Recipe of the week: Syllabub: An English pudding for late summer

The origins of syllabub’s name are a mystery, said Tamasin Day-Lewis in Saveur, but the summery delights of this English dessert are anything but. Just one taste of this alcohol-flavored, whipped cream-filled, mousse-like

concoction is enough to transport me to “fields of buttercups and Jersey cows.” The name of the classic pudding may be a combination of silli, a kind of French wine, and “bub,” a slang term for a bubbly drink. While this recipe calls for oloroso sherry, other recipes suggest white wine. Variations

are endless, but the result is “the most sophisticated and the humblest of sweets.”

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Recipe of the week

Syllabub

(English sherry-infused mousse)

1/3 cup superfine sugar

1/4 cup oloroso sherry

2 tbsp Cognac

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

1-3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp cold heavy cream

Freshly grated nutmeg

Put sugar, sherry, Cognac, lemon juice, and lemon zest into a large bowl. Stir well, then cover and let sit out at room temperature overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Add cream and nutmeg to the sherry mixture. Whip with a whisk until soft peaks form. Spoon into 4 glasses and garnish each with a bit of lemon zest and a sprig of rosemary.

For a variation, fill the glasses halfway up with the syllabub, add a little raspberry purée or a few chopped white peaches or strawberries, and then top them off with the remaining syllabub, to create a fruity middle

section to the dessert. Serves 4.