Monday, October 8, 2012

Thanksgiving Dessert


 I haven't blogged in a while, and, the food was good enough yesterday that I forgot to take pictures until dessert! So, as opposed to a overview of yesterdays food, I'll give you the recipe for the dessert!

What you see plated is a Raspberry and Peach in Prosecco Tart with Maple Whip Cream, Pumpkin Ice Cream, and a bowl of mixed fruit (also in Prosecco).

Recipes:

Raspberry and Peach in Prosecco Tart with Maple Whip Cream

Peel and cube 3 peaches and place in a bowl.
Add equivalent amount of raspberries (or any berry)
Add 1/4 cup of sugar and gently mix.
Add 1 250ml bottle of prosecco (or other sparkling wine)
Let sit for 4 hours in fridge or overnight.

Meanwhile, bake tart shells according to instructions on package.

Maple Whip Cream

Put 1 cup of whipping cream in a mixer. Whip for 3ish minutes until soft peaks form.
Add 1 1/2 tbsp of icing sugar and 1tsp of maple extract.
Whip for a minute or so more until hard peaks form.

Putting it all together:

Take the baked (and cooled) tart shell and place a little whip cream in the bottom. Arrange a few berry and peach cubes on top. Add a little more whip cream and garnish with a sprig of mint, and a little grated chocolate (see below).

Pumpkin Ice Cream

This is a very basic recipe:
Take 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream and 1 1/2 cups of whole milk. Add 1 cup of brown sugar, and mix on low until sugar is dissolved. Add 2 cups of pumpkin puree (spiced) and 1 tsp of vanilla extract mix until incorporated. If using real pumpkin or unspiced mix add cinamon, ginger and nutmeg to the ice cream. Taste until it's what your looking for.
At this point, you can freeze it in an ice cream maker, OR you can add a lot of rum and make pumpkin nog. Alternatively (if you don't have an ice cream maker) you can mix in about 1oz of alcohol (like Grand Marnier...) and freeze in the freezer. You'll need to take it out a few times as it's freezing and mix it again. This will keep large ice crystals from forming, and the alcohol keeps it a little softer.
Serve it with a little maple syrup drizzled over top, and some grated chocolate. I used 5 Chili Chocolate, a mix of 5 chilis, achiote, and sea salt.