I hope you had a good New Year’s celebration and are not too clumsy with your resolutions for 2014 to not try out this dessert someday. A tiramisu with fruit is totally my sort of thing, as it is creamy, light and full of taste. I created this recipe for Christmas to please my relatives who were actually very happy with it. Even my cousins tried it, who have denied eating fruit in dessert so far.
I used an original Italian tiramisu recipe as a basic, but substituted the espresso and amaretto for plums with sauce (I don’t like alcohol and coffee in dessert).
I am sure you can do this as well with blueberies or peaches with the same delicious result. So.. when you have stopped dieting because of your new year’s resolutions – try this, you will not regret it.
Plum Tiramisu:
3 eggs
75 g (1/3 cup) sugar
250 g (8 oz.) ladyfingers
500 g (18 oz.) mascarpone
2 ripe plums
300 ml (1 1/6 cup) orange juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
cocoa powder, for dusting
Cut the plums into thin clices and then the slices into smaller pieces – this will make the tiramisu easier to eat. Put the cut fruit together with orange juice and cinnamon in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Seperate the eggs and beat the eggwhites with half of the sugar in a bowl until stiff. In a second bowl, stir the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar and mascarpone. Now carefully integrate the beaten egg whites in the creamy mass, trying to keep as much air inside as possible.
Put a layer of ladyfingers at the bottom of a rectangular pan. Pour half of the orange sauce and half of the plums on it. Cover with half of the cream. place a new layer of ladyfingers on top and repeat.
Let the dessert cool for at least two hours, but not for more than a day, since it contains raw eggs.
Hey ho y’all apple lovers. I have something for you.
On a cold day, it is good to come home and have something to eat that warms up your heart. Baked apples are just this kind of soul food and since you can fill them with pretty much whatever you want, there is a big chance they will make you happy.
They take very little time to prepare and all you need is some cookies, dried fruit and/or nuts and honey to fill them. If you like food that tickles your taste buds, you should use apples that are sourer. If you are more the sweet kind of person – well, use sweeter ones.
Baked Christmas Apples
4 medium-sized apples
80 g shortbread cookies
1 1/2 tsp. ground connamon
8 tsp. liquid honey
4 tsp ground almonds
2 tbsp. raisins (or dried cranberries)
1 tbsp. butter
Preheat the oven to 175 °C (350°F).
Cut a hole into the apples so the seeds are out of the fruit. Make a horizontal cut around the apple – not very deep, just about 3 milimeters to release the apple from the pressure that will appear to it in the oven.
Crumble the cookies in a bowl and mix with the cinnamon.
Place the apples in a heatproof dish. Now fill them by first putting 1 tsp honey into each, then raisins, almonds, cookies, and one tsp of honey again. You can top them with a whole walnut or hazelnut or use some more raisins. Place some butter on top and place in the oven.
Bake for about 25 minutes (baking time can vary depending on the size of the apples).
They taste best when still warm.
It is crazy how time flies. In my last year at school, my life looks like this: school, sleep, work, sleep, school, sleep, learn, sleep… And before you can get prepared for it, it is already december. I am so tired of this amount of things I must do. And very sorry for missing the posting days. But still, I have some great soul food for you right here.
Bananas and chocolate are known for their ability to make people happy, especially in combination.
I found this recipe about 2 years ago and loved it ever since. It is from a German Chefkoch user, which explains why it contains quite a lot baking powder and few sugar. But trust me, you won’t miss any sweetness (especially if you put a chocolate glaze on top). I threw in some nutella and baked the originally one-dish recipe in muffin molds, which made exactly 12 cute buddies.
They make a perfect snack if you have lots to learn, as they strenghten both your nerves and your concentration.
Banana Choc Muffins
125 g butter or margarine
130 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
2 eggs
200 g flour
1 pck. instand vanilla pudding powder
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. milk
3 tbsp ground hazelnuts
2 ripe bananas, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp nutella
100 g semi-sweet chocolate
Preteat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a muffin pan with paper molds.
Stir together the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, eggs, flour, pudding powder, nutella and baking powder until the mass is smooth.
Stir in the nuts, milk and banana with a spoon.
Fill the muffin molds up to 3/4 and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpicker comes out clean. Let them babies cool.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a water bath and pour over the muffins.
Serve and enjoy.