(Greek) Yogurt Panna Cotta with Fresh Fruit

I am a dessert person. I can eat dessert any time of day. And usually the more decadent the better. Chocolate cake for breakfast? I'm your girl.

So it may surprise you to find out that one of my favorite desserts is panna cotta. The smooth, simple, tinged-with-vanilla cooked-cream dessert transports me. It has a firmness that créme brûlée lacks, a set texture that wobbly flan and créme caramel can't even come close to. It is a creamy "spoon dessert" that other spoon desserts don't hold a candle to in my world.

And when you take panna cotta and replace the cream with milk bolstered with yogurt, you get a dessert that really can be eaten for a midday snack or even for breakfast without much guilt. Top it with fruit and you're basically just having some really decadent yogurt (that's what I told myself anyway).

The Apple Picking Aftermath

We must have come home with 30 pounds of apples after apple picking. That's my rough estimate, because after I made four apple pies (two double-crust and two streusel-topped), two apple cinnamon loaves, apple crisp (with maple dulce de leche instead of caramel), and applesauce, all of which required a total of about 15 pounds of apples, I still hadn't made a dent in the supply. I decided to make apple cider doughnuts, but I switched from my regular recipe and used one that didn't require any apples, so that didn't help diminish the supply but still made for a nice fall treat. Then I came across this amazing brown butter apple crisp skillet muffin bread and I made it right away, using up a couple more apples. Another went into a tuna melt. And I've still got a drawerful left!

Re-Creating The Olive Oil Coppetta At Otto

One of the last most memorable desserts I've had -- besides all six courses at Harvest and the affogato at Steel & Rye -- was the olive oil coppetta at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria in New York. The coppetta or "cup" offered a balance of creamy, savory olive oil gelato; fresh, bright tangerine sorbet; tangy-sweet candied kumquats; and vibrant blood oranges. Upon finishing the last bites of the dessert, I knew I wanted to re-create it at home, and I knew I wanted to do it when winter citrus was still abundant.

Mango-Raspberry Breakfast Cake

The National Mango Board recently contacted me and asked if I'd like to receive a box of mangos along with some classic holiday spices to inspire me to make some sort of holiday mango dish. I was excited because I love mangos, but I wasn't so sure how I felt about combining them with holiday spices. But the Mango Board was right, and those spices, which filled the whole kitchen with their varied fragrances when I unpacked them, inspired me to start baking.

I know the holidays are usually centered on a big dinnertime meal, but breakfast is just as important during the holidays as it is every other day. So I decided to make a breakfast cake that would get everyone's day off to the right start. And this breakfast cake, filled with cinnamon and ginger and chunks of mango and whole raspberries, with a gingery streusel topping, might do just that.

Mango-Raspberry Breakfast Cake (adapted from Joy the Baker)
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Ingredients

Cake
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Streusel
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon ginger sugar* (or 1 tablespoon sugar plus 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes

Preparation

Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10- by 7-inch glass baking dish.

Whisk eggs and oil together (I mixed them in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup). In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Break up brown sugar (make sure there are no clumps) and whisk it into dry ingredients. Stir in egg-oil mixture with rubber spatula.

Stir in mango and raspberries.

Spread batter in prepared dish.

Streusel
Mix flour, ginger sugar, and brown sugar together in small bowl. Rub in butter with fingers until it's evenly distributed. Sprinkle streusel over batter.

Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes, turning halfway through baking, until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Transfer to wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan.

Cut and serve.

*One of my friends makes this awesome ginger sugar with flecks of ginger in it, and she gave me some to experiment with. I loved the flavor it added to the streusel topping.

What would you make with mangos and spices (cinnamon, ginger, cumin, cayenne, etc.) for the holidays?

Mini Pear And St-Germain Cupcakes

Most of you know by now that St-Germain is my favorite liqueur. A while back, I made a St-Germain icing, and since then I vowed that I would incorporate St-Germain into more desserts. I also decided that I want to use more pears in my baking. I found a recipe for pear and elderflower macarons and thought it would be fun to use the components to make some mini cupcakes.

I started with a white cake base, baked up mini cupcakes, filled them with St-Germain poached pears, and topped them with St-Germain buttercream. (And I had a lot of help from Elizabeth who came over to spend the day baking with me.) To make the cupcakes extra delicate, I chose pink cupcake liners, and we decorated them with pink sugar and pearls.

After they were all finished, I couldn't help thinking that they would be perfect for a bridal shower... or perhaps any holiday in February when one might be serving pink desserts.

Mini Pear And St-Germain Cupcakes
I made 48 mini cupcakes and baked the remaining batter into cake layers, but you could do all mini cupcakes.

Ingredients

Cake (adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
2 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg plus 1 yolk
1 1/2 cups ice water
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Poached Pears (adapted from Spicy Ice Cream)
2 pears, peeled, cored, and finely diced
1 cup water
4 tablespoons St-Germain
1 tablespoon brown sugar

St-Germain Buttercream (adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into chunks
1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons reserved pear poaching liquid
1 to 3 teaspoons St-Germain
Pink sugar
White decorating pearls

Preparation

For the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line mini muffin pans with paper liners.

Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Scrape down bowl, add egg and yolk, and beat until combined.

Turn mixer to low and add flour mixture, alternating with ice water, in three additions, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down bowl, then mix on low for a few seconds. Transfer to large bowl. Clean mixer bowl.

In clean mixer bowl with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.

Using a small scoop, add one scoop of batter to each cupcake cup. Bake cupcakes one pan at a time, 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

For the poached pears: While cupcakes are baking, combine pears, water, St-Germain, and brown sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low to low heat until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy. (This took about 40 minutes for me.) Strain and reserve liquid. Let liquid and pears cool.

For the St-Germain buttercream: In a small saucepan (that your stand mixer bowl can fit in without touching the water), simmer about 1 inch of water. In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together the granulated sugar and egg whites. Place the bowl over the simmering water, and heat, whisking occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until mixture is hot to the touch and sugar seems dissolved.

Place the bowl on the stand mixer, and using whip attachment, whip on medium-high speed for 6 to 8 minutes, or until mixture becomes a light, white meringue and bowl is cool to the touch.

Reduce speed to medium, and add the butter a few chunks at a time. Beat for 3 to 4 minutes or until the butter is fully incorporated.

Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, milk, and reserved poaching liquid, and continue to beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and satiny.

With the mixer running on medium speed, trickle in St-Germain to taste, and continue beating until frosting is smooth.

To assemble cupcakes: Scoop a small circle of cake out of the center of each mini cupcake.

Fill each hole with a small scoop of poached pears.

Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes.

Decorate with pink sugar and pearls.

These cupcakes are best the day they are made, but they can be stored in the fridge, wrapped tightly for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Have you made any desserts with your favorite liqueur?

Pear, Cranberry, And Candied Ginger Crisps

Winter is a great time for pears, what I think of as the oft-overlooked fruit when it comes to baking. We're all so eager to bake with cherries, blueberries, apples, peaches, plums, and even pineapples that we forget about pears. Even I'm guilty of it. There's not a single pear dessert recipe on this blog... until now, that is.

I still had some pears left from the shipment USA Pears sent me -- even after I incorporated them into my pear and Roquefort salad -- and I thought it would be fun to work them into a warm pear crisp, which could double as dessert and breakfast. (Don't judge. I even eat chocolate cake for breakfast sometimes, and at least this has oats and fruit in it.)

I took one Bosc pear (known for its woodsy, honey-sweet flavor) and one Starkrimson pear (characterized by its smooth flesh and floral essence) and set them on the counter. Then I rummaged through the pantry and freezer for more supplies. Beyond the staple ingredients, I grabbed some frozen cranberries, walnuts, and candied ginger bits. My crisp was shaping up.

I sifted through some cookbooks and found a couple crisp recipes I liked. I took the best parts of each, combined them with the ingredients I knew I wanted to use, made some tweaks, and put together my recipe. I was so pleased with the results.

These crisps are subtly flavored and really highlight the pears, as opposed to drowning them in cinnamon or other spices (but if that's more what you're looking for, it's easy to mix some spices in too). (And if you want a bigger hit of ginger, feel free to double the candied ginger.) I always enjoy a sweet crisp topping in opposition to soft, juicy fruit in this sort of dish, and that's exactly the texture combination I got. And to make these simple crisps a bit more decadent, I drizzled bittersweet chocolate on top after letting them cool slightly.

Pear, Cranberry, And Candied Ginger Crisps (adapted from Baked and The Craft of Baking)
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Makes 4

Ingredients

Filling
2 pears, peeled, cored, and diced (I used 1 Bosc and 1 Starkrimson)
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon flour

Topping
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 tablespoon ginger mini chips (or chopped candied ginger)
Melted bittersweet chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the filling: In a medium bowl, mix together pears and cranberries.

Stir in sugar and flour. Set aside while making topping.

For the topping: In a medium bowl, toss flour and butter together using a wooden spoon.

Once butter is coated with flour, work oats and sugars in with your fingers.

Once mixture starts to clump together, work in the walnuts and ginger.

Place four 10-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet. Divide the fruit evenly among the ramekins.

Then sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit.

Bake crisps for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating halfway through, until fruit is tender, juices are bubbling and fragrant, and topping is golden brown.

Let cool for 15 minutes.

Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired, and serve. (Once cool, crisps can be wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated. Reheat in microwave or oven.)

Have you had any good pear desserts lately?

Guest Post On Confessions Of A Chocoholic

Want the recipe for these mini cranberry-ginger chocolate pudding parfaits? Head over to Confessions of a Chocoholic where I'm guest posting today!

