This translation from French into English does not work. When we say “j’ai un petit creux” that translates literally into “I have a little hole“, but it means “I have a hole in my stomach“, so that “I am a little hungry“.  It sounds really strange in English, you are just wondering where that hole is…but that’s all I could find since I am not proficient in English expressions, so we’ll leave it at the hole we have in our stomach!

I am not a huge cookie fan, and I rarely eat cookies, so I don’t keep anything sweet at home, no cakes, cookies or such things. I would gladly chose a bag of chips which is my “péché mignon” over a slice of cake or a cookie, but once in a couple of months, I do feel like a little sweet thing which is not fruit, then I make those.

They are very tasty and healthy and they can be eaten in the morning since they do have a good quantity of oats and nuts. They’re the soft kind and quite satisfying when you feel like a little treat.

I used whole wheat einkorn flour and dark chocolate but of course, you can make your own substitution according to your tastes.

Ingredients for 10-12 (depending on the size)

• 1/2 cup light agave nectar (or any sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 1 small container of apple sauce (about 3 tbs)
• 1/4 coconut flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat einkorn flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbs chopped cashews
• 4 tbs chunks of dark chocolate for baking
• 1 cup + oat flakes

Instructions

In a container, mix agave nectar, vanilla and apple sauce. Mix well. Then add the flours, the baking powder, the nuts, the oats and the chocolate. Mix with tip of the fingers to obtain a homogeneous mixture but do not over mix.

Pre heat oven at 360F. Using a cookie tray, make cookies dividing the dough into small amounts, the equivalent of 1.5 tbs of dough on tray. Sprinkle the top with extra oats.

Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

This recipe might seem complicated because it has many steps, but those are easy steps, and it’s a fast recipe too. Last time I was in Nancy, France I had lunch at this new restaurant close to Place Stanislas where I was served this  amazing pineapple dessert. How gorgeous is that? Ever since I wanted to use pineapple in a light dessert. This dessert of mine has nothing in common, other than the pineapple…but it proves that the diversity of desserts you can create using pineapple is infinite.

I used express polenta, as it’s very convenient, it will save you time when you are in a hurry. The highlight of this dish not being polenta, I thought to use express polenta. I would not use it when I make traditional Italian polenta savory dishes but in this case, it’s a nice option.

If using dairy, I would use whole milk and add a little heavy cream for extra texture.

Ingredients

For the polenta cakes

• 1 cup almond milk or any other milk of your choice
• 1/2 cup express polenta
• honey or sweetener of your choice
• vanilla bean, cut in half and beans scraped
• 2 tsp raisins
• 2 tbs rum

For the braised pineapple

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 pineapple
• light agave nectar
• orange juice
• 2 tbs rum

For the pineapple tartare

• 1/2 pineapple
• 2 tbs mint, finely chopped
• 1