John Ash shares favorite little-known, but not forgotten, desserts

Baked Alaska. Bananas Foster. Chess pie and “slump.” These are sweets that shouldn’t be forgotten, even if today they seem a little retro. Perhaps you remember getting Crepes Suzette flamed tableside at a restaurant, some decades ago?

These classics are often the stuff of our childhood. Many have regional or international roots, but if you aren’t from that part of the world, you may not know about them. Here are some for you to discover and try. Many take advantage of local ingredients, but the overriding consideration is that they are very simple, homey and easy to do. Your grandmother would be proud.

Posset (pronounced pos-it) originally was an English drink made of hot milk curdled with ale or wine and usually sweetened and spiced. Here, it becomes a lovely rich dessert.

I’ve made it with lime juice here, but any citrus juice would work. Also, experiment with adding spices you like. There is no egg or gelatin to thicken it. It’s magical!

Lime Posset

Makes 4 servings

2¼ cups heavy whipping cream, not ultra-pasteurized

¾ cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Pinch of dried ginger

Fresh berries, for garnish

Whisk together the cream and sugar in a stainless-steel pot with high sides. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, whisking often. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed. Keep an eye on it because the mixture can overflow while simmering.

Remove the mixture from the heat and immediately whisk in the lime juice and ginger. The mixture will curdle slightly. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. Whisk one last time until very smooth and creamy.

Divide the posset among four 5- or 6-ounce glasses or ramekins. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set and thicken the posset. Serve chilled, topped with some fresh berries, if desired.

This is thought to be the Bananas Foster recipe from the original source and creator of this dessert: Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans. Created in 1951, the dessert was purportedly named for Richard Foster, who served with Brennan’s founder, Owen Brennan, on the New Orleans Crime Commission. Richard Foster was a frequent customer of Brennan’s and a very good friend of Owen.

Bananas Foster

Serves 4

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup banana liqueur

4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved

¼ cup dark rum

4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon in a flambe pan or skillet. Place the pan over low heat, either on an alcohol burner or on top of the stove, and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

Stir in the banana liqueur, then place the bananas in the pan. When the banana sections soften and begin to brown, carefully add the rum. Continue to cook the sauce until the rum is hot, then tip the pan slightly to ignite the rum. When the flames subside, lift the bananas out of the pan and place 4 pieces over each portion of ice cream. Generously spoon warm sauce over the top of the ice cream and serve immediately.

You can make this custard sauce ahead of time and store it, refrigerated, for up to 3 days. To peel the apples, I like to use the old-fashioned peeler-corer which also slices the apple in a continuously connected ribbon that gives the apple an interesting appearance for this recipe.

Baked Apples with Sherry Custard Sauce

Makes 6 servings

6 medium-size, tart-sweet baking apples, such as Golden Delicious or Honey Crisp

⅓ cup golden raisins

1¼ cups fruity, slightly sweet wine, such as riesling or gewürztraminer

½ cup toasted pine nuts

⅓ cup melted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ground mace

Sherry Custard Sauce (recipe follows)

8 amaretti cookies, crushed, homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought

Amaretti or cake crumbs and mint sprigs, for garnish

Peel and core apples and place in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. In a small saucepan, bring the raisins and wine to a simmer and then set aside for 15 minutes to allow raisins to plump.

Drain, reserving liquid, and combine raisins with pine nuts and stuff the cavity of the apples. Add butter, brown sugar, reserved raisin soaking liquid, lemon zest and nutmeg to the saucepan and heat gently to melt sugar, about 2 minutes. Drizzle mixture over apples and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until apples are tender when pierced with a toothpick. Baste apples occasionally with juices.

To serve: Place warm apples on shallow wide-rim bowls. Spoon sherry custard sauce around and sprinkle crushed amaretti cookies over apples before serving. Finish with mint sprigs on top of apples to suggest a stem.

Sherry Custard Sauce

3 egg yolks

¼ cup sugar

1¼ cups light cream or half and half

2 tablespoons dry fino sherry, or to taste

Drops of lemon juice, to taste

Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until lightly colored. In a small saucepan, heat cream to steaming but do not boil. Slowly pour hot cream into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent yolks from scrambling. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until sauce thickens lightly. Off heat, strain immediately into a metal bowl and place bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water or refrigerate. Stir occasionally to speed cooling.

This is one of those desserts that seems exotic and complicated. Not so. Its roots are in French haute cuisine. It was a very special dessert mostly in the 1970s and beyond, I think because it was dramatically flamed tableside. You can make the crepes in advance, using the fairly easy recipe here, or use the quite good store-bought versions.

