Dessert suggestions, please?

msolga,

I ahve a large collection of tried and trusted recipes, I'm at work now, but will look when I get home...

x

Why, thank you, Sarah!
(Pssst: simple is best for this dessert-challenged cook!)

These are supposed to take 30 mins (ghoogra does, if your used to making it).

Don't know what your culinary skills are like msolga, or how adventurous you are! But I know you are from Oz, so you will have a sophisticated pallete.





Baked Chocolate mousse with Passionfruit


Ingredients


300g/10½oz dark chocolate
150g/5oz unsalted butter
55g/2oz caster sugar
6 eggs, separated
a little extra butter, to grease the tin
For the passion fruit mousse:
255g/9oz mascarpone
55ml/2fl oz double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
3 passion fruit (pulp)
To finish:
icing sugar
cocoa powder
sprigs of mint



Method
1. Preheat the oven 180C/350F/Gas 4. Butter a 20cm/8in spring-bottomed cake tin with a removable base.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over simmering water.
3. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and in another bowl whisk the yolks with the sugar until pale.
4. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and sugar and fold in the egg whites.
5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool and dust with icing sugar and cocoa powder.
6. To make the passion fruit mousse, beat all ingredients together in a bowl until firm and serve.



Ghoogra


Ingredients
225g/8oz fine semolina
7 tbsp melted unsalted butter
120g/4¼oz caster sugar
30g/1¼oz ground almonds
30g/1¼oz white poppy seeds
30g/1¼oz desiccated coconut
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp nutmeg
600g/1lb and 5¼oz plain flour
200ml/7¼fl oz water



Method
1. Sift flour into a bowl and rub in 4 tbsp of the melted butter, add a little water at a time to the mixture to form a soft dough, you may not need to use all the water.
2. Knead the dough for about a minute until it is smooth, cover with a damp cloth and keep aside.
3. Next, in a pan add the remaining butter and heat gently on a low flame, do not let it burn.
4. When the butter is warm, add the semolina and turn up the heat to medium.
5. Cook, stirring continuously for about 5-10 minutes or until the semolina is a light brown colour.
6. Then add all the other ingredients, except for the sugar, mix well and cook for a minute.
7. Remove from the heat, add the sugar and let the mixture go cold.
8. Divide the dough into 25 small balls.
9. Roll out one ball in a 3 inch circle, take 2 tsp full of the mixture and place it at one end of the circle.
10. Then lift the other end and fold over the mixture, press the ends firmly together and crimp to form a secure seal.
11. The ghoogra should be in the shape of a half moon.
12. Repeat this with remaining dough and filling.
13. Now, deep fry these ghoogras until light golden brown in colour on a medium heat.

More to follow...
x

I really like this one, and it's easy too...


Pistachio saffron seera

Ingredients
225g/8oz semolina
560ml/1 pint¼fl oz milk
200g/7¼oz melted unsalted butter
2 tsp honey
225g/8oz sugar
50g/¼oz raisins
30g/1¼oz chopped pistachios
5-6 strands saffron


Method
1. Keep 1 tsp of the chopped pistachios to one side and add the saffron to the milk.
2. Stir in the saffron to release flavour and colour into the milk.
3. Heat the butter gently in a pan. Add the semolina and cook for 5 minutes, until light golden brown.
4. Add the raisins and pistachios and keep cooking for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the milk, stir rapidly to combine. Then add the sugar.
6. Keep stirring and cook for 2 minutes.
7. The seera should come away from the sides of the pan when cooked.
8. Place in a serving dish. Drizzle with honey and the remaining pistachios.

This one is simple and easy and can be prepared in advance, but I don't know how easy it is to get rhubarb - but you can sub other soft fruits, like passion fruit.

Rhubarb Fool



Ingredients
350g/12oz rhubarb
55g/2oz caster sugar
1 orange, juice only
water
150ml/¼ pint cream, whipped
1 egg white, beaten until peaked



Method
1. Place the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and enough water to cover the rhubarb in a medium pan. Boil rapidly until rhubarb is soft.
2. In a bowl, fold the egg white into the whipped cream.
3. When the rhubarb is soft, fold it in to the egg white and cream mixture. Reserve a little rhubarb for decoration.
4. Spoon the resulting fool into a tall dessert glass. Top with the reserved rhubarb and serve.

Here is a super, super easy recipe that everyone I know really likes:

1 package frozen blueberries - about 4 cups or so, thawed

1 box yellow cake mix

1 1/2 sticks of butter, cold, sliced

Pour the blueberries into a cake pan and spread them around.

