Tag: desserts
Baked Nectarines with Vanilla Creme Fraiche
The nectarine lovefest continues with this delicious dessert. I don’t know how to begin- first of all, it is delicious. Simple, yet it includes layers of amazing flavors.
I started with fresh nectarines, cut in half and ready to be stuffed with a mixture of oats, walnuts and brown sugar. I laced the topping with ground cardamom and cinnamon. To me, the cardamom was the key ingredient. It was simply amazing with the walnuts, oats and the baked nectarines- floral and sweet.
It is a great dessert to make in advance. I popped it in the oven as we sat down to eat dinner. Ten to fifteen minutes later, the nectarines were ready to be taken out.
I served them with some creme fraiche. I love using this French style soured cream instead of ice cream- although ice cream would be amazing as well. I added a bit of vanilla sugar into the cream and added a dollop on top of the baked nectarines. The combination was delicious. The cream cut through the sweetness of topping and the soft fruit. All in all- it was a very successful try. I will be making this with other fruits as well in the future- sky is the limit…
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Mango Yogurt Panna Cotta
I made this for a dinner party we were having. I served a panna cotta that my cousin made for fourth of July- it was a vanilla coconut one with a mango sauce.
For this dinner I decided to experiment with a low fat version of a panna cotta. Usually this summer dessert calls for cream mixed in with gelatin. I used non-fat Greek yogurt and a bit of half and half. I heated the half and half and melted the gelatin and sugar before mixing it with the yogurt and the mango puree. That was it- I poured the mixture into containers and
I love making this dessert since it is so simple and quick to make. The low-fat version was an excellent try and a bit hit. It was a great combination of sweet and tangy. The mango puree brought it the delicious tanginess and the yogurt provided great creaminess without any of the fat.
Try this dessert for your next summer get together- it is delicious!
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Mango Cardamom Cake
This is a perfect summer cake. There are so many mangoes around and as I have mentioned many times before, we usually have quite a few on hand all the time. My daughter takes one cut up for camp everyday with a slice of cheddar cheese. She enjoys them for her morning snack right after a swim. I am quite happy giving her a healthy fruit and some low fat protein.
Anyway, since there were so many mangoes around, I decided to make a cake- well, it is more like a tea bread.
I blended enough mangoes to equal one cup and made a super fast and easy bread. I love making these kinds of treats that are relatively healthy. I usually pack a slice as dessert for my daughter and give some to my husband as a snack during the day with tea.
To give the cake an extra boost of flavor and a surprise, I added some cardamom. I love mango and floral cardamom together- it makes me want to drink masala tea, lounging in a comfortable chair on my deck…
Make the mango cardamom cake this season…
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Summer Dessert Recipe: Peach and Blueberry Crumble
This is my first time making a crumble. I have always liked this easy and delicious dessert but somehow I have never made it- don’t know why. I was recently at a friends house helping her make a blueberry crumble. It didn’t take very long and was quite delicious with vanilla ice cream. I was having our usual Friday evening get together and decided to give it a try- but of course I wanted to change it up a bit. I looked through several recipes and fruit combinations and finally came up with my own- fresh peaches and blueberries. I love the blueberry taste but the peaches add another level of sweetness and unique flavor to the dish. After looking at all the recipes, I also came up with the crumble topping. The one I made at my friend’s house had flour and oats mixed with sugar and butter. I also added walnuts to the mix- first of all, walnuts are my favorite nut and second of all, they are the healthiest to eat- a super food. Speaking of super foods, blueberries and cinnamon are in that category as well- I also used white whole wheat flour and turbinado sugar. I love combining all these healthy ingredients that are so good for us in one dish- I don’t feel as guilty eating it then…
The fruit combination was great- I added pinneapple juice and almond extract to the mix- it gave the dish great flavor- something different- plus almonds always come to mind when I see peaches. The topping was yum as well- the flour and oats gave it a very nice texture and the walnuts gave it a great crunch. The powdered cinnamon and ginger played their parts really well also. Overall it was a big success. I am definitely going to make it more often with different combinations- maybe a mango raspberry crumble or a cherry almond one- hmm- I am getting hungry as I write this…I will go help myself to some more right now!
Orange Trifle with Strawberries
I would have to say, this is my all time favorite dessert. My mom has been making trifle for as long as I can remember. It is a very popular british dessert – my mom lived in London before she got married and learned some recipes from my English aunt.
Growing up the trifle was served in a lasagna pan- the flat casserole pan. The presentation was not as dramatic as it is in the trifle bowl- I love looking at the colorful layers of delicious heaven! I remember my mom would use canned mixed fruit and use the juice to soak the sponge cake. We also grew up with lots of custard and fruit for dessert- the custard was made out of a powder. I still remember my mom pouring the powder in hot milk to make the delicious custard. She would layer the soaked sponge cake with the fruit,custard and whipped cream. The dessert was topped with a thick layer of whipped cream and sprinkled with nuts. How good is freshly whipped cream?? I can taste it as I write about it- the fluffy and creamy goodness- so easy to eat lots of it without realizing how dangerous it is. I still remember when we first arrived in the US and I saw cans of whipped cream or the fake stuff you get in tubs- I was devastated! What happened to the real stuff- I couldn’t understand why someone would want to eat that stuff in the tub…
Once you learn the technique and process of making a trifle, sky is the limit. You can change the cake flavor, types of fruit and the flavor of custard or curd. I used to make a generic one most of the time, like the one my mom made- but then I started experimenting with the recipe. Last year I made a raspberry with mango curd trifle- it was out of this world! A few years ago I had a dessert tasting party and made a ginger bread and lemon curd trifle- it was very good as well!
It is a crowd pleaser- most people like it. In my case, I wouldn’t make it unless there was a crowd since I am quite capable of eating the entire bowl in no time!