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| No-Bake Desserts |
“It’s toooo hot!” Oh brother! First you’re too cold, now you’re too hot… Make up my mind, dude! Okay, so it’s 110° in the shade. The last thing you want to do is turn on the oven to bake your favorite cookies. Here then are some terrific no bake desserts that will have you actually wanting summer to stick around awhile. Cantaloupe Granita A personal favorite, cantaloupe is one of many delectable summer melons. Look for melons with an even color and netting, is fragrant at the blossom end, and is heavy for it's size. Ingredients 4 cups chopped cantaloupe 1 1/3 cups Asti Spumante or water 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Method Purée cantaloupe in processor; transfer to large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; stir to dissolve sugar. Pour mixture into 9-inch square metal baking pan. Freeze mixture until partially set, whisking twice, about 2 hours. Freeze uncovered without whisking until completely set, at least 3 hours or overnight. Run tines of fork across surface of granita to form icy flakes. Cover with foil; freeze until ready to serve or up to 2 days. Mound granita in 6 ice-cold Martini glasses. Serve immediately. Coeur à la Crème with Raspberry Coeur à la Crème is an old French concoction that is both earthy and elegant, rustic and dressy — appropriate for any occasion. It's a wonderful complement to whatever summer berries are in season. It can be made in less than five minutes and never fails to knock em' out — even more so than an elaborate cake that took two days to execute. One large [16-ounce] or four individual [4-ounce] perforated heart-shaped ceramic molds lined with cheesecloth will be needed to create this dessert. The perforated molds allow the excess liquid, or whey, to drip through the cheesecloth, leaving the delicious "heart" of the cream. Coeur à la crème molds are usually available at kitchen supply stores. Mascarpone is an Italian dessert cheese. Seek it out as there really is no substitute, especially when you're going through the effort to make such an elegant dessert. Ingredients 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened 1 1/4 cups heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon Chambord or other raspberry liqueur 1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar For raspberry sauce 1 pint fresh raspberries 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice Garnishes fresh raspberries mint leaves Method Cut a piece of cheesecloth into four 6-inch squares. Dampen and wring out lightly. Press one square into each of four perforated heart-shaped ceramic molds and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup of the cream, the vanilla, the 1 tablespoon lemon juice and the Chambord until thoroughly blended. Refrigerate. In a small bowl, whip the remaining 1 cup cream and the confectioners' sugar until the cream forms stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the chilled cheese mixture in three batches. Spoon the finished mixture into the prepared molds and fold the edges of the cheesecloth over the tops. Lightly tap at the bottoms of the molds on the counter to remove and air spaces between the mixture and the molds. Refrigerate on a tray or baking sheet a minimum of 2 to 3 hours. Meanwhile, make raspberry sauce: In a blender or food processor, purée the raspberries, granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Taste the sauce for sweetness and adjust the sugar or lemon juice as needed. Strain and refrigerate. Assemble and serve: Unfold the cheesecloth and drape it over the sides of the molds. Invert each mold onto a serving plate. While pressing down on the corners of the cheesecloth carefully lift off the mold. Smooth the top with the back of a spoon and remove the cheesecloth slowly. Spoon raspberry sauce onto the plate around the heart and garnish with fresh berries and mint leaves. Strawberries Romanoff Escoffier created Strawberries Americaine Style when he was the chef at the Carlton Hotel in London. "Prince" Mike Romanoff "borrowed" the recipe and things were never the same. Ingredients 2 pints strawberries, washed and stemmed 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup Cointreau 1 pint vanilla ice cream 1 cup heavy cream Method Slice the strawberries. In a large bowl, toss three-quarters of them with the sugar and orange liqueur. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to macerate. Meanwhile, put the ice cream in the refrigerator to soften. Place the cream and half the macerated strawberries in a cold mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, whip to soft peaks, 1 –2 minutes. Fold in the ice cream. Distribute the cream among 6 chilled bowls. Mix the plain sliced berries with the remaining macerated berries and place on top of the cream. tom saaristo [c] Thomas Saaristo All Rights Reserved webmaster@tomsaaristo.com |