Deadly but Delicious Dessert at Bar Boulud

Croustillant Trois Chocolats (a.k.a Tonka Bean Dessert)

After spending a terrifying fifteen minutes on the district line surrounded by Chelsea FC supporters (I did actually watch the game in some father-daughter bonding time... and Ramires and Drogba were excellent), I was relieved to finally reach the urban brasserie that is Bar Boulud. 

Situated in the 'basement' of the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, Bar Boulud is the sleek offspring of the famous New York-based French chef, Daniel Boulud. I remember going to Boulud's Beijing outpost (Maison Boulud) two years ago, but that was disappointing ... and very expensive. Luckily for its cousin, Bar Boulud is a reliable place for eager foodies.The gourmet burgers such as the 'Frenchie' with confit pork belly, rocket, dijon tomato compote, morbier cheese on a peppered bun is great. My friends had the 'Yankee' grilled beef burger with iceberg lettuce, tomato pickle and sweet onion on a sesame bun. The 'Yankee' was tasty but perhaps a bit on the small side, especially for hungry Old Harrovians. I had the whole roasted lemon sole with brown butter and lemon, that was not so great.

The 'Yankee' Beef Burger

My friend, in a moment of genius, ordered a memorable seafood salad complete with prawns, mussels and clams on a bed of asparagus and other tasty greens. But! It was the aioli that came with it that had us addicted. Yes, I would go back to Bar Boulud just to dip my bread into that wonderful white sauce. 

Seafood Salade with Aioli

The Croustillant trois choclats is a miniature architectural wonder. Tuile, a thin almond-based French cookie, is curled around milk and dark chocolate crémeux. Crémeux (creamy) is the lovechild of creme anglaise and chocolate. Tonka bean ice cream is placed on top with a curl of chocolate as a garnish. My other friend queried what exactly a tonka bean was. According to our waiter, the tonka bean originates from South America which has so many different flavours it could be described as having a taste complex. Some have suggested it has aromas of almond, cherry, vanilla and cinnamon. After some quick google-ing, I discovered that tonka beans are a major source of a chemical called coumarin. Coumarin is actually considered illegal in the US due to some unfortunate side-effects to the human liver. Apparently, you would need to eat about 30 entire tonka beans before you reach toxic levels but I am certain that the ice cream had nowhere near that amount. In the event that you do collapse for whatever reason, you will be comforted to know that your last meal involved one of the most elegantly made haute-desserts in town.

Website: http://www.danielnyc.com/barbouludLondon.html#barboulud_menu
Telephone:  +44 (0)20 7201 3899


Address: Bar Boulud London, 66 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LA.

Apple Crumble with Grand Marnier and Brandy
(served with rum and raisin ice cream)

Forgive me culinary father for I have sinned. It is Shrove Tuesday and against tradition, my dad and I made apple crumble instead of pancakes. But it was outrageously divine!?

My dad said that there are four ingredients that can propel any dish to the next level. Namely -  butter, truffles, cheese and alcohol. It was alcohol, that made this staple desert so good. This was evidenced by all my aunties having a second helping (I am slightly upset that there is none left now).

   

We sliced roughly ten medium sized royal gala apples (my favourite) into quarters. This variety is naturally sweet. Mama Wong made some apple sauce a while back using my aunt's home-grown apples. The apple sauce was also added to the sliced apples segments.

Add small whole chunks of cinnamon to the apples. I crushed a little bit of one chunk so we could sprinkle them into the mixture. This should maximise the flavour.

Put the apples into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for roughly 10 minutes (or until you reach the desired consistency). Add brown sugar, grand marnier and brandy. Turn down the heat slightly to let the apples absorb the alcohol and sugar.

Normal brandy is fine. We didn't have any so we added XO (hehe)

 

While the apples are simmering away, take slices of bread and blend in a food processor to make crumbs. Add two tablespoons of melted butter and two tablespoons of brown sugar. Blend again. It is better if the bread is a little dry (i.e. stale bread) as this will ensure the crumble will be nice and crispy. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.

Transfer the hot apple mixture into an oven-proof dish. Once cool, pour the bread crumbs on top. Place in the oven for roughly 20 minutes (or until the the top becomes nice and brown). Serve with ice cream, we used rum and raisin ... seeing as we didn't have enough alcohol already ;)

BEFORE 

AFTER