Summer Sweets!

I had the great pleasure of working with Chef Anne Kearney years ago (!) at one of New Orleans finest restaurants, Peristyle. I worked with Anne for almost five years and for the last year of my time spent there I was her Pastry Chef. I've never truly embraced my love for desserts, they are much to concise, but looking back I'm glad I had the chance to practice those skills in such a fine establishment. While I now practice a much more casual plan of attack, the desserts here at the lodge never fail to finish the meal and sate the sweet tooth that our guests would never admit to having. Here are some of examples of what we have enjoyed so far this summer.

Wally, otherwise known as "Boss Man" loves his chocolate! Above was one of the first chocolate desserts I made. This Chocolate Cake was baked in pop-over pans (recipe below) and then finished with a warm Salted Walnut Caramel. It was divine and the cake is an easy one bowl concoction made with coffee.

When we have smaller groups of guests (around 8-10) I have a few assorted individual molds that I use mainly for desserts. These porcelain cobbler dishes were filled with huckleberries, blueberries and rhubarb from our lake front garden. The crispy almond and oatmeal streusel is crispy enough to play off the texture of the soft fruit underneath, but not hard enough to prevent the signature juicy runoff that makes a crisp a crisp. Another one of my go to recipes (see below for the recipe) for all the beautiful fruit that we are able to get our hands on all summer long.

We are fortunate enough to have rhubarb all summer long. With a much cooler summer the rhubarb season starts in late March and if we are lucky it will take us through late August. Jessi plants the rhubarb on the perimeter of the lake front garden as a natural deer repellent, its leaves are toxic. Many more rhubarb desserts to come!

Last night I had a chocolate dessert request and went with this Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe. I topped this uncharacteristically moist cake with Ginger Mint Whipped Cream. Too often flourless chocolate cake tends to be very dense, I almost under bake mine so that the center remains moist but the signature crunchy crust remains. (recipe below)

Our fourth of July dessert featured the most delicious Alpine strawberries the local farmers market has to offer. These are honestly the most delicious strawberries ever! They are tiny, about the size of a dime but what they lack in size they more than make up for in flavor. Each berry packs a jolt of summer sweetness with just a tiny bit of tang at the end...absolutely luscious! Strawberries will hopefully be in our future for another few weeks. The season is never long enough, but I will do my best to procure as many as I can for as long as I can.

The napoleon above was quick and easy dessert. A basic crushed Almond Florentine cookie (recipe below) layered with unsweetened whipped cream, the Alpine beauties and finished with a snowfall of confectioners sugar made for an appropriate finish. Off to cook lunch....

One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Yields-16 individual cakes

1 Tablespoon Butter, melted
2 Cups all-purpose Flour
1 Cup granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Cocoa
6 Ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups very hot Coffee

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and lightly spray 16 popover molds* with pan spray. In the work bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed. Lightly whisk the eggs together with the vanilla and add to the mixing bowl, still working on low speed. Slowly, to keep yourself from splashing, add the hot coffee to the batter and mix for a few minutes, still on low speed, until all of the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking time, for 25-30 minutes. The cakes should be slightly domed and should spring back lightly when cooked through. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Unmold the cakes onto a cooling rack. Frost, drizzle or sprinkle them with your favorite icings, sugars or sauces. Serve.

*You don't need popover pans to bake these cakes, try using cupcake pans (filling only halfway), 2-8 inch cake pans or even a 13 X 9 inch baking pan for a sheet cake. Alternatively you can find the popover pans that I use here.

Fruit Crisp Recipe
Yields enough for 1 large crisp or 12 individual crisps (you can also use this as a crumb topping for a pie)*

1/2 Cup all-purpose Flour
1/2 Cup granulated Sugar
1 Cup Oatmeal
1/2 cup toasted Nuts (use your favorite or a blend)
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 scratches of Nutmeg
1 (4 ounces) stick cold butter, cubed

2 Pounds fruit, chopped or berries
1 Cup granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose Flour

In the work bowl of a food processor combine the flour, sugar, oatmeal, nuts and spices. Pulse 2-3 times to combine the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the cold, cubed butter to the work bowl and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal (forget all that nonsense about it looking like peas, I always thought that was a poor comparison).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large baking dish or your individual molds with pan spray and set to the side. In a large mixing bowl toss the fruit or berries (or a mix) with the flour and sugar. Place the flour/sugar tossed fruit into the prepared molds and then generously top with the crisp mixture. Place the dishes or dish on a sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, remember you want your crisp to be golden brown and the fruit should be bubbly, if your lucky you'll get the all important juicy runoff down the sides). Allow the crisp to sit for up to 1/2 hour before serving,but it will be ready to go after 10 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or even better ice cream!

*The recipe for the crisp is easy to double or triple, keep it in a ziplock bag in the freezer and you'll always be ready for a quick dessert.

Flourless Chocolate Tart
Yields: 1-9inch spring form pan cake

10 Ounces dark chocolate, chopped
10 Tablespoons (5 ounces) butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated Sugar
7 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the inside and base of a spring form pan with pan spray and then generously dust with granulated sugar, tossing any extra. Over a double boiler (or in the microwave) melt the chocolate. Allow chocolate to cool slightly before proceeding. In the work bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar until pale yellow and airy. Add the vanilla extract followed by the melted chocolate. Lightly, by hand, whisk in the egg yolks and set to the side. Again, working in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites with the salt until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate base, working in three batches. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. It is very important to not over bake this cake, when it is ready the top should be crispy looking, and when touched the cake below should have just a bit of jiggle left to it. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack and put it straight into the fridge. After 30-45 minutes, the cake will be ready to slice but not cold. Cut patiently, and serve with whipped cream or with a dusting of confectioners sugar.

Crushed Almond Florentine Cookie
Yields: about 3 dozen palm sized cookies.

1 Cup brown Sugar
8 Tablespoons (4 ounces) butter
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
2/3 Cup all-purpose Flour
1 cup sliced Almonds

In a heavy bottomed sauce pot combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup, melt together over medium low heat. While that is melting together, combine the flour and almonds in the work bowl of the food processor and pulse on and off until the almonds are very well crushed. Add the flour/almond mix to the melted butter mix and stir.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silpat* and place 6 tablespoon sized globs of the dough. Bake for 8-9 minutes, rotating halfway through. The cookies will triple in size, will look lacy and be golden brown. Baking times on these cookies vary greatly with each oven so keep adding on the minutes, rotating the pans until they reach the perfect toasted brown color. Once the color is right, remove the sheet pan from the oven and using tongs pull the silpat off the sheet pan onto the counter. Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes then carefully remove them from the silpat by gently bending the silpat under the cookie and place them on a paper towel to remove any excess butter. When cool store them in an airtight container separated by small pieces of paper towel or parchment. Depending on humidity they will be crisp for 3-5 days.

* A silpat is a fantastic heat resistant (up to 500 degrees) baking sheet liner that is reusable. Never use them under the broiler or put in the dishwasher, hand wash and dry only! You can find one here.