Pastry Chef Ryan Butler takes the comfort desserts, from his childhood, and gives them a modern twist.
My current obsession is his Autumn pudding with Caramelized White Chocolate Ice-cream and Citrus Toffee Sauce. It has ingredients like Orange Juice, Apple Cider, Brown Sugar, Brown Butter, Salt and Pepper, Medjool Dates, plump Sultanas and wonderful chewy Candied Orange Peel (that Ryan hand makes from scratch).
Ryan first soaks the puddings in toffee sauce, then pours more toffee sauce over the top (yes, really!) This pudding, like most of his other desserts uses his signature mix of warm ingredients, mixed with cold. The warm fragrant pudding and hot citrus toffee sauce, mixed with the cold white chocolate ice-cream.
This dessert will be on the menu at Whitehall till mid December, where he's switch it out for a Winter Dessert, so get it while it's hot! (and cold.)
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AUTUMN PUDDING WITH CITRUS TOFFEE SAUCE. Chef Ryan kindly agreed to part with the recipe for his pudding. These make about 12 from a regular size muffin tin. Serve with the best Vanilla ice-cream you can find.
5 ripe bananas 9 medjool dates , chopped and soaked in boiling water 2 tbs candied orange peel 4 eggs 1 tsp of cinnamon 11/2 cups of sugar 1/4c raisins 2 tsp of baking powder 11/4 cups of vegetable oil
Mash the bananas, add all the liquid ingredients then add all the dry ingredients allow the batter to sit over night. Bake the puddings in prepared molds or muffin tins at 325 for ten minutes or until golden brown. Unmold and soak in the citrus toffee sauce.
Citrus toffee 2 cups orange juice 1 cup apple cider 2 cups dark brown sugar 2 cups butter 1 tbs salt Combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Set aside. There will be extra sauce.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LINDA PUGLIESE
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RYAN BUTLER: is a pastry chef responsible for the desserts at Highlands as well as Whitehall restaurants in the New York's West Village. The desserts he does at Highlands are a more pub-style dessert, the ones at Whitehall, are a more composed modern take on classics. To get info on Highlands, click here. To get info on Whitehall, click here.
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LINDA PUGLIESE: is a food photographer and aspiring professional pasta maker. Originally from Annapolis, Maryland, she grew up surrounded by sailboats & picnic tables covered in piles of crabs. Her favorite guilty pleasure, is really good vanilla ice cream with a sprinkle of maldon sea salt on top. She will gladly set an alarm hourly through the night to wake up and stir the ragu in winter and could easily live off yogurt topped with blueberry jam. And some days she does. Click here to check out her work.