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Ideas for Pineapple Desserts

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Oct 312011

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Whether you’re planning a luau party or feeling a little tropical, the pineapple is an ideal fruit choice for dessert. With a great deal of juiciness, pineapples provide a flavorful balance of sweetness and tartness. Pineapples are available all year round in the grocery store, but the peak season runs from March through June. To enjoy a tropical sweet treat, you can start by adding pineapple topping to a banana split or consider one of the following ideas for pineapple desserts.

Pineapple Cakes

A favorite cake for pineapple lovers is the Pineapple Upside Down Cake, which is made in a pan with a curved bottom. After cooking, the cake is turned over and left to set, where it is later eaten in an upside-down position. Typical ingredients include butter, brown sugar, yellow cake mix, vegetable oil, eggs, and of course, sliced pineapple. Some people will drizzle on a caramel sauce afterwards, sprinkle on brown sugar, or decorate with maraschino cherries. Pineapple and coconut often make an ideal combination for desserts, including cake. One approach is to use a can of coconut frosting to top a cake baked with crushed pineapple.

Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream

Preheat your over to 350 degrees and have a greased baking dish on hand. In a saucepan, combine two tablespoons of margarine, ¼ cup of brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir the ingredients over low heat until the mixture starts to boil. Add one 8-ounce can of drained pineapple chucks and ½ cup of coconut. Stir until coated, and then pour into the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for five minutes. Spoon the mixture into bowls and place a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a topping.

Syrupy Pineapple Slices

Drizzle maple syrup over pineapple slices, and broil until they start to brown. You can eat as is or in addition to a cup of yogurt.

Pineapple Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a popular dessert in the United States that comes in an array of unique flavors. To make pineapple cheesecake, you may drain crushed pineapple and add to the cream cheese mixture before transferring to the crust. Some people will decorate the finished product with sliced pineapple rings.

Grilled Pineapple

Grilled pineapple is a dessert on its own. Some people dip grilled pineapple rings in chocolate or add to a fruit kebob with grapes, peaches, strawberries, cherries, and apple slices. You can brush the fruit with honey during the last few minutes of grilling to enhance the sweetness.

5 Very Cherry Dessert Ideas

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Sep 222011

Cherries aren’t just for topping ice cream sundaes – the colorful burst of red that the fruit delivers can create deliciously eye-catching desserts. Yes, cherry desserts go beyond the vibrant hue that peeks through a slice of cherry pie, as you will see with the following dessert ideas for cherries.

1. Cherry Clafoutis

Bring the taste of the French country to your table with cherry clafoutis (or clafouti). Tradition calls for the first cherries of the season with fruit that is left unpitted. This way, the natural almond flavor is released when baking. Today, using pitted cherries makes it easier to bake and eat the dessert. Clafoutis is a pudding dessert with sweet cherries that are covered by a thin batter (similar to pancakes) that is baked in the oven. When the batter sets, the edges become slightly puffed and browned. When serving the dessert, dust with confectioner’s (powdered or icing) sugar.

2. Cherry Turnover

Turnovers are the fruit-filled pastries you often see at the local bakery. Cherry is one of the most popular flavors for this dessert. You can make a quick version with one (8-ounce) package of refrigerated crescent rolls, one cup of cherry pie filling, ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, and one tablespoon of milk. Unroll the dough and separate into eight triangles. Create four squares by pressing the seams of two triangles together and rolling into shape. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spoon ¼ cup of pie filling in one corner of each square, and then fold to make triangles. Pinch to seal. Bake the dough at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes (or until they turn a golden color). Mix the sugar and milk together, and drizzle over turnover once they are out of the oven. Serve warm.

3. Cherry Tart

The Joy of Baking offers a recipe for a Cherry Tart made with frangipane (almond cream) that combines granulated white sugar, unsalted butter, egg, pure vanilla extract, and almond meal (flour). The creamy combination of sugar, butter, eggs, and almond meal creates a tasty flavor with the cherries that is placed in a crisp yet crumbly pastry crust. The recipe calls for pitted sweet Bing cherries. When buying the fruit, seek out plump, shiny fruit with a deep red (almost black) color. Stems should still be attached and the fruit needs firmness with no soft spots.

4. Sour Cherry Soup

For a cherry dessert with European flair, you may combine sour cream (or sweet cream), sugar, and whole fresh sour cherries to create a sweet soup. Served chilled, usually people make this sweet treat during the summertime when cherries are ripe. There are also variations that include different wine or sherry.

