll probably need a fair amount of baking experience to make the recipes.
Black Forest Trifle
From Indulge by Claire Clark, Whitecap Books 2007
This is a fun twist on a classic dessert. Typically a Black Forest gâteau consists of several layers of chocolate cake soaked in Kirschwasser, a cherry-based spirit, plus whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings. This brilliant recipe allows you to make a stunning-looking dessert quite simply.
Serves 8
For the chocolate sponge
- 200g/7oz plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 25g/1oz dark cocoa powder
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 250ml/9fl oz water
- 250ml/9fl oz cold black coffee
- 40ml/2fl oz vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cherries
- 2 x 425g/15oz cans of black cherries
- juice of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons kirsch
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 70g/2oz caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
For the kirsch syrup
- 100g/2oz caster sugar
- 100ml/2fl oz water
- 25ml/1fl oz kirsch
For the cream
- 2 gelatine leaves
- 600ml/20fl oz whipping cream
- 25g/1oz icing sugar
To decorate
- a few chocolate curls
- a few fresh cherries
- a little icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. Lightly grease a 15cm/6 inch square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the caster sugar and mix well to combine, then make a well in the centre. Combine the white wine vinegar, water, coffee, oil and vanilla in a small bowl and pour into the well the dry ingredients. Mix well with a wooden or plastic spoon to give a smooth batter. You can do this in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment but take care not to over mix the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the surface springs back to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.
Drain the juice from the cherries and pour two-thirds of it into a small saucepan. Add the orange juice, kirsch and cinnamon stick and bring slowly to a boil. Mix the sugar and cornflour together in a bowl. Gradually add enough of the remaining cherry juice to make a smooth, loose paste. Pour the boiled cherry juice on to the paste and whisk until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan and bring back to the boil over a low heat, whisking continuously. Lower the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Pour the thickened sauce over the cherries in a bowl and leave to cool completely. Once the cherries have cooled a little, cover the bowl with cling film to stop a skin forming.
To make the kirsch syrup, put the sugar and water in a small pan, stir well to dissolve the sugar, then bring to a boil. Remove from the heat immediately, add the kirsch and leave to cool.
For the cream, soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes, until completely softened. Remove them from the water, squeeze out excess liquid and keep to one side. Bring 50ml/2fl oz of the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the softened gelatine and stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Leave until the cream is just warm, then add it to the remaining double cream with the icing sugar and whisk to firm peaks.
To assemble the trifles, cut the chocolate sponge into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes. Place a couple of pieces of sponge in each of 8 serving glasses or dishes and, using a pastry brush, soak them well with the kirsch syrup. Place a large spoonful of the thickened cherries on top of the sponge. Using a piping bag fitted with a 1cm/1/2 inch plain nozzle, pipe the whipped cream into the glasses: keep the piping tip next to the side of the glass and pipe several vertical lines up to the edge of the glass. As you pipe, press the tip into the cherries so some of the thickened juice moves up the sides of the glass.
Place more thickened cherries into the glass, especially between the lines of piped cream. Place another cube or two of sponge into the centre of the glass. Finish by piping cream over the top of the cherries and sponge and smoothing it flat with a palette knife. Decorate with chocolate curls, a few fresh cherries and a little of the thickened cherry juice. Dust with icing sugar.
Claire's Notes
Once you have made the basic products for the trifle, you can assemble it very quickly. The sponge can be frozen for up to 3 weeks and the thickened cherries and kirsch syrup will keep in the fridge for 3 days.
About Indulge
 Claire Clark is the pastry chef at The French Laundry (Napa Valley, California), one of America's most renowned restaurants. Its innovative and creative menus always deliver the highest standards of quality and great taste. Its celebrated desserts, made by Clark, are nothing short of remarkable. Indulge is a collection of Claire Clark's favorite dishes that any home chef can re-create. Perfectly decadent, the recipes in this new cookbook range from the deceptively simple to the more exotic. Along with the recipes there are valuable tips and techniques learned during Claire Clark's 20 years as a pastry chef in world famous restaurants.
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