Category Archives: Dessert

Chai-Spiced Amaranth Pudding

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Bulk-bin buys are the basis for this recipe, starting with amaranth seeds, a high-protein grain, along with golden raisins, pistachios, and the fancy salt for the brittle. Cooked amaranth has a gelatinous quality that lends itself to pudding. If you have a chai spice blend on hand, substitute 1 teaspoon for the cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. This pudding caused a little controversy in our household. I loved the flavor and aroma of the warm spices. Richard liked the texture, but would have preferred it plain, without the spices–”like a proper English pudding.” Of course, not too many English puddings are made with amaranth, but a version of this sans spices would be a kid- and Englishman-friendly dessert.

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Apple Pie with Chinese Five Spice & Hazelnut Crumb Topping

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A few things set this apple pie apart. Sauteing the apples in browned butter, then letting them cook down with sugar, a touch of lemon juice and Chinese five spice results in a filling reminiscent of caramel apples. Chinese five spice powder is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns, and it lends the filling a bright note. You can substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger and cloves. Because the filling is cooked, this recipe calls for blind-baking the crust. You can use blind baking beans or dried beans (which you can cool after baking and reuse for future blind-baking). A sprinkling of crumb topping adds extra texture and sweetness.

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Toasted Nut Pastry Dough

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By Kathleen Kanen

Ground nuts and a touch of whole-wheat pastry flour give this pastry dough recipe a healthier edge. It also has less fat than traditional pastry, yet there’s enough to make it satisfyingly tender. As with any pastry, handle the pie dough gently (so it doesn’t get tough) and don’t skip chilling it for 30 minutes. That helps the gluten relax and makes a more tender crust. Use the chilling time to peel the fruit and assemble the filling. This dough is terrific for seasonal fruit-filled pies, such as our  Apple Pie with Chinese Five Spice and Hazelnut Crumb Topping in fall or our Kathleen’s Fresh Peach Pie in summer.

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Fair-Trade Chocolate Earthquake Cookies

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I made a version of these addictive chocolate cookies in culinary school. Rolling the dough in two kinds of sugar creates a crackled appearance when the cookies spread as they bake. Since chocolate is the main ingredient, they’re an ideal way to showcase an artisanal product like Fair Trade-Certified chocolate.

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Need more Valentine’s Day inspiration? Check out these recipes from our friends at Food Bloggers Los Angeles:

FBLA Chocolate Party 2014 Recipe and Resource Links

Desserts

Savory Dishes

Champagne/Sparkling Wine Recommendations

  • Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava ($7 “but tastes like $20+”) — Andrew Wilder of Eating Rules
  • NV Presto Prosecco Brut ($10-$12), a “price performer” — Alison Ashton of NOURISH Evolution
  • Brut Roederer Estate Mixed Vintage ($20) — Jennifer Daskevich of A Little Gourmet Everyday
  • Colbert Eco Brut (sugar-free organic sparkling wine; $25) — Caren Magill of The Fit Habit
  • Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée ($10.99). “When serving mimosas there is no need to buy expensive bubbly, but naturally you don’t want to serve your guests headache-inducing sparkling wines or champagne either. The Brut Cuvée is Barefoot’s most traditional bubbly and tastes of green apple and jasmine with hints of kiwi and peach flavors which bubble up for a crisp finish and, in my opinion, make a delightful Mimosa,” said Priscilla Willis of She’s Cookin’.

 

Plum Parfaits with Bulgur and Vanilla Yogurt

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Pick a few extra plums for this ultra-simple, healthy dessert. It’s got both grown-up aesthetic appeal and a healthful hit of whole grain, thanks to the bulgur.

plum-parfait-bulgur-yogurt-recipe

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup bulgur, fine or medium
2 cups plums, pitted, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in bulgur, turn off heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Stir together plums, sugar, orange juice and cornstarch in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, until thickened slightly. Stir in almond extract.

In each of 4 small, tall glasses, layer a third of the yogurt, plums and almonds. Add a layer of half the bulgur, then repeat with half the remaining yogurt, plums and almonds. Finish with a final layer of bulgur, yogurt, plums and almonds.

Serves 4

Blackberry-Ginger Muffins with Hazelnut Streusel

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Bake a batch of these muffins on the weekend, and you’ll have no excuse for skipping breakfast during the week. Whole wheat pastry flour is milled from a soft white winter wheat that makes it a great go-to flour for everyday baking (try it in Lia’s Thin and Chewy Oatmeal-Flax Cookies). It yields whole wheat muffins and other baked goods with a nice, tender texture. As with any muffin batter, whisk the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined. Don’t overmix, or your muffins will be tough. You can substitute different berries for the blackberries, or even use frozen berries.

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Salted Pistachio Brittle

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Traditional brittle recipes call for corn syrup, but we’re not exactly fans of the stuff. Agave nectar makes a good substitute. Since it’s twice as sweet as corn syrup, you can use half as much in this recipe, adapted from Chef Guy Reuge of Three Village Inn in Stony Brook, New York. You can use different nuts or seeds and add a dash of spice (Reuge’s original version uses pumpkinseeds and cumin with delicious results). Here’s your chemistry lesson for the day: baking soda is the key ingredient that gives brittle its characteristic snap. Our version uses pistachios and coarse sea salt for a salty-sweet treat that’s delicious on its own or crumbled over ice cream or our Chai-Spiced Amaranth Pudding.

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Cherry-Basil Buttermilk Sherbet

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This sherbet is like summer in a bowl: light, refreshing, sweet and perfumed with the quintessential summer herb (which has a surprising affinity for cherries). It’s also ridiculously simple to make. It can get icy when frozen too hard, so eat it fresh from the ice cream maker or leave it on the counter to soften a bit if pulling it from the freezer. And here’s a little food trivia for you: Did you know that sherbet goes back to the Middle Eastern fruit-juice-and-water drink charbet? It has evolved into a dessert that’s lighter than ice cream — though in this case, low-fat buttermilk lends it a rich, tangy note.

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Kathleen’s Fresh Peach Pie with Toasted Walnut Crust

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By Kathleen Kanen

Ground nuts and a touch of whole-wheat pastry flour give this peach pie crust recipe a healthier edge. It also has less fat than traditional pastry, yet there’s enough to make it satisfyingly tender. As with any pastry, handle the dough gently (so it doesn’t get tough) and don’t skip chilling it for 30 minutes. That helps the gluten relax and makes a more tender pie crust. I use the chilling time to peel the fruit and assemble the filling.

For variety, you can substitute cherries and/or blueberries for half the peaches. Taste the fruit first and adjust the sugar in the filling accordingly. Same goes for amount of flour in the filling. Really juicy peaches may need an extra tablespoon of flour; not so juicy, use less flour. This peach pie is is the essence of summer!

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Lemon Verbena Honey Granita

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Granita is a super-simple summer dessert or appetizer that’s simply a frozen mixture of water, sugar and other flavorings. I planted a lemon verbena in our garden right near our Adirondack chairs simply because I wanted to be bathed in its heady fragrance whenever I was chilling out. And then I made this granita and fell in love with the plant even more. If you don’t have lemon verbena on hand, try lemon thyme or lemongrass, or just add the zest of another lemon.

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