Summer Desserts

I doubt I'm the only one here who craves something sweet, cool &/or light at the end of a hot summer day. Yesterday I made yogurt and mashed berry panna cotta with little shortbread cookies on the side. Let me tell you how I arrived at this dessert:

Saturday night I made broiled salmon with a chipotle-berry glaze, along with a bean/tomato/spring onion/parsley salad with a chipotle-lime-cumin dressing. I let the salad sit at room temperature for about an hour before we ate it, it got so juicy and tasted not too far off from salsa. I even got out some tortilla chips to dip in it, and to help cut the heat from all those chipotles. To make the glaze for the fish, I had first let some frozen mixed berries defrost in a strainer over a bowl. Once they were defrosted I added to the juice already in the bowl by smashing the berries in the strainer with a spatula. As I only used the juice in the glaze (reduced with chipotle, lime and ginger) for the fish, I had leftover berry mush.

So yesterday my desert plans came together quickly. I've been making yogurt panna cotta (not a true panna cotta, but a seriously healthy and easy variation) almost regularly (maybe even once a month!) The first time was vanilla-cardamom panna cotta with orange syrup and marinated orange slices. The second time was Stracciatella. Yesterday's was the best yet, though, mixed berry mush, hints of cinnamon and cardamom, with a whole, fresh, beautifully ripe cherry (halved to get rid of the pit of course) sitting at the top once they're unmolded. When I tasted the mixture before pouring it into custard cups, I instantly thought that it would taste good next to shortbread. A strange thing to think so quickly, especially as I was not really looking to make a second dessert. But shortbread isn't difficult and I had plenty of time, so why not?

Yogurt and Mashed Berry Panna Cotta with Lemon Shortbread

Yogurt Panna Cotta

this makes two large or four small (to make small ones, just fill custard cups halfway) Panna Cottas . . . oh, and if you don't have custard cups you can use small coffee cups or teacups

1 cup plain full-fat yogurt
1-2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
healthy pinch ground cardamom
healthy pinch ground cinnamon
a tiny pinch of salt
mixed berry mush (about 1/2 cup)
4 tsp. water
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
4 black cherries, pits removed

Whisk together yogurt, sugar, vanilla, spices and berry mush in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust the sugar content--I like mine just barely sweet (berries are sweet enough!)

Put the water in a very small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top. Let stand for one minute to soften. Then heat over low, stirring, until the gelatin is dissolved.

Whisk the hot gelatin into the yogurt until combined.

In the bottom of each of four custard cups, place one halved cherry. Pour the yogurt into the cups. Cover the cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1.5 hours (until set).

To unmold the puddings, run a thin knife around between the pudding and the cup, then dip the cup into a bowl of hot water for 30 seconds. Invert the puddings onto plates. They might take a moment or two to come out, or a little whacking on the bottom of the cup.

Serve with a single shortbread:

Lemon Shortbread

This recipe makes about 8-12 cookies.

1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
2/3 cups flour, plus more for rolling
grated zest of one lemon

Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth (an electric mixer is best for this). Beat in flour (with electric mixer on low speed), mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in lemon zest.

Place the dough on a floured piece of parchment. With floured hands, gently roll into a 1.5 inch diameter log. Wrap tightly in the paper, twisting the ends to make a nice tight round cylinder. Refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F). Unwrap the dough and slice it into 8-12 slices with a serrated knife. If it starts crumbling, let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before resuming the slicing. Arrange the cookies with at least an inch of space between them on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 15-20 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

So what are your favorite summer dessert recipes?

strawberries n cool whip

Punch Bowl Cake (great for outdoor parties as it will serve a ton of people)

Bake one Betty Crocker vanilla cake according to box directions and let cool.
Mix up two large packages of Jello instant pudding (vanilla)
Gather various fruits, wash, cut and drain. (I generally use whatever is in season but the best are. strawberries, pineapple, grapes, cherries, raspberries, blueberries and bananas).
2 small packages of Cool Whip

In large punch bowl, alternate layers of cake (broken into medium size peices), pudding, fruit and cool whip. End with a layer of cool whip and then top with some of the nicer peices of fruit for decoration.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Yummy!

Looks a bit like this: but isn't meringue, it is all marshmallow in the middle mmmmmmmmm

My mum's pavlova

2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium eggs (but you only need the whites)
200g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 140ºC, gas mark 1. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment, cutting it to fit. Using a 23cm cake tin as a template, draw a guideline ring on the paper to tell you where to bung your pav.
Put the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract in a small bowl and blend with a teaspoon until smooth. Separate the eggs one at a time, taking care not to include any yolks with the whites. As each egg is separated, tip the white into a large mixing bowl.
Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff enough to hold their shape. Whisk in the sugar a tablespoonful at a time, adding a little of the cornflour mixture each time. When all the sugar and cornflour has been added, the consistency of the mixture will be thick and marshmallowy.
Using the spatula, turn the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet. Spread it to the marked line, then swirl with the spatula, making a slight indentation in the centre for the filling. Bake for 1 hour, then turn the oven off and leave the pavlova base to cool completely in the oven.

Smother with whipped cream (use Schlagrahm and possibly Sahnesteif - a powder from Dr Oeteker which makes cream whip more firmly, this helps if it is hot weather) and decorate with fruit (I like strawberries).

Yes I am not from Australia or NZ, but my mum's pavlova is still mmmmmmmmm!