Desserts

Berries with Mascarpone Cream – summer on a plate

I speak a lot about the joys of eating with the seasons. And with good reason. Food, produce in particular, is always at its most delicious when eaten at the right time of the year. I think it would be difficult to find a better example of this than summer berries.

If you dwell in the Northern Hemisphere, think June strawberries and you’ll know what December strawberries mean to us down here in the south.

We’ve been fortunate in Auckland to have enjoyed a surprisingly warm late spring and I was overjoyed to find such beautiful, blushing berries on offer at my local market. When it comes to the food world no other fruit heralds in summer quite like these beauties. The colours, the freshness, some sweet, some tart, but all utterly delicious.

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Mascarpone Cream with Morello Cherries and Amaretti

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of quick and easy desserts. I’d guess that my sweet tooth is at about medium strength. That is to say I tend towards savoury in general. For instance, I’m more inclined to order a starter than a dessert when I eat out (unless it’s a long and lazy evening of eating and I can fit in three courses).

But that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally indulge in something sweet and sinful. For all that healthy eating is an important part of our lives, there are times when eating has to be about pleasure only.

When it comes to choosing dessert for a dinner party I more often than not go for something quick and easy but that doesn’t necessarily appear so. When a pudding looks spectacular and tastes even better there’s no need for your guests to know it took twenty minutes for you to put it together. You can simply smile and accept the incoming praise gracefully while secretly thrilled that you were able to produce so much gorgeousness with such little effort.

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Strawberry Fool – a sweet treat for your Valentine

Valentine’s Day has an interesting history that dates back centuries. Many stories exist that are linked to this famous holiday, although it’s thought the firm attachment to romantic love began around the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century. Chaucer wrote a poem to celebrate the engagement of England’s Richard II.

I suppose I have always thought of Valentine’s Day as a celebration of young and new love. When my husband and I celebrated our first Valentine’s Day we were living in London at the time. He booked us on the Eurostar and whisked me off to Paris for the weekend.

Well . . . how do you top that?

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Berry Mascarpone Tart – reworking a classic

When I was studying at Le Cordon Bleu in London it was a few weeks in before we tackled pastry. Listening to the conversations during the lead up to “pastry day” was interesting. Some students were looking forward to it, particularly those who had an interest in pâtisserie. Others were dreading it.

I was somewhere in between. I’d always quite enjoyed making pastry. During the morning demonstration we were shown a shortcrust pastry, which Chef rolled into the most perfect circle I’d ever seen. He then made a Quiche Lorraine with it (one of my favourite things to eat – do I say that a lot?) He next made a sweet pastry, which was to be turned into a classic fruit tart.

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Lemon Posset – three ingredients, one perfect dessert

Cream – a wonderful ingredient that is used in so many dishes. Especially desserts. Many desserts involve nothing more than flavouring the cream or using it as the base of a custard. The Italians have their panna cotta and the French their crème brûlée. Both of which are divinely luscious.

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