Last Minute Desserts

[Varmint]

Here's the scenario: I often head to the grocery store after work and build a meal around the ingredients that look good. I can find things that allow me to assemble a pretty decent meal in an hour or less. Mrs. Varmint married me for that ability alone.

However, I'm not as adept at coming up with ideas for a quick dessert. Yeah, strawberries are in season, and I can get a pound cake or make some individual shortcakes, but often, those ultra-good and fresh ingredients aren't available.

I need quick dessert ideas. Much like dessert being an afterthought in restaurants, when I only have an hour or so to prepare, dessert becomes an afterthought at home, too. Help me improve my quick desserts. There has to be some quick tricks of the trade that y'all can share.

Oh, I'm headed to the store in half an hour!

[yorkshirepud]

What about picking up a pineapple and some of your favorite ice-cream/sorbet (I'd go with something like coconut).

Slice the pineapple, grill it, top with ice-cream/sorbet and caramel sauce.

Shit, now I'm craving dessert.

[Dahomechef]

Along the same vein, if yer grillin', throw some peach halves lightly brushed with evo on the grill, flip them when you take your steak or whatever off, turn the grill off and just leave them until it's dessert time. Serve with ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream.

[BettyK]

There was a recent thread on Desserts using canned fruit.

[bloviatrix]

Poached pears are quick and easy.

Then there's the strawberry soup recipe I cribbed off Rosengarten's Taste many year's ago: Puree two pints of strawberries in the food processor. Add sugar and lemon juice to taste. Chill and serve.

[reesek]

varmint -

i have two words for you:

bananas foster

recipe from brennans...

[Carolyn Tillie]

I do fancy things with ice cream...

Coffee Ice Cream with freshly-toasted coconut and almond slivers, served with hot fudge sauce, a tablespoon of coffee liquer and whipped cream.

Another recent addiction: Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia served with a few of those hideously expensive Italian cherries in syrup (sorry, don't remember the name), and that syrup, extra hot fudge, a tablespoon of Kirschwasser, and whipped cream.

Dr. Bob's Scharffenberger Chocolate Ice Cream with fresh raspberries and a few teaspoons of Framboise.

Gosh, I'm seeing a recurring theme - Ice Cream and Alcohol!

[JanKK]

Hmm....ice cream is good .....but ice cream and COOKIES is even better!

Ok ...maybe not fancy, but who doesn't like fresh, warm cookies?

Just make up a batch of your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough ahead of time -- roll it into a log and wrap and put it in the fridge. Just slice and bake as you need them. Or put individual scoopsful of dough on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and freeze them --then toss them in a freezer bag and freeze until needed. When dinner is ready, just put a sheet of cookies in the oven :)

[Betts]

Biscotti with Sherry or Vin Santo

Fresh orange segments with rosewater and cinnamon

Fresh pear or apple with blue cheese and walnuts

My children's favorite - apple wedges dipped in caramel sauce

Ice cream with a shot of espresso or strong coffee poured over

Sauteed fruit in butter and brown sugar poured over ice cream or pound cake

Zabagione if you want to do something while waiting for the coffee to brew

[Varmint]

I ended up with store-bought pound cake, blackberry coulis, and strawberries with Cointreau. Oh, and some whipped cream, of course.

[Swisskaese]

I buy a refrigerated roll of filo dough and cut the roll in 1/2 inch slices. Shake the slices and form a mound, like fettucine on a baking pan. Try to form it into a round disk. Sprinkle liberally with butter and bake in the oven. Check the directions for time and temperature on the filo box.

Place the mound or disk on a plate. Top with your favorite ice cream and sauce.

I usually make a sauce with canned or fresh-frozen cherries and drizzle chocolate sauce on top.

It is elegant and simple.

[therese]

Clafoutis. Frozen cherries work really well (I use the Joy of Cooking recipe), and you look like a genius.

Pineapple upside-down cake. Again, huge praise for almost zero work. A la mode if you like it that way. Canned pineapple, so you don't have to worry about sourcing fresh, and other canned fruits also work.

[Ganache8]

Fruit crumble & vanilla ice cream. Keep crumble topping in freezer (equal weight brown sugar, all-purpose flour, coarse oatmeal with slightly less butter cut in). Whatever looks good at market or if you have frozen fruit in freezer (berries, rhubarb)--toss with lemon juice, brown sugar, little flour or corn starch & cinnamon optional, dot with butter, cover with crumble & bake--serve warm with ice cream.

[Varmint]

Clafoutis. Frozen cherries work really well (I use the Joy of Cooking recipe), and you look like a genius.

Damn, that's one that I should have remembered. I make a peach version of that all the time, but with berry season, it's a no brainer to do those. Thanks!!

[andiesenji]

How instant do you want it?

Serving 4

You will need one of the 2-quart Pyrex measures or a microwavable bowl in which you will place -

6 apples pared and cored, cut in wedges then cross cut in bite-sized pieces.

add 1/3 cup sugar - I use Splenda because I am diabetic.

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Toss so the apples are pretty well covered with the cinnamon/sugar.

Nuke in microwave for 10 to 12 minutes depending on how dense the apples are.

Golden delicious take less time, Jonathans take longer. Test with a fork.

Stir the apples to coat with the syrup that has formed in the bottom of the measure.

Meanwhile mix 4 oz cream cheese with 1/2 cup sour cream till well blended.

Spoon apples into microwaveable serving dishes, add a generous dollop of the cream cheese/sour cream topping onto the top of the apples. Place in microwave for about 30-40 seconds. You can lightly dust the top with cinnamon if you wish.

