Are you one of those people that enjoy dessert more than the rest of the meal? If so, this is the article just for you. If you had enough desserts over the Holidays, tuck this article away and use later on when you are looking for a new and refreshing list of desserts to add to your repertoire. However, if you love desserts like me and you like to experiment in the kitchen, reading this article will hopefully inspire you to continue your cooking journey. Follow the few simple steps I outline below (with recipe examples) so you too can make your cooking in the kitchen fun, victorious and long term.
Pannetone with fruit
This is my take on a toasted angel food cake recipe I once saw. Pannetone, the traditional Italian Fruit cake is more rich and full of flavor due to the spices and the dried fruit. When toasted in the oven, the aromas of citron and candied fruit will fill your kitchen with wonderful scents. The idea here is to be creative with your ingredients. You can slice the fruit cake into sticks and make a berry sauce (cook in a sauce pan 2 cups of berries, ½ cup of sugar, and ½ cup of water for 10 minutes) for the kids to dip into. You can slice wedges of the toasted Pannetone and serve it with strawberries that have been macerated (marinated) in sugar and red wine or liquor. You can also dip the Pannetone slices into an egg and milk mixture, sauté in a pan with butter, and serve with slices of strawberries and banana. More ideas include drizzling chocolate sauce, Nutella, or toasted nuts on the Pannetone.
Super simple yogurt sorbet
The beauty of this dish is there is no need for an ice cream maker or complicated ingredients. Three ingredients and you have a basic sorbet to enjoy alone or to serve as a component to a more elaborate dessert for your next dinner party. The base of this dessert is frozen fruit which in winter is a very beneficial food item to utilize. Not only is it convenient (i.e. the fruit comes cleaned, peeled and chopped) but it is also very cheap compared to when fresh. Follow the recipe below for a basic fruit sorbet.
- 1 pound frozen fruit (ex. strawberries, raspberries, mango, blueberries)
- ½ cup of yogurt or even better crème fraiche (French cream)
- ¼ cup sugar
- Place all ingredients into a food processor along with a couple of tablespoons of water and process until pureed and creamy stopping to scrape down the sides of the container as needed.
- If too thick, add more water (a tablespoon at a time) and if the fruit does not break down completely be sure not to add too much as it will liquefy the mixture
- You can freeze this mixture for later or serve immediately
- Excellent ideas include making a chocolate sorbet and serving it with fresh fruit, making a vanilla sorbet and sandwiching it between two fresh baked oatmeal raisin cookies, or make three different fruit sorbets and put alternating 1 inch layers of each sorbet into a terrine or loaf pan and weigh down over night. This terrine can then be turned out, cut into slices length wise and drizzled with a raspberry coulis. Not only will this be extremely good but it will also be very light for those watching their figure and very dramatic when displayed to your dinner guests!
Mini Baked Alaska’s
Another simple dessert that has the potential to be very fancy when displayed is this “deconstructed” (an overly used and snooty chef term) baked Alaska. Start off with your favorite chocolate ice cream gelato, or even the fruit sorbet above. Then take your favorite berry marmalade, a simple chocolate sauce or the berry sauce I mentioned above and follow the steps outlined below for this easy dessert recipe:
- 3 large egg whites (just crack the eggs over a large bowl into your hand and very carefully switch the contents back and forth from hand to hand). During this process, the egg whites will slide away from the yolk and land into the bowl underneath. Take the egg yolks and use for the dessert that follows.
- 6 tablespoon(s) superfine suga
- Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Beat in sugar until mixture is shiny, about 1 minute more to make the meringue
- Place a scoop of your favorite ice cream, gelato, or home made sorbet into a bowl or ramekin
- Ladle on your favorite berry marmalade, chocolate, or berry sauce
- Spoon meringue on top and place under the oven broiler until golden brown on top, (about 1 minute). Serve immediately and enjoy!
Sabayon (A luxurious Italian custard)
This is one of my favorite desserts to make for dinner parties because when served hot it has to be made at the moment of service giving it an extremely fresh quality to it. It is very versatile also in that you can take the original recipe and tweak it to your tastes. The basic recipe for a quick Sabayon includes the following ingredients:
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup of sugar
- ½ cup of Marsala liquor (sweet not dry)
- Whisk to blend the yolks, Marsala, and sugar in a stainless-steel or glass bowl. Rest the bowl on a pot of hot, slightly steaming water (temperature should be at med to high). The top bowl should not be touching the water though!
- Whisk constantly for 4 to 5 minutes or more to cook the sauce, until it has the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Clear the bottom of the bowl constantly with the whisk so that the eggs do not scramble, and adjust the heat as needed.
- Taste the sauce – the sabayon should never get so hot that you can’t stick your finger in it – and whisk drops of lemon juice or more sugar if you want. When thick, foamy, and tripled in volume, remove from heat. If served hot, place the sauce on top of berries into an oven safe ramekin and broil for 1 minute or at least until the top gets golden brown in color. It can also be served tepid or cold.
- Great versions of this dish include making it with white or dark chocolate or even a liquor based sabayon like using Grand Marnier instead of the original that includes Marsala. Another great idea is to use exotic fruits like blood oranges, mango or passion fruit to infuse the basic recipe. This can then be topped with slices of the fruit before or after broiling in the oven.
As you can see, these desserts only take 10 -30 minutes to make but have the potential to be show stoppers for your dinner guests. Additionally, their versatility allows for your cooking creativity so go out and try a new dessert recipe. Who knows? Maybe you will create a new favorite for your family, friends, or even better for that special someone you want to make happy.