5. Cherries Jubilee

Liqueur is used to make this cherry dessert that is traditionally flambéed (set afire), and then served as a sauce over vanilla ice cream.

Other cherry desserts:

6 Ideas for Soul Food Desserts

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Aug 262011

Soul food cuisine usually incorporates the cooking techniques and traditions of African Americans and highlights dishes associated with the southern United States. When it comes to sweet treats in the South, there are certain state gems that truly shine. For example, Georgia desserts make good use of their peaches and pecans. Examples of soul food desserts include:

1) Peach Cobbler: A fruity filling of peaches is poured into a large baking dish that is then topped with batter, biscuit or piecrust to create a cobbler. The dessert is then baked like a pie with a difference that cobblers never have a bottom crust. Other popular Deep South cobbler flavors include blueberry and blackberry.

2) Coconut Cake: Covered in white frosting and dressed in coconut flakes, coconut cake typically uses white or yellow batter instead of a coconut-flavored cake base. Some recipes will replace the milk with coconut milk or include coconut extract. The shredded coconut is often toasted or sweetened. Another Southern variation of the coconut cake is to add lemon curd as a filling to produce a tart flavor.

3) Sweet Potato Pie: Although it shares similarities with pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie is a Southern classic for Thanksgiving and other holidays. Made with mashed sweet potatoes, milk, sugar and eggs, the pie uses nutmeg to create a distinct holiday flavor. Topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, Northerners may add marshmallows as a topping.

4) Pecan Pie: Primarily comprised of corn syrup and pecan nuts, this pie is a popular choice for holiday meals and often showcased as a Southern specialty. In New Orleans, Louisiana, pecan pies are quite popular and may include bourbo n whiskey in their recipes.

5) Red Velvet Cake: Behind the creamy white or cream cheese icing of the layered Red Velvet Cake is shades of dark red, bright red, or reddish browns. Usually, the color is achieved by adding red food coloring or beetroot. Despite its hue, the cake is flavored vanilla or chocolate.

6) Banana Pudding: Repeated layers of Vanilla Wafers, sweet vanilla custard (or pudding), and sliced bananas create a tasty dessert topped with whipped cream. Depending on the recipe, the pudding is made using a baked or the more popular refrigerated method. Sometimes, ladyfingers are used instead of wafers.

Herbs and Spices for Your Desserts

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Aug 222011

Without spices, your desserts would lack the flavor, punch, and sparkle that you’ve come to expect. Experimenting with different spices will create desserts that help you think out of the box. If you’re looking for new ideas on how to use herbs and spices in your desserts, consider the following suggestions.

Allspice: Allspice gets its name because it offers a taste similar to cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The dried spice berries come in whole or ground form. The spice is ideal for spice cakes and cookies. For pies, use in plum, peach and apple creations. Allspice also works well in flavored breads and steamed puddings.

Anise: The small seeds of anise add a licorice flavoring to cookies, cakes and breads. This spice comes in dried whole seeds or a powdered form. Examples of desserts with anise include Anise Biscotti and Anise Mousse served with tropical fruit.

Cardamom: You tend to see cardamom used in a lot of Indian dishes, but the fragrant, cinnamon-like seed can add pizzazz to your breads, spice cakes, and cookies as well. Use the spice in apple and pumpkin pies. Consider making Cardamom Rice Pudding or a rich carrot pudding for your next dessert.

Cinnamon: The spicy bark of the cassia tree offers a sweet, hot flavored spice for desserts – especially apple pie served during the holidays. Other desserts that benefit from cinnamon include spice cakes, cookies, custards, and other fruit pies.

Cloves: With a pungent and sweet flavor, clove is a spice that often emerges during the winter holidays. The dried whole buds and powdered form adds flavor to spice cakes, cookies, quick breads, and fruit pies. Try making Apple Butter Tarts or Greek Baked Stuffed Apples with cloves.

Fennel Seeds: Offering a slight licorice flavor, fennel seeds are a favorite for Scandinavian bakers who add the spice to their cakes, cookies, and breads.

Ginger: Adding aroma and tang to desserts, ginger is a versatile spice that appears in many cultural sweet treats. Depending on the recipe, you may use dried ground, dried whole, preserved, crystallized, or fresh ginger. Ground dried ginger is used to flavor cakes, cookies, custard, and fruit pies. Cakes and cookies (such as ginger snaps) blossom when crystallized and preserved ginger is added.