Crepes Suzette

Makes 4 servings

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

10 tablespoons unsalted butter

⅓ cup sugar, preferably superfine

8 crepes, homemade (see the following recipe) or store-bought

⅓ cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec liqueur

In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, zest, butter and sugar. Place over high heat and bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until syrupy, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Fold crepes into quarters and arrange beautifully in a nonreactive skillet or other shallow flameproof pan. Pour warm syrup on top (reserve syrup pan), and place over low heat until crepes are warm, about 5 minutes.

Warm liqueur in the pan that held the orange syrup. When the crepes are hot, pour liqueur on top. Then carefully touch a flame to the surface to light it. Avert your face! Serve immediately, spooning crepes and sauce onto each of 4 warm plates.

Homemade crepes

Makes 8 to 12 crepes

1 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 large egg

1¼ cups milk

2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter

2 teaspoons orange-flavor liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec

Vegetable oil or spray for a nonstick pan

In a blender combine flour, salt, egg, milk, butter and liqueur to make a smooth batter. Scrape down sides, if needed. The batter should be the consistency of heavy cream. Add more milk, if necessary, to thin.

Lightly oil an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet. Place over medium-high heat until well-heated. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the pan. Turn pan to coat bottom as evenly as you can. When pancake has a bubbly surface, after about 30 seconds, carefully flip it with a spatula and let it brown again for 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer finished crepe to a large plate. The first crepe is generally a “tester” and may tear. You’ll just have to eat it if so!

Repeat until the batter is gone, re-oiling the pan every other crepe. Layer finished crepes between baking parchment or wax paper sheets. Allow to cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Can be made 3 days ahead.

This simple recipe is a tribute to Julia and her commitment to seasonal foods long before the “farm to table” movement began. Truth be known, this movement has existed for millennia. It’s not just a recent California discovery. I think this flan is best served warm. Make it with whatever berries are best in the market. In France, a “flan” is not the egg custard many of us are familiar with, but this thick pancake. It’s also known as a “clafouti” there.

Julia Child’s Berry Flan

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Butter, for the pan

1¼ cups whole milk

⅔ cup granulated sugar, divided

3 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

1 pint (2 generous cups) fresh berries such as blackberries or blueberries, rinsed and well-drained

Powdered sugar, for garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a medium 6-cup flameproof baking dish at least 1½ inches deep.

Combine the milk, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender. Blend at top speed until smooth and frothy, about 1 minute.

Pour a ¼-inch layer of batter into the baking dish. Turn a stove burner to low and set the dish on top for a minute or 2, until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.

Spread berries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining ⅓ cup granulated sugar. Pour on the remaining batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the center of the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until the top is puffed and browned and a tester plunged into its center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. Julia noted that clafoutis don’t have to be served hot but should still be warm. It will sink slightly as it cools.

Baked Alaska has a complicated history that goes back a few centuries. Variations appeared in European pastry making under different names. The name Baked Alaska seems to have first appeared in print in the “Original Fannie Farmer 1896 Cookbook.” This is an easier recipe than the more traditional ones. It takes advantage of store-bought angel food cake rounds. The meringue acts as insulation that helps keep the ice cream frozen while you brown the meringue.

Baked Alaska

Makes 6 servings

For the cake base:

2 cups sliced strawberries

6 store-bought individual angel food cake rounds

1 quart vanilla bean ice cream

For the meringue:

4 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar, preferably superfine

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place sliced strawberries in the center of the 6 cake rounds. Using a large ice cream scoop, place a scoop of ice cream on top of the berries. Put these in the freezer so the ice cream hardens.

To make the meringue: Place the 4 egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or into a large mixing bowl if you are using a hand mixer. Add the cream of tartar. Whisk until the whites are foamy and just beginning to stiffen. Continue to whisk with the mixer on high as you slowly add the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Continue to whisk until whites are thick and easily form stiff peaks, 6 minutes or so.

Add vanilla and mix for a minute more to combine. Place the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Quickly pipe the outside of the frozen cakes and ice cream that have been in the freezer.

Return the cakes to the freezer and freeze for at least 1 hour to allow the meringue to freeze. Using a food torch, brown the meringue by holding the flame near the meringue and moving quickly back and forth, until golden brown all over.

If you don’t own a torch, you can place the Baked Alaska in the oven, under a hot broiler for just a few minutes until golden. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t melt. Place in the freezer until ready to serve.

