Chef Michael Salmon - Join me in my Kitchen
Desserts
I love the sweet and sour zing of lemon curd and this Lemon and Hazelnut Tart is simply an oven-baked lemon curd in a hazelnut crust. Hazelnuts are my nut of choice for this pre-baked sweet crust, but any nut can be substituted. The filling is so easy to make, just combine the ingredients and pour it into the prepared shell.
My Grandma Jean had an amazing raspberry patch when I was growing up. To this day, every raspberry I taste is measured by that standard, and occasionally, one will meet the grade. Needless to say, raspberries are at the top of my favorite foods list, and close behind is white chocolate. This combination of light and fluffy white chocolate mousse and fresh raspberries is both stunningly beautiful and delicious.
These dessert rice fritters are made from Arborio rice with a hint of lemon and yeast. The texture from the al dente rice in the fritter makes for a unique sensation, unlike standard batter fritters. To finish, they are rolled in a lemon sugar and served with vanilla gelato or ice cream.
Fresh homemade Cannolis are hard to beat. The shells are relatively easy to make if you have the right tools, which include: a tapered rolling pin, pasta machine, 4-inch round cutter and Cannoli Tubes or Molds. The fresh ricotta filling is very special when it is made with the Cream of Pistachio…think: Pistachio Nutella. Yes, it is that good! At room temperature, it makes a great spreadable garnish for any pistachio dessert. I also use it as a layer in my Pistachio Semi-Freddo.
Torta della Nonna in Italian literally translates to “Grandmother’s Cake.” It is a very popular dessert in the Tuscany region and is quite simple to make. A layer of lemon-scented pastry cream is enveloped by an upper and lower sweet pastry crust, covered with pine nuts and baked until golden brown. One of the things I love about this dessert is that the resulting Torta is not too sweet and the hint of lemon is refreshing.
Crème brûlée literally translates to “burnt cream,” which refers to the crunchy layer of caramel that floats over the creamy and smooth custard below. Many of the specialty cooking supply stores carry a small butane torch that can be used for caramelizing the sugar on the surface of the crème brûlée. Another option is to dig around in your basement to find a propane torch used for plumbing projects. Either piece of equipment works well.
The filling for this Pear-Almond Tart is a smooth and delicious almond cream known as a Frangipane. It is often used as a filling for pastries like puff pastry and in tarts with fresh fruit. In Provence, I make the creamy filling with pistachios instead of almonds and I use fresh apricots in place of the pears. Any nut can be used in the filling and fresh fruit can range from apples and cherries to plums and fresh raspberries.
Granny Smith apples hold up well in these fritters and their tartness balances well with the sweetness of the Maple Crème Anglaise. On our foodie trips to Europe, I serve these as a breakfast starter but they are equally nice served warm with ice cream as an autumn dessert.
Clafoutis is a dish we prepare on my Foodie Trips to Provence. Traditionally it is made with fresh cherries which are abundant in the region, but I often make it with other stone fruit like plums, peaches, apricots or nectarines. It is also great with berries, pears or fresh figs. It can be prepared in a large baking dish or in small individual-sized ramekins, while usually thought of as a dessert, it also makes a nice breakfast dish.
Budino is the Italian word for pudding. This is a spectacular combination of creamy butterscotch pudding and mouth-watering salted caramel with a crisp chocolate crumble surprise on the bottom. I like to make them in the 8-ounce Le Parfait hinged top jars.
Join me in my kitchen as I prepare recipes from my two cookbooks, European foodie trips and explore new inspirations.