Mace: The outer covering of nutmeg is called mace, which offers a similar yet slightly milder flavor than nutmeg. The spice works well in spice cakes, cookies, and custards. Try adding to fruit desserts – especially those made with peaches, plums and apples. Mace Pound Cake could become your next crowd pleaser.

Mint: The refreshing scent of mint adds a cool, flavorful taste to desserts. There are more than 30 varieties of mint, including peppermint, apple mint, and lemon mint. Use in various fruit salad and dessert recipes, such as Mint Chocolate Pie and Peppermint Ice Cream.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg offers a sweet, nutty taste that livens up cookies, cakes, pies, custard, and pastries. The spice is also a flavorful component when making eggnog. Add to your pecan or sweet potato pie recipe. Since ground nutmeg quickly loses its flavor, it is recommended to purchase whole nutmeg and grate when needed.

Poppy Seeds: What is a lemon poppy seed muffin without the poppy seeds? A flower produces the tiny, blue-black seeds that can be used when making cakes, cookies, breads, and pastries. Interestingly, it takes 900,000 poppy seeds to make a pound. Sometimes, the whole seeds are ground into a paste that serves as a filling for some desserts.

Saffron: Swedish bakers add the fragrant spice to cakes and breads. Doesn’t Pears Poached in Saffron Vanilla Bean Syrup sound delicious?

Using Jelly, Jams & Preserves in Desserts

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Aug 052011

Jams, jellies, marmalades and preserves are sweet spreads that often find their way between pieces of bread, toast, and crackers. Made from fruit or fruit juice, the cooking process of the spreads offers variations in clarity, firmness, and ingredients. They also play a role in delivering a fruity burst of flavor to an array of desserts and sweet treats.

What’s the Difference?

Before you explore the possibilities of fruity desserts, you should get familiar with the differences between available options. Jam is typically a thick spread made from crushed or ground fruit. Jelly does not have any visible pieces of fruit and is made from the juices. Whole or large pieces of fruit cooked in thick sugary syrup create preserves. Marmalade has a soft gel consistency comprised of pieces of fruit and citrus peel.

Desserts Ideas for Jelly, Jams & Preserves

Just some of the ways you can use jelly, jams, and preserves includes making flavored cream cheese frosting, cookie bars, ice cream sundae toppings, fruity tarts, muffins, fruit bars, sticky buns, and fruitcakes. Other ideas…

Jelly Desserts

Paula Deen garnishes her Old South Jelly Roll Cake with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, jelly or jam, and whipped cream. An extremely easy way to make Jelly Cookies is with a container of piecrust and jelly. You can also add peanut butter to the recipe for a PB & J treat. Try using frozen or refrigerated pie dough to create Cream Cheese and Jelly Turnovers. Unbaked or unrolled Pillsbury piecrust is a common choice. A recipe from Country Living calls for ½ cup softened cream cheese, 1 large egg, sugar, salt, and 8 tablespoons of jelly, such as guava.

Jam Desserts

From sweet, fruity cake to thumbprint cookies, the thickness of jam makes a delicious ingredient in many dessert recipes. For example, all over the world, you will find a variety of jam cookies, from Austrian Jam Cookies using chopped almonds and raspberry jam to Swedish Jam Cookies made with chopped walnuts and dark corn syrup. Perhaps you’d rather sink your teeth into a slice of Smucker’s Peanut Butter & Jam Cheesecake – a rich peanut butter cheesecake inside a graham cracker crust topped with strawberry jam glaze.

Preserves Desserts

Transform vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, pineapple chunks, chocolate syrup, maraschino cherries, banana, and strawberry preserves into Banana Split Dessert Crepes. Get tropical with Pineapple Rum Dream Cake, which uses crushed pineapple, French vanilla cake mix, and apricot preserves to create an island treat. For a low-calorie dessert for the summertime, Creamy Fruit Ambrosia combines chopped pecans, low-fat vanilla yogurt, pineapple, peaches, shredded coconut, and peach preserves.

Page 1 of 6 1 2 3 ... 5 6 Older Entries

Ideas for Pineapple Desserts

5 Very Cherry Dessert Ideas

6 Ideas for Soul Food Desserts

Herbs and Spices for Your Desserts

Using Jelly, Jams & Preserves in Desserts

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