Tapioca Sundae

Tapioca Sundae
I love tapioca. I like creamy, decadent homemade versions. I like cheap, pudding-pack tapioca. I love bubble tea. The texture draws me in for sure; it’s a weird and playful food. But I haven’t given much thought to how to use it as an ingredient. Which is silly really, considering I’ve definitely had it as an ingredient before. Some pies use it as a thickener; it’s especially common in peach raspberry for whatever reason. And it’s an important part of the playful “pearls and oysters” dish at the French Laundry, which you may know holds a very special place in my heart. But everything changed this Sunday as I was reading recipes and came across tapioca as a sundae topping. Genius I thought. The cold of frozen yogurt or ice cream topped with warm tapioca. And a little of my peach raspberry refrigerator jam. Yes. Indeed.

½ cup large pearl tapioca (I used reese)
½ cup Limoncello (you could easily use lemon juice and sugar instead but I had some on hand)
2 ½ cups water

pinch of salt
1 cup whipping cream (or milk)
2 yolks
¼ cup sugar

refrigerator jam
frozen yogurt (or ice cream)

I like large pearls, but the brand I like wants me to pre-soak them in water overnight. Since, of course, I haven’t planned for that, this recipe includes steps to rush this process along. Add the pearls to the limoncello and water in a small to medium pot on the stove.
Bring to a boil. Stir. Turn heat to low. Stir. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let sit for an hour. Pour into a bowl or storage container.
Without cleaning the pot, pour in whipping cream, yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt. [I recommend going full cream on the tapioca and a yogurt that’s tangy and lower fat and, but you could invert that, or do all lower fat. I think both high fat is too much though.] Heat at medium. Whisk the mixture.