Pod of the Month: Provence

Rich, spicy and intense is how we'd describe our Provence French roast. 

We pack these pods with more coffee to accentuate the boldness with notes of brown sugar and spices.  The tastes of southern France don't have to be so far away this summer.  Here are delicious desserts, inspired by French cuisine, that will pair wonderfully with Wolfgang Puck's Provence.

Darkest Chocolate Crepe Cake

Via Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus melted for pan
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk, room temperature
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Preparation:

1. Bring 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking to combine after each addition. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate until completely melted. Set aside.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Add chocolate-butter mixture, whisking until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard lumps. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

3. Lightly coat an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet with melted butter. Heat over medium heat until just starting to smoke. Remove pan from heat; pour about 2 tablespoons batter into pan, swirling to cover bottom. Reduce heat to medium-low; return pan to heat. Cook, flipping once, until edges are golden and center is dry, about 30 seconds per side.

4. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter, coating pan with butter as needed. Crepes can be refrigerated, covered, up to 1 day.

5. Place a crepe on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread with about 3 tablespoons hazelnut filling. Top with another crepe. Continue layering with hazelnut filling and crepes, using about 32 crepes and ending with a crepe on top. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

6. Spoon 1/2 cup glaze on top of the cake, spreading to edges. Spread remaining glaze around sides of cake, coating completely. Refrigerate until glaze is firm and set, about 20 minutes. Cake can be refrigerated up to 3 days. Garnish with toasted and candied hazelnuts.

Floating Island (Oeufs a la Neige)

Via All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup white sugar, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Separate two of the eggs. In top of double boiler, combine 1 whole egg and 2 yolks with 1/4 cup sugar and the salt, whisking until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cook over simmering water, stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon. When the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat. (Do not boil. If custard should start to curdle, remove from heat and beat vigorously until smooth.) Pour the custard through a strainer into a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Cool and refrigerate.
2. In a heat-proof bowl, lightly whisk the 2 egg whites with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, just enough to dissolve the sugar. Place the bowl on top of a pot of simmering water and stir constantly until the temperature of the whites reaches 145 degrees F (63 C) or hotter. Immediately remove the bowl from the heat, and use an electric mixer to beat the warm egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks.
3. Pour the chilled custard into a serving dish. Drop the meringue by heaping tablespoons onto the custard to make islands. Chill before serving.

Champagne-Poached Pears

Via Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle champagne, preferably pink (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup sugar
• Zest of 1/4 lemon
• 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)
• 2 large pears (such as Bosc) or 4 small pears (such as Seckel), peeled (firm, slightly underripe pears work best)

Preparation:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the pears in a pot and bring to a simmer.
2. Carefully lower the pears into the liquid (adding up to 1 cup water to make sure the fruit is fully submerged).
3. Simmer until the pears are tender, 15 to 17 minutes for small pears, 25 to 30 minutes for large ones.
4. Cool the pears in the cooking liquid for 30 minutes before serving, or store them in the refrigerator (still in the liquid) for up to a week.