The American Heiress and Creme Brulee

Daisy Goodwin's American Heiress is the perfect frothy little read to help you get over the end of the third season of Downton Abbey.   Pick it up next Sunday when you feel an emptiness around 9PM without the Crawleys, manor houses, upstairs-downstairs dramas and dinners in tuxedos.  The novel is about a beautiful rich American heiress - cheekily named Cora Cash - at the turn of the century, who finds herself marrying above her non-noble American routes and becoming a British Duchess.  At first Cora naively falls in love with both her husband, the Duke and the glamorous world he comes from, but soon she realizes, as of course she must, that neither her husband nor the world he comes with are so shiny and wonderful.  The novel is filled with delicious melodrama and is great escapist fiction for when you don't want to think too much, but want to be transported to a world seemingly more glamorous and interesting than your own.

Daisy Goodwin's The American Heiress tells the story of Cora Cash, a rich American young woman from Newport, Rhode Island.  Cora is probably the richest girl in America, and all eyes are on her as she embarks upon a search for a husband.  Cora is so rich that an American husband, even if from a wealthy and well bred family is not good enough for her mother, who is obsessed with social standing, and wants to use her husband's riches to buy her daughter a title.  While, Cora has a sweetheart already - Teddy Van Der Leydon - who is an aspiring painter and from a very good family, she embarks with her mother on a trip to Europe in search of suitors who are dukes and princes.  When Cora and her mother arrive in London, they are guided by an American woman who has made a business of helping rich American girls find noble British husbands.  She is performing a service for both sides - lots of noble British families with large houses and staffs to support have run out of money, and only an enormously wealthy American can save them.  Quicker than anyone imagined, Cora lands herself a marriage proposal from a Duke  - Ivo Maltreavers, the Duke of Wareham.  He is handsome and well mannered but also seriously prickly, and it is clear to everyone but Cora that his almost immediate proposal of marriage does not mean that he is wildly in love with her.   Cora soon learns that Ivo has a temper and can be cold and distant.  He punishes her with cruel aloofness when she does something to displease him.  While in America Cora was in control and admired by all, in her husband's world she is surrounded by snakes and truly alone.  Those most treacherous are those that are the closest to Ivo - his mother, the vain and judgmental former Duchess of Wareham and Ivo's spiteful former lover, Charlotte Beauchamp.  Charlotte befriends Cora and in classic mean girl style steers Cora in directions that she knows will anger Ivo, like encouraging Cora to be painted by a scandalous painter.  Cora's mother-in-law undermines her attempts to run the Wareham family mansion and tries to make Cora feel insecure in her relationship with Ivo.  While this book is not challenging - it is a somewhat predictable melodrama - I ate up every page of it like it is was the sweet, creamy creme brulee pictured below.  Sometimes you just want to be swept away into someone's else's drama, for me The American Heiress fit that bill perfectly.

Classic Creme Brulee, adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris
At one of the first dinners Cora hosts at Lulworth, the Wareham family seat, creme brulee is served.  Just after her malicious mother-in-law drops some news that she knows will upset Cora, she is describes as viciously cracking her spoon into a creme brulee.  As soon as I read that I knew that would be my recipe for this book.  I have never made creme brulee and in fact I never order it in restaurants. I probably have only had it 1 or 2 times.  Strange, I know, because I love puddings and custards, but for me it just always seemed kinda boring.  But it is a classic, and something everyone should know how to make. I was surprised at how easy and non-fussy this recipe was.  It was comforting and special at the same time.  As you can see, I don't have a kitchen torch so I used the broiler  - hence the blackened spots.  Despite a little burning, the crisp sugar crust is of course what makes this dessert.

Ingredients (5 to 6 services)
1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixture with a paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks and 1/2 cup of sugar on low speed until combined.
3. At the same time, scald the cream in a saucepan over medium heat.  To scald means to heat it until just below boiling, it should be hot to the touch but without lots of bubbles.
4. With the mixture on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs.
5. Add the vanilla and grand marnier and mix until combined.
6. Pour the custard into 6 to 8 ounce ramekins until almost full.
7. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan and fill it with boiling water about half way up the sides of the ramekin.
8. Carefully plan the pan in the oven and bake until the custards are set, 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
10. Refrigerate the custards for at least 2 hours.
11. When it is time to serve, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar on top of the custard and either melt using a little kitchen torch or place in a broiler until the sugar melts/browns/bubbles.
12. Remove from the oven and let sit until the caramelized sugar hardens.