If you want to get fancy and you happen to have a package of palmiers you can break them up and put some in the bottom of each dish. This makes it more like an apple pie or tart.

[Verjuice]

Fool is fresh, crushed ripe fruit with whipped cream, piled into a parfait glass.

Swirled or not.

Sweetened or not.

You can flavor the cream with some booze if you like, but it's really not necessary. Impossible to screw up. Garnishes optional, but I find that toasted nuts and a sprig of something generally make things look waaay more laborious.

An idea from some of the English cookery writers, like Nigel and Nigella and Delia.

Works particularly well if you've got tart fruit; raspberries, mangoes, passion fruit, gooseberries.

Minimal washing up is key.

Edited May 9, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

Well, you need a little freezer, but I think that fruit sorbets or sherberts are pretty easy to do at the last minute

1 qt strained and seeded fruit (melons, strawberries, peaches, whatever)

Simple syrup (2 cups water, 1 cup sugar)

Whiz together in blender (add 1/2 cup heavy cream if you want, don't if you don't want)

Dump in Freezer/run freezer until frozen

Eat

Can't miss. Really good. Easy.

[sabg]

I buy a refrigerated roll of filo dough and cut the roll in 1/2 inch slices. Shake the slices and form a mound, like fettucine on a baking pan. Try to form it into a round disk. Sprinkle liberally with butter and bake in the oven. Check the directions for time and temperature on the filo box.

Place the mound or disk on a plate. Top with your favorite ice cream and sauce.

I usually make a sauce with canned or fresh-frozen cherries and drizzle chocolate sauce on top.

It is elegant and simple.

this sounds just toooooo good. do you spread it out to look kind of like funnel cake or is it high? how high?

[sabg]

How instant do you want it?

Serving 4

You will need one of the 2-quart Pyrex measures or a microwavable bowl in which you will place -

6 apples pared and cored, cut in wedges then cross cut in bite-sized pieces.

add 1/3 cup sugar - I use Splenda because I am diabetic.

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Toss so the apples are pretty well covered with the cinnamon/sugar.

Nuke in microwave for 10 to 12 minutes depending on how dense the apples are.

Golden delicious take less time, Jonathans take longer. Test with a fork.

Stir the apples to coat with the syrup that has formed in the bottom of the measure.

Meanwhile mix 4 oz cream cheese with 1/2 cup sour cream till well blended.

Spoon apples into microwaveable serving dishes, add a generous dollop of the cream cheese/sour cream topping onto the top of the apples. Place in microwave for about 30-40 seconds. You can lightly dust the top with cinnamon if you wish.

If you want to get fancy and you happen to have a package of palmiers you can break them up and put some in the bottom of each dish. This makes it more like an apple pie or tart.

maybe you can hel[p me out...diabetic also...have you ever used splenda to make ice cream...i e-mailed the company a week ago and have not heard back, thanks

[andiesenji]

maybe you can hel[p me out...diabetic also...have you ever used splenda to make ice cream...i e-mailed the company a week ago and have not heard back, thanks

Yes I have. I have made a custard based ice cream using Splenda.

French vanilla. Excellent.

Frozen yogurt with Splenda.

I have also made granitas with Splenda, coffee, fruit juices etc.

The best was a chai granita, black tea with spices and milk, sweetened to taste with Splenda, strained, then frozen and scraped to make the granita.

I have also used it a lot in baking with very good results. It does not have the same moisture effect as sugar so things tend to dry and stale more rapidly, I just make smaller batches.

[robyn]

My all time favorite for something quick and "homemade" that will fill your kitchen with great smells is Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix. You can add ice cream/whipped cream/berries etc. to give them a "personal touch". But it is absolutely not necessary. Robyn

[ruthcooks]

Whey-Low makes a special sugar just for ice cream making, because the regular doesn't taste sweet enough. I've not tried it but am very happy with the white and brown sugar Whey-Lows.

How about a fruit fool? Any kind of pureed sugared berries folded into whipped cream. Shortbread cookies you can bake or buy.

My standby emergency dessert is Blueberry Dumplings. It's actually a slump or grunt or some other not-tasteful name, done in a skillet on top of the stove. Fresh peaches with brown sugar is the best version, but frozen blueberries are the fastest. Cream--heavy, whipped, fraiche--or ice cream needed.

Whey-Low is here

Edited May 11, 2004 by ruthcooks (log)

[ludja]

peaches, halved; fill centers with nut-sugar-butter or amaretti-sugar-butter mix and roast them

poaches pears with chocolate sauce over (belle helene?)

skinned poached peaches with raspberry sauce over

lime or lemon sorbet with a shot of vodka over it

iced coffee parfait using vanilla ice cream with or without whipped cream

to add to "fool' ideas by Verjuice--- cooked rhubarb also works well or cooked and pureed apricots

stewed rhubarb in simple syrup with orange zest; chill and pour cream over when serving

homemade applesauce with cream over

sliced mangoes sprinkled with lime juice and cayenne pepper

strawberries with balsamic vinegar and sugar

rootbeer or coke float

Edited May 11, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Swisskaese]

this sounds just toooooo good. do you spread it out to look kind of like funnel cake or is it high? how high?

I spread it out.

Enjoy!

[Steve Klc]

I know we mentioned this on eG years ago, but here is an article about a few 10 minute dessert concepts created by Ferran Adria--using some fresh fruit, canned fruit, commercial ice cream, yogurt, etc:

http://press.elbulli.com/scripts/fitxa.php?id_article=60

It's in Spanish but the concepts translate.