Mini Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes

Halloween is easily my least favorite holiday. Sure, I liked it as a kid. I mean, it was a chance to run around the neighborhood filling pillowcase after pillowcase with candy, a chance to dress up as a princess or a ballerina or whatever struck my fancy at that time. But nowadays, if I want candy, I can just buy it, and I'm not really into figuring out what costume to wear and dressing up. So until last year, I didn't really have any reason to look forward to Halloween.

But last year, completely coincidentally, Jeff proposed to me on Halloween. (Neither of us were really aware it was Halloween, but that happened to be the day that everything fell into place.) Now I have a new reason to celebrate the holiday... and I'll always remember what day we got engaged.

So call these Halloween cupcakes or engagement anniversary cupcakes, this is my more sophisticated take on a black and orange treat. Chocolate and orange is one of my favorite combinations, so I took my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, flavored it with some orange syrup, topped it with an orange-chocolate ganache, and dressed it up with a candied orange peel.

Mini Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes
Makes about 30 mini cupcakes
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Ingredients

Candied Orange Peels (adapted from Closet Cooking)

3 oranges

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

Chocolate Cupcakes (adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 stick unsalted butter

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Reserved orange syrup from candied orange peels

Chocolate-Orange Ganache

450 grams bittersweet chocolate chips (or about 16 ounces)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Preparation

Candied Orange Peels

Note: The peels need to dry for 24 to 48 hours, so plan ahead.

Trim the tops and bottoms from each orange. Then cut the peel of each orange into 4 vertical pieces. Carefully remove each piece. If the white pith is very thick, trim some of it off.

Cut the peel pieces into thin strips.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and add the peels. Cook the peels in the boiling water for 15 minutes, and then drain them.

Bring the water and 1 cup sugar to a boil over medium heat in a medium pot.

Add the peels, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the peels are tender, about 45 minutes.

Set a strainer over a medium bowl, and drain the peels, reserving the syrup (for the cupcakes below). (You can keep the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.)

Pour the remaining cup of sugar into a large bowl, and toss the drained peels in the sugar.

Spread the peels out on sheet pans to dry. This could take 24 to 48 hours. Once dry, store peels in airtight container.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Note: The batter needs to sit for at least an hour before baking, so plan ahead.

Combine the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a small heatproof bowl.

In a small saucepan, heat the granulated sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes, or until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Pour the hot butter-sugar mixture over the cocoa-chocolate mixture, and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

In a small measuring cup, combine the milk, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk this mixture into the chocolate mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Dump the dry ingredients on top of the chocolate mixture, and whisk them into the chocolate mixture until the batter is completely smooth.

Leave the batter out at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini-muffin pan with paper liners.

Using a small (2-teaspoon-capacity) scoop, fill each cup with 1 scoop of batter. (You may have extra batter, so just repeat with any remaining batter.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Once cupcakes are cool enough to handle (but still warm), remove them from the pan, and place them on a rack.

Lightly brush each cupcake with some of the reserved orange syrup, and let cool completely.

Chocolate-Orange Ganache

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the ganache (You can also make it ahead of time, store it in the fridge, and gently microwave it to soften it to a pipable consistency before using, or for a richer ganache that sets up faster, use less cream.)

Place the chocolate in a medium heatsafe bowl.

Bring 1 cup heavy cream to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan.

Pour the heavy cream over the chips, let sit for 1 minute, and then whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the remaining 1 cup heavy cream.

Then whisk in the Grand Marnier.

Set ganache aside until it sets up to a pipable consistency. (You can speed this along by putting the ganache in the fridge, but check and re-whisk it often, so it doesn't get too firm.)

Pipe ganache on each cupcake. (If you don't want to pipe the ganache on the cupcakes, you can just dip the tops of the cupcakes in it while it's still fluid or frost them with soft ganache.)

Top each cupcake with a candied orange peel.

You will have leftover orange peels and extra ganache, so feel free to half those recipes (I always like having more than I need), or you can use the extras to make chocolate-orange truffles.

The cupcakes are rich and chocolaty with a hint of orange, and the candied orange peels pack a punch of orange flavor and give the cupcakes a little sparkle.

Halloween -- love it or hate it?

Individual Plum Crisps

My mom came to the farmers' market with me two weekends ago (before wedding dress shopping), and she ended up buying a container of small plums in addition to a bunch of other farmers' market goodies.

She left some of the plums with me, and I thought I'd make a simple summer dessert with them. These individual plum crisps, with subtle hints of cinnamon, are sweet and tart, preserving the flavor of the plums.

Individual Plum Crisps (my recipe, topping adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking)
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Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in small chunks
4 small plums
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in the butter until it is evenly distributed and topping starts to clump together.

Dice the plums, and divide them between two small oven-safe dishes.

Sprinkle half of the topping over each dish (do not pack it down).

Place the baking dishes on a sheet pan, and bake for 20 minutes, or until fruit is bubbling and crisp turns golden brown, turning the pan halfway through baking.

Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

What simple summer desserts have you been enjoying?