Sweets

Late Summer Fruit Tart with Yogurt & Nuts

by liz · Jun 14, 2018

I know the first the day of Autumn has officially come and gone, but the weather around here hasn’t gotten the message. It’s still unseasonably hot and sticky, and the garden is still producing summer vegetables like crazy.

I’ve been craving a fresh and simple breakfast lately, and dreaming of fruit tarts. Berries have one of the highest concentrations of vitamins and anti-oxidants of all the fruits; strawberries, along with almonds, are even featured on the clean-eating detox diet that I love!

And making the crust with crushed nuts only ramps up the nutrition as well as making it gluten-free. You can use any nut you like — almonds, cashews and hazelnuts are my favorite. Delicious and healthy, you can indulge in this delicious fruit tart and still call it breakfast.

Extra thanks to the lovely and talented Toki Lee for helping with a summer fruit tart photoshoot!

Check out this Greek Yogurt Fruit Tart recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction for a delicious fruit tart recipe with Greek yogurt and a nut crust. I love how simple and pretty it is — you’ll be addicted too!

Late Summer Fruit Tart - Liz Dodder photography

Late Summer Fruit Tart - Toki Lee photography

Less Guilt Dessert: Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake

by liz · Jun 11, 2018

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake recipe — Photo by Meals.com

When Chris tells me she’s made a dessert with less calories, less butter or less fat, I know it’s gonna be good! And that means I get to enjoy more of it. She showed up one day with a whole plate of milky, moist, coconutty goodness for us to try, as she worked on some better-for-you desserts (chocolate brownies with zucchini? yes!).

With the end of summer heat kicking up and Hispanic heritage month (September) just around the corner, this makes this the perfect less-guilt dessert for Labor Day weekend’s cookouts and celebrations.

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake by Meals.com

Ingredients for 12 servings:

1 box (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
3 limes
1 can (13.5 fluid ounces) light coconut milk
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 cup (5 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Fat Free Milk
1/3 cup light rum (or to taste)
2 cups light whipped topping, thawed, or 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut, lightly toasted (optional)

Directions:

PREPARE cake mix according to package directions using egg whites; fold in grated peel from 1 lime. Bake in 13 x 9-inch baking pan for duration listed on package. Meanwhile, prepare tres leches mixture.

COMBINE coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and grated peel from 1 lime in large bowl; stir well. When cake tests done, remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

POKE holes in cake with a long-tined fork every ½ inch. Carefully pour milk mixture over cake, spooning any pooled mixture along the sides over the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

CUT the cake; top with dollop of whipped topping. Grate peel from remaining lime over cake; sprinkle with toasted coconut (or to achieve look in picture, use round biscuit cutters to cut cake, transfer to serving plate, then add toppings).

Coconut-Lime Tres Leches Cake

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 12 servings

With the end of summer heat kicking up and Hispanic heritage month (September) just around the corner, this makes this the perfect less-guilt dessert for Labor Day weekend's cookouts and celebrations. Especially if you love tres leches cake!

Ingredients

1 box (18.25 ounces) white cake mix
3 limes
1 can (13.5 fluid ounces) light coconut milk
1 can (14 ounces) Sweetened Condensed Milk
⅔ cup (5 fluid-ounce can) Evaporated Fat Free Milk
⅓ cup light rum (or to taste)
2 cups light whipped topping, thawed, or 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
½ cup shredded or flaked coconut, lightly toasted (optional)

Instructions

PREPARE cake mix according to package directions using egg whites; fold in grated peel from 1 lime. Bake in 13 x 9-inch baking pan for duration listed on package. Meanwhile, prepare tres leches mixture.
COMBINE coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk and grated peel from 1 lime in large bowl; stir well. When cake tests done, remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.
POKE holes in cake with a long-tined fork every ½ inch. Carefully pour milk mixture over cake, spooning any pooled mixture along the sides over the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
CUT the cake; top with dollop of whipped topping. Grate peel from remaining lime over cake; sprinkle with toasted coconut (or to achieve look in picture, use round biscuit cutters to cut cake, transfer to serving plate, then add toppings).

