Five fancy desserts

SINCE ancient times we’ve finished off our meals with a palate-refreshing course of sweets. Nuts candied in honey and fresh fruits were probably the first desserts to make us smile but we’ve come a long way since then.

Through centuries of experimentation and technological advancements, desserts have evolved from raw, rudimentary confections into delicately balanced works of art.

With the machination of the sugar industry in modern times, intricate dessert recipes have truly become a standard of human culture, no longer marginalised as an impossibly exclusive indulgence of the rich.

That’s not to say we’re eating these masterpieces after every lunch and dinner. A carefully crafted dessert is still a thing to be savoured and its ceremonious unveiling can make any occasion special. The finer recipes have a powerful visual appeal. They set a mood and make people happy by their presence alone.

If you’ve ever seen a no-nonsense type giddily expose their sweet tooth or spied a burly bikie clutching an ice cream cone, you know desserts can make anyone melt. The more inspired creations can be a thing of wonder. Even the most stoic of us may be reduced to a kid in front of a toy store window.

With that in mind, SuperLiving is exploring the fancier varieties of our favourite desserts. We’ve still got a soft spot for the reliable basics but dessert has always been about luxury and it’s time to put the proverbial cherry on top.       

Strawberry and rosewater clafoutis

• 500g of strawberries, halved or quartered depending on size
• 150g of caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 egg yolks
• 75g of plain flour
• 200ml of milk
• 200ml of pouring cream
• 1/2 tsp of rosewater or to taste
• 10g of butter
• icing sugar for dusting

Rinse the strawberries under cool water and gently pat them dry with a cloth. Hull the strawberries, cut in halves or quarters depending on their size, then cover and set aside.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar. Add the flour and beat until you have a smooth batter.

Add the milk, cream and rosewater. Mix well.

Divide the strawberries between 8 shallow and buttered ramekins. Ideally the ramekins will have a capacity of about 1 and 1/4 cups. Alternatively, you can use one large glass or ceramic baking dish, about 20cm squared.

Pour the batter over the strawberries.

Bake at 190 degrees for 15 minutes or until the batter is set and golden brown. If you are using one large dish instead of ramekins longer cooking time will be required.

Sprinkle with the icing sugar and serve warm.

Spiced rum savarins

A savarin is a French cake which is raised with yeast and then soaked with rum after it has baked. The recipe calls for buckwheat flour to give a nice deep colour to the cake batter. You can, however, use plain or whole wheat flour instead. This is a delicious and warm desert with a kick.

The cake

• 3 eggs
• 80g softened butter
• 20g of sugar
• 2 pinches of salt
• 45g of plain flour
• 50g of buckwheat flour
• 1 sachet of baker’s yeast

The spiced rum

• 750ml dark rum
• 300g of cane sugar
• 1 small cinnamon quill
• 20g of peppercorns
• 2 star anises

Vanilla whipped cream

• 1 small carton of whipping cream
• 30g of icing sugar
• 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Prepare the cake batter. Mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer. Butter and flour 4 individual cake moulds of about 6cm in diameter. Divide the mixture between the moulds and leave them to rise for about 30 minutes. They should rise to about three-quarters of the mould.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.

Prepare the spiced rum by boiling all the ingredients. Let the rum reduce by a third and then strain to remove the spices.

Remove the cakes from their moulds and cut them in half. Place them on a deep tray or baking dish and pour over the spiced rum making sure they are soaked.

Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds.  Partially whip the cream then add the sugar and the vanilla. Finish whipping.

Serve the savarins warm with the whipped cream.

Fruit and honey tajine

• 1 lemon
• 1 pear
• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 4 pitted prunes
• 4 dried apricots
• 75g of pecans
• 50g of pine nuts
• 150g of acacia honey
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 4 strips of fresh ginger
• 1 tsp of white sesame seeds

Wash and dry the lemon. Using a zester, remove the zest in long ribbons. Cut the lemon in two and squeeze. Place the juice into a saucepan and add the zest, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Bring to the boil.

Peel the pear and apple and remove the cores. Cut them into eight slices each. Peel the banana and cut into 1 cm slices.

Add the fruit to the honey mixture and gently stir them in. Add the dried fruits and nuts. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes without stirring.

Once cooked, remove the fruits and nuts by straining. Reduce the remaining juice and honey mixture until it is syrupy. Pour the syrup over the fruits and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve the tajine warm with some creamy Greek yoghurt.

Pineapple with coconut milk caramel

• 1 medium, ripe pineapple
• 100g of caster sugar
• 100ml of coconut milk
• 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut

Prepare the pineapple. Cut into 1/2cm thick slices and remove the hard centre.

Heat the sugar in a deep, dry, non-stick saucepan without stirring, until the sugar begins to turn slightly orange. Add the pineapple and allow it to caramelise, occasionally turning the slices.

Add the coconut milk. Stir delicately to incorporate the caramel sauce.

Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with the desiccated coconut.

Orange chocolate cream ramekins

• 500ml of full cream milk
• 85g of caster sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp of chocolate chips
• zest of one orange

Heat the oven to 150 degrees. Add the milk, sugar and vanilla to a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the boiling milk mixture while continuing to whisk.

Strain the mixture. Stir in the orange zest and divide evenly into 6 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a deep baking tray and pour in enough hot water to reach two-thirds of the way up the side of each ramekin.

Carefully place the tray in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips into each ramekin. Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Let the ramekins cool a bit and serve warm or at room temperature.