Autumn is in the air!

[amccomb]

Now that the air is turning crisp, I've been looking through cookbooks and oooing and ahhhing over desserts with apples, pears, nuts, pumpkin, maple, etc. What are some of the desserts what make you think of fall?

Edited September 12, 2004 by amccomb (log)

[petite tête de chou]

I don't have much of a sweet tooth buuut...

Split baked sweet potatoes with melted, unsalted butter, fresh thyme, cayenne and a smidge of dark brown sugar.

Baked winter squash with nothing but a spoon and a glass of dark, sweet porter.

A warm apple picked from the tree on Sauvies Island (Portland, OR) and a chilled late harvest reisling.

Vanilla ice cream with blackberry and cranberry compote. NO cinnamon.

Roasted hazelnuts dipped in bittersweet chocolate with a fine Pinot Noir....

Hey, maybe I DO like sweet thangs!!

[Sandra Levine]

Can anything beat apple pie?

[HeatherM]

I love pumpkin pie. Actually, I'll often make the pumpkin custard and bake that in ramekins - no crust to scrape the filling out of!

[cbarre02]

Custard anything, mulled cider, loud spices with soft voices, warm "breakfast" type desserts, oatmeal, dried fruits, Indian desserts, Thick Beers, smoked goods, marshmallows, hard herbs, puddings, cheeses, strong aromas, rum, rum, rum,...

[andiesenji]

With temps still in the high 90s and over 100, Autumn seems rather far away.

I do have some fall favorites. I make a layered deep dish "pie" with a base of pecans and carmelized sugar, then a layer of egg custard and finally topped with pumpkin mousse.

I don't have a recipe for this, it is sort of a combination of several recipes.

Of course there is always bread pudding.............

Edited September 12, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[browniebaker]

In the autumn I love to bake sweet-potato pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple cobbler, apple dumplings, gingerbread, sticky toffee pudding, sticky gingerbread pudding, and fruitcake (which counts as an autumn dessert since I can't wait until Christmas to eat some).

[GG Mora]

Apples, apples and more apples.

Wierd thing is, a standard two-crust apple pie leaves me cold. But this time of year, I find myself cooking up tarte Tatin, simple one-crust apple tarts, free-form apple tarts with apple butter, golden cream apple tart (with the apple slices baked in a rich custard).

Oh, and I think apple crisp is gross, but that's likely attributable to being traumatized by apple crisp that sat forever in a steam table...Apple Slop.

[andiesenji]

I also make an apple custard creme which is a very old "receipt", made with thick, homemade chunky applesauce, cooked until thick but not quite apple butter, then combined with heavy cream and egg yolks, a little sugar(or Lyle's golden syrup) and spices, usually ginger, instead of the usual cinnamon.

This was ladled into puff pastry "cups" when I was a child but now I simply line large custard dishes with several layers of filo dough, brushed with butter and baked for just a couple of minutes to crisp them then ladle the hot apple custard into the lined dishes. It can be served still warm or chilled. Good both ways.

I use about a cup of heavy cream and 4 egg yolks to each pint of applesauce.

(This is quite rich.)

[skrattypants]

my two favorites are pear trifle with late-harvest riesling sabayon and an olive oil cake made with poached, pureed quince and topped with sweetened creme fraiche.

[Wendy DeBord]

I can't pick out favorite desserts-I love em all, they all have a place! But the thing I most love about fall and baking is the wave of baking books that are released in fall............

[Anna N]

Baked apples! Don't care for pies of any kind but just a simple or even a more elegant baked apple does it for me. Tried a new way tonight and they really went over big and looked more elegant than the usual stuffed and baked apples which tend to collapse or become a bit weird-shaped. The ones we had tonight were halved and cored with a good tablespoon of apple removed from the centre which was then filled with an almond mixture, baked and served with a caramel sauce spiked with some brandy and Grand Marnier. Yummy.

[amccomb]

Last year, for our wedding, we had a few really nice desserts created by a PC from a local restaurant (both my husband and I are secretly "in love" with her. When we see her out at a bar or something, we turn into teenagers, whispering to one another, "Oh look! It's the Pastry Chef! Go say something to her!" "No, you go!"

We wanted everything fall themed and bite sized, and she made mini pear and currant frangipane tarts glazed with port, meringue shells with Grand Marnier pastry cream and carmelized cranberries and candied pistashios, tiny napoleans of persimmon creme brulee layered between spice cake, cinnamon marsala gelato, and cognac truffles.

Some time in November last year, another local restaurant had an apple mousse that haunts me. It tasted like fresh apples, not like baked apples or applesauce or apple butter, which is what I would use in a mousse. I am still trying to figure out how they did it. Although the mousse was creamy and rich while still light and airy, it had this texture....like a slight crunch of fresh apples. I wish I could explain it better, in hopes that someone here could help me recreate it.

Every Thanksgiving, my grandma makes pecan and date shortbread tartlets, which I just love. Something about them - crunchy, chewy, crumbly, flaky, gooey, sweet with just a hint of saltiness.

Edited September 14, 2004 by amccomb (log)

[nice_guy1812]

I love autumn. It's my favourite season. I wish it lasted longer. I don't any paricular favourite autumn dishes, but I have favourite ingrediants. Apples, pears, chestnuts, cranberries, spices. Of course, apple pie, pumkin pie, and pain d'epices are mandatory eating for me. I can't wait for thanksgiving! Only one more month