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Caramel Coconut Cookie Ice Cream Pie Recipe

by liz · Jun 9, 2018

When summer rolls around, there is one dessert I really crave — ice cream. I love to make ice cream in all it forms: ice milk, frozen yogurt, sorbet, granita, etc. And when I need a dessert to please a group, ice cream pie is one of the easiest ways to turn this iconic summer treat into a dessert for all.

This ice cream pie recipe features a homemade crust and homemade whipped topping, sandwiching one of Dreyer’s & Edy’s new summer Slow Churned flavors: Caramel Coconut Cookie Ice Cream. And homemade pie crust is actually pretty easy. To make the crust, just blend together graham crackers, coconut flakes, coconut oil and butter (see full recipe below).

And just think of the twists you can make on this pie crust recipe! Here are some ideas:

Instead of chocolate graham crackers, use honey or cinnamon graham crackers or any of your favorite crunchy cookies (ginger snaps, thin mints, milanos, etc.)
Instead of coconut flakes, use powdered caramel creamer or coffee mix, finely chopped ginger or any citrus zest.

And in the topping, I can think of many fun ingredients:

Add softened cream cheese to give it a frosting taste
Add a dash of any kind of flavored schnapps, maple syrup or almond flavoring
Use chocolate sauce or fresh fruit instead of caramel.

The possibilities are limitless when you think of all the ice cream flavors available! And don’t forget you can make just about any ice cream flavor you want. I’m looking forward to these additional summer flavors from Dreyer’s/Edy’s:

3 Stripes You’re Out (Grand only) – vanilla ice cream with mixed berry and strawberry swirls
Sunny Salted Caramel Pretzel (Grand and Slow Churned) – vanilla ice cream with a salted caramel swirl and pretzel pieces
German Chocolate Cake Spectacular (Grand and Slow Churned) – chocolate ice cream with a caramel coconut swirl and brownie pieces
Take the Cake (Slow Churned only) – yellow cake-flavored light ice cream with a frosting swirl and multi-colored sprinkles

I don’t know about you, but I can think of a different ice cream pie I can make each week of summer! It’s definitely going to be a good one at my house.

Caramel Coconut Cookie Ice Cream Pie from Meals.com

Ingredients for 8 servings:

CRUST

9 large chocolate graham cracker rectangles, broken into rough pieces
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING

1 container (1.5 quarts) DREYER’S or EDY’S SLOW CHURNED Limited Edition Caramel Coconut Cookie Light Ice Cream, softened

TOPPING

1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.

FOR CRUST:

PLACE graham crackers, coconut and sugar in food processor or blender; cover. Honey grahams are shown above.

Process for 30 seconds or until mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Place crumbs in medium bowl; stir in melted coconut oil and butter. Stir until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate.

BAKE for 20 to 22 minutes or until crust is set. Cool crust completely on a wire rack.

FOR FILLING:

SPREAD softened ice cream into pie crust. Cover; freeze for 6 hours or until ice cream is completely firm, as shown above.

FOR TOPPING:

PLACE cream and sugar in chilled medium mixing bowl. Beat just until stiff peaks form. Evenly spread whipped cream over ice cream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut; drizzle with caramel topping (above shows chocolate sauce). Cut into slices; serve immediately.

Caramel Coconut Cookie Ice Cream Pie

Author: Meals.com

Recipe type: Dessert

This ice cream pie recipe features a homemade crust and homemade whipped topping, sandwiching one of Dreyer's & Edy's new summer Slow Churned flavors: Caramel Coconut Cookie Ice Cream. And homemade pie crust is actually pretty easy. To make the crust, just blend together graham crackers, coconut flakes, coconut oil and butter.