“Chess” pie originated in the South as a “poor folks” substitute for the more aristocratic cheesecake or cheese pie. It uses the basic ingredients every Southern household had: eggs, butter and cornmeal. In some recipes, cracker crumbs took the place of the cornmeal. I’ve “gussied up” (sounds like my grandmother) the recipe with the addition of lemon and golden raisins.

The dough recipe here makes enough for 2 tart shells, but you only need 1 for this recipe; you can freeze the second to use later.

Lemon Chess Pie

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Dough for one 9-inch tart or pie shell (recipe follows)

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla or 1½ tablespoons dark rum

3 tablespoons golden raisins, plumped in warm water and drained (optional)

Whipped lightly sweetened heavy cream and fresh berries, if desired, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. With a fork, prick the prepared pie shell all over and then line it with heavy foil, gently pressing evenly into the shell. Fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 5 minutes, then carefully remove foil and bake for 4 to 5 minutes more or until shell is set and very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs until blended. Add sugar, cornmeal, lemon juice and zest and beat until combined well. Stir in butter, vanilla and raisins and pour into pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is set and lightly browned. Pie will puff up then sink as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature (not chilled), with lightly whipped unsweetened cream and berries.

Tart Dough

Makes two 9-inch tart shells

5 ounces (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch bits and well-chilled or frozen

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1 whole egg, lightly beaten

2 - 4 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

Place the butter, flour, sugar, salt, zest and egg in a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times until the mixture resembles very coarse cornmeal. Add water a tablespoon or 2 at a time and pulse until dough holds together when you press it in your hand. If it doesn’t, add more water, sparingly.

Gather and gently press dough together into two cakes, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour before using.

Roll out 1 of the dough cakes on a lightly floured surface and place it in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Prick crust well. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before baking. Remaining dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Note: If you have an extra tart pan, go ahead and roll out the dough, add it to the pan and then wrap it well in foil and freeze. Next time you want to make this or any other tart, the shell is all done and you can quickly fill it and have dessert in short order. No need to defrost the shell before baking; just bake the lined pan for a couple extra minutes.

Although there is a great debate on what makes a “slump,” the definition seems to be that slumps or grunts are simmered on top of the stove rather than baked in the oven. They are topped with dumplings that steam and expand on top of the fruit. The name supposedly comes from the sound the fruit makes as it simmers. Here, you can use any stone fruit or berry.

Nectarine Slump

Makes 6-8 servings

For the nectarines:

½ cup white wine

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¾ cup sugar, or to taste

3 pounds or so fresh nectarines, pitted and sliced

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

For the dumpling dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

⅔ cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping possibilities:

Whipped cream, vanilla bean ice cream, crème fraîche or sweetened yogurt

Mix the wine and cornstarch together to dissolve the starch. Add the wine mixture, sugar, nectarines and zest to a heavy, deep casserole dish and bring to a simmer over moderate heat.

While the nectarines are cooking, make the dumpling dough by stirring together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Add enough of the buttermilk to form a soft dough. For reference, it should be wetter than biscuit dough.

Using a soup spoon, place heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling dough on top of the fruit. Make sure you have at least 1 dumpling per person. Sprinkle the dumplings with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Cover tightly with a lid or a sheet of foil and cook the mixture over medium-low heat so the fruit just barely simmers. Keep covered until the dumplings are puffed and set and the surface is firm when you touch it with your fingertip. This will take about 10 minutes.

To serve, spoon the warm grunt into serving bowls and spoon on topping of your choice.

Zabaglione (Italian) or Sabayon (French) is a simple but delicious dessert you can make at the very last minute — it’s best while it’s still warm. It’s like a soufflé without the dish. Serve it with fresh fruits, either just spooned on the side or, for a more dramatic presentation, arrange the fresh fruits in a shallow bowl, spoon the zabaglione on top and quickly brown it with a propane torch or under a hot broiler.

Lemon Zabaglione with Berries

Makes 6 servings

1 pint fresh berries of your choice

2 large whole eggs

4 large egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

Zest and juice (at least ⅓ cup) of 2 medium lemons

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup sweet riesling, Marsala, muscat, Sauternes or other sweet dessert wine

Mint sprigs and a crisp little cookie, if desired, for garnish

Rinse and slice berries attractively in 6 shallow bowls or soup plates.

For the zabaglione, in the top part of a double boiler, combine the rest of the ingredients and whisk until the mixture is light and thick. Place over simmering water and whisk vigorously until the mixture has tripled in volume and is thick and light in color. Total cooking and whisking time will be about 4 minutes. Be careful not to scramble the eggs! Remove from heat, spoon around the berries and serve immediately, garnished with mint and a cookie.