Category: Fruit

Apple, Currant, and Blackberry Flognarde with Hazelnut Flour

Monday, December 31, 2012

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Today is New Year’s Eve – now, depending on where you are in the world, it could be mere hours before 2013 or you’re already in the New Year. I’ve never abbreviated New Year’s Eve in my communications, so the last few days have been lived in some confusion whenever I saw NYE until I figured out what the letters stood for.

For Christmas, I made a flognarde and a crustless pumpkin pie. The flognarde (flow-nyard) was a little different this time, using hazelnut flour whereas before I’ve always used almond flour. It was also the first time I’ve ever used hazelnut flour. I was anxious that it wouldn’t work (hazelnuts’ association with chocolate was too close for me) but I sallied forth, with my efforts paying off, thankfully. It’s a moister flognarde and we all agree that we like it better with the hazelnut flour than almond flour.

When I made it with blackberries, it was an inspired move and that proved to be a success with everyone. The blackberries, especially ripe ones, work well with the apples and currants.

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Coconut Milk Custard {Dairy-Free}

Monday, June 18, 2012
Strawberries and Custard with Meringue

This custard is only made with egg yolks, honey, and coconut milk. Once the custard has cooked, coconut oil is whisked in and vanilla extract is added to flavour it. In total you only need five ingredients to make it. It’s also naturally dairy-free.

It’s a family favourite I’ve been making a lot lately. I shared it once before here, as a video, but I think it’s time to feature it again. We usually eat it with fresh, sliced strawberries (we have it with other fruit sometimes such as raspberries, sliced, ripe pear, or ripe banana). I’ve found it to be quite versatile for a variety of uses as well such as this frozen custard/yogurt style dessert.

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Stewed Apples with Gluten-Free Lattice Cookies and Dairy-Free Cinnamon Ice Cream – Or, Apple Pie Deconstructed

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Apple pie is one of the first things autumn beckons, but what if it’s not quite autumn and not quite yet the end of summer? It seems too early to be indulging in a warm piece of apple pie but this deconstructed version transforms the components of what makes apple pie so pleasurable. Stewed apples are served with lattice cookies that stand in as pie crust and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream, reminding us that it it isn’t yet too cold to be still eating ice cream.

September has rolled in and with it warming comfort food, gum boots, and hand-knit scarves, and rain in the air. It doesn’t seem too long ago that it was summer. Technically, it still is but it’s easy to forget when you’re back in school; leaves changing colour and crunching underfoot and the weather becoming cooler and the air crisper in the mornings. Personally, I embrace all seasons and the merits that come with it and I’m thankful to live in a city with a pretty mild climate. It doesn’t even always snow (when I was a kid that was a big deal). I like summer, but I also love bundling up; there’s a sense of cozy comfort about it. (And I’ll tell you now: I have a weakness for scarves, especially those that are knitted. I sometimes even layer them.)

So, not completely giving up on summer but also acknowledging that autumn hasn’t fully settled in, I made this basically deconstructed version of apple pie. The nucleus of this idea started with a dessert called “Apple of My Eye” in Elizabeth Falkner’s Demolition Desserts, a cookbook based upon the success of her bakery Citizen Cake in San Francisco.

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