Ingredients

CRUST
9 large chocolate graham cracker rectangles, broken into rough pieces
¼ cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FILLING
1 container (1.5 quarts) DREYER'S or EDY'S SLOW CHURNED Limited Edition Caramel Coconut Cookie Light Ice Cream, softened
TOPPING
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
⅓ cup toasted coconut
½ cup caramel ice cream topping

Instructions

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.
FOR CRUST:
PLACE graham crackers, coconut and sugar in food processor or blender; cover. Process for 30 seconds or until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Place crumbs in medium bowl; stir in melted coconut oil and butter. Stir until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate.
BAKE for 20 to 22 minutes or until crust is set. Cool crust completely on a wire rack.
FOR FILLING:
SPREAD softened ice cream into pie crust. Cover; freeze for 6 hours or until ice cream is completely firm.
FOR TOPPING:
PLACE cream and sugar in chilled medium mixing bowl. Beat just until stiff peaks form. Evenly spread whipped cream over ice cream. Sprinkle with toasted coconut; drizzle with caramel topping. Cut into slices; serve immediately.

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Stone Fruit Clafoutis Recipe

by liz · Jun 7, 2018

Living in California means having fruit trees in your yard, or in the yard of friends, coworkers and neighbors. If your produce yield is not high (unlikely here in the land of sunshine), you’ll surely receive piles of peaches, apricots, plums, oranges, lemons, avocado and figs from those living and working around you. Hint: it might help to be a little friendlier this time of year.

I had a large batch of plums this summer, and could hardly pick them fast enough to keep them from dropping to the ground where they became a sugary snack for the wildlife that’s claimed my home as their own. I also just read a book by one of my favorite pastry chefs, David Lebovitz. He moved to Paris, writing about his glorious and perplexing adventures in The Sweet Life in Paris. He described a summer fruit Clafoutis recipe, a simple French custardy dish that wasn’t too sweet and was served warm with morning coffee, which drove me straight to my kitchen with my plums in the midst of a heatwave.

I began baking a new clafoutis each week, with whatever fruit my friends and colleagues brought me. My favorite was using both plums and apricots, as well as whole wheat pastry flour, half and half and organic sugar. I knew just how David felt in Paris. Another similarity with David: I had recently begun doing my dishes in the bathtub (just like in Paris!), but that’s another story. On with the clafoutis recipe!

Stone Fruit Clafoutis Recipe

adpated from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:

4 T butter, melted + more for preparing dish
1¼ lb firm, ripe plums and apricots (or figs, cherries, raspberries)
3 eggs
½ C whole wheat pastry flour
1 t vanilla
½ C + 2 T organic sugar
1 C half & half

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 2 QT shallow baking dish. Halve the plums/apricots (or figs or cherries) and remove the pits. Place the plums/apricots cut side down over the bottom of the baking dish. If you’re adding figs, cherries or raspberries, sprinkle them over the plums or apricots.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk the butter and flour into the eggs until completely smooth, then add the vanilla. Whisk in ½ C of the sugar, then the cream.
Pour the custard mixture over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, sprinkle 2 T of sugar over the top. Continue baking the clafoutis for about 30 minutes more, until the custard feels slightly firm in the center and the top is a nice golden brown.

Stone Fruit Clafoutis Recipe

Author: adpated from David Lebovitz

Ingredients

4 T butter, melted + more for preparing dish
1¼ lb firm, ripe plums and apricots (or figs, cherries, raspberries)
3 eggs
½ C whole wheat pastry flour
1 t vanilla
½ C + 2 T organic sugar
1 C half & half

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a 2 QT shallow baking dish. Halve the plums/apricots (or figs or cherries) and remove the pits. Place the plums/apricots cut side down over the bottom of the baking dish. If you're adding figs, cherries or raspberries, sprinkle them over the plums or apricots.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Whisk the butter and flour into the eggs until completely smooth, then add the vanilla. Whisk in ½ C of the sugar, then the cream.
Pour the custard mixture over the fruit and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, sprinkle 2 T of sugar over the top. Continue baking the clafoutis for about 30 minutes more, until the custard feels slightly firm in the center and the top is a nice golden brown.

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Strawberry Rosemary Goat Milk Ice Cream

by liz · Jun 1, 2018

Ever since summer rolled around, I’ve been crazy for ice cream. Armed with my candy-apple red Cuisinart ice cream maker (so much better than a red sports car) nothing can stop me!

I’ve been trying everything in that machine: egg nog ice cream, goat milk ice cream, rosemary infused ice cream with strawberries, ice milk with balsamic & vanilla bean and plum sorbet (with plums straight off my tree).