Dump box of dry cake mix on top and spread around

Place butter slices to cover top of cake

Bake for about 1 hour at 350


Some people like to use crushed pineapple too but I think it makes it too sweet. If you do use pineapple skip some of the butter - maybe about a half a stick.

I have some yummy recipes using apples. One is an apple pie. The other is an apple crisp. They're basically the same recipe. The crisp is a pie without the bottome crust. I'll get it for you tonight, since I'm at work now. Don't let me forget.

So, I looked up torta de mele, something I've done before without success in finding anything like the apple thing we had a few decades ago in a vineyard restaurant in Montagliari in the Chianti area.

What do I find right off the bat but a torta de mele recipe from Montagliari. (I'd been trying to approximate the recipe for all these years since).
Yippee, I'm going to try it. Here's the link (photo, article along with recipe): http://www.divinacucina.com/code/torta.html


Torta de Mele Montagliari

Each area in Italy has some sort of apple cake, but this one is my favorite. Golden Delicious apples, sliced paper thin, baked in almost a crepe batter until caramelized! It's heaven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and some of Giovanni Cappelli's Salsa di Mosto. (The traditional balsamic vinegar from Modena is a rich, sweet concentrate made without vinegar, as is Cappelli's Salsa di Mosto. Don't use the inexpensive grocery store versions which are okay for a salad, but not ice cream!)

5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced paper thin
2 eggs, extra large
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
7 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
Powdered sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two round pizza pans or a 9x13 lasagne pan.

Beat the eggs and sugar together and add the flour, baking powder, milk, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add the apple slices and pour into the prepared pan. Place the pan on the bottom of the oven for 10 minutes, then place in the center of the oven to cook until golden, about 1 hour. Torta di Mele is a very thin, rich cake that will bake down to about one-half inch. It will cut easier if you let it cool before serving. But you can reheat it in the oven before serving.


Note from osso, I haven't tried that with the balsamic salsa.. I don't think the torta I ordered at the Montagliari vineyard had that, it was just the cake itself, but I remember that as the perfect dessert for one of my life's perfect meals...

There quite a lot of deserts I make with apples - usaully just variations ...

Cook some 1/4 of apples in cider or apple juic (with lemon juice added).
Add vanilla-pudding powder.

Then you can add white cheese, raisons, almond sticks, cinnamon, honey - whatever you like.

That Montigliari Vineyard is on the old Chiantigiana road, highway S222, I think, near Panzano, if you find yourself driving Chianti...

I will still post easier, faster ones msolga if you need them, tried to before but A2K playing up....

How about apple crisp? It's so easy to prepare.

Slice 6 - 8 (4 cups) apples into 8 or 9-inch buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with 3 or 4 tablespoons white sugar and a little cinnamon. For the topping, combine 1/4 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of flour and 3/4 cups of brown sugar until the mixture is crumbly and spread on top of apples. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. or until golden brown.

(I always increase the amount of topping.)

Thank you, thank you, everyone!
I knew I could depend on you!

I'm going to have to read through all these more thoroughly tonight, because right now (a bit after 8 am) I'm rushing around getting ready to attend a demonstration in the city. (Good cause!) Couldn't resist taking a peek, though. :wink:

Back later! <Puff puff, pant pant>

Olga,

This recipe was originally for a pear pie, so I will write it that way. Substitute apples for the pears. Make it without the crust for crisp.

French Pear Pie

1 unbaked 9" pie shell
5 large pears
3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate (or use orange juice)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup butter

Peel, core and thinly slice pears. Toss lightly with orange juice and lemon peel. Place in pie shell. Combine the remaining ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over pears, being careful to cover them all. Bake at 400F about 40 minutes or until the pears are tender ant the top is lightly brown.

Depending on the apples you use, I would toss some sugar in with the orange juice and lemon peel. Add about 10-15 minutes to the baking time, too.

Try this with vanilla ice cream. YUM!

I finally got in here long enough to read all your recipes & respond. (Touch wood!) I really appreciate you all posting under such tricky A2K circumstances. Thank you!
This time I think I'll go with one of the apple-ish dishes (apples being in season right now), but I'm also going to try out the ones with ingredients I'm less familiar with (like semolina) for later reference.
I will overcome this dessert cooking phobia, yes I will! :wink:

I'm available for testing - I have a major sweet tooth!

Here is quike and easy recipe for Quick Coffee Cake. You can try it at home and enjoy this delicious dessert
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F . Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
1. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder,sugar and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender to the size of small peas.

2. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg well, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the egg-milk mixture to the flour mixture all at once. Stir carefully until just blended.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Drizzle top with melted butter.

4. In a small bowl mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of cake. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Hello,
My all time favorite Choco lava cake or you can order royal shake squash.

How about a spinach smoothie?