After having sheep cheese ice cream in Basque country this spring, I’m not satisfied with merely cow’s milk ice cream: I need more gamey flavor! It’s surprisingly good in ice cream, because adding sugar and other ingredients, heating it on the stove, then freezing it makes it much milder than you think. Goat milk ice cream has become my favorite, shown above, with its creamy texture and mild flavor, using this recipe I found online.

I use this recipe as a base, add local honey and herbs from my garden – like rosemary or basil – to the milk while it heats, then take it off the stove and add a lid to let it steep before cooling. I love this unique flavor addition! And I love to top it with summer berries or add strawberries to the ice cream mixer, as shown above. Or I top it with plum compote. The next day, I can’t resist pouring the compote into the ice cream machine to try it as a frozen sorbet treat. Nothing is safe, I tell you.

Strawberry Rosemary Goat Milk Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 fresh free-range egg
1/2 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup half-and-half
1 quart fresh goat’s milk
1 rosemary sprig
2 cups chopped strawberries

Directions:

Heat sauce pan on stove over medium heat. Whisk the egg, then add it, honey, salt, half-and-half, milk and rosemary to the pan.

Heat slowly, stirring with wooden spoon, just to a simmer (not boiling), then take off heat and cover with a lid for 10 minutes.

Discard rosemary. Cool milk mixture in fridge or freezer until cold.

Pour into ice cream machine and freeze according to machine’s directions. Add strawberries while ice cream is freezing in machine, or use as a topping.

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Chocolate Heart Valentine: Raspberry Tart with Gluten Free Pie Crust

by liz · Feb 4, 2018

Gluten Free Raspberry Chocolate Heart Tart Recipe — Photo by Meals.com

Valentine’s Day is coming, and I love Valentine’s Day — even when I have no Valentine. This year, I have a houseful of friends who deserve some love-in-a-baked-form from me. This raspberry tart with gluten free pie crust fits the occasion perfectly!

I’ve been researching and cooking healthier foods for a long time, and lately have been reading more about an anti-inflammatory diet. So, I decided to make the pie crust from scratch, using quinoa flour. This flour has less carbohydrates and more protein than wheat flour, plus tons of vitamins and minerals (bonus for iron) and is gluten free.

Most quinoa-flour bakers recommend using only 25% gluten free flour in breads and baked goods, but since this was going to be a press pie crust (who wants to roll out dough when you can press it into cute heart-shaped pans?) I used 100% quinoa flour. And I wanted to see if a gluten free pie crust would work with this chocolate raspberry tart.

Using an easy, basic pie crust recipe from Simply Recipes, I cut the recipe in half since this is a tart (it only needs 1 crust, not 2). After forming the dough into a ball, instead of refrigerating, I divided it into 4 equal parts and simply pressed into 4 small heart pans (these happen to be disposable paper pans). The rest of the tart is fast and easy and oh so pretty.

It came out delicious! The gluten free pie crust with quinoa flour was the perfect base for the sweet rich chocolate and red tart berries. And I got to give away some love.

Raspberry Chocolate Heart Tart (gluten free pie crust optional) from Meals.com

Get easy pie crust recipe here (just sub quinoa flour or almost flour as suggested in the recipe).

Ingredients for 8 servings:

1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on package (or use gluten free pie crust directions above)
1 cup (6 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate or Dark Chocolate Morsels
2/3 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups raspberries, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 425° F.

PLACE pastry circle with plastic removed on lightly floured surface; roll out slightly. Trim small amount of pastry away to form heart shape. Place heart on ungreased baking sheet. Turn edges under 1/2 inch; flute. Prick pastry with tines of fork.

BAKE for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheet on wire rack.

MICROWAVE morsels and sweetened condensed milk in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10-second intervals, stirring just until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Spread over crust. Refrigerate for a few minutes or until chocolate is set.

ARRANGE raspberries over chocolate; sprinkle with powdered sugar.

NOTE: Use remaining CARNATION® Sweetened Condensed Milk to top ice cream or use as a dip for fruit.

More hearts:


Valentine Chocolate Filled Hearts	Cocoa-Kissed Red Velvet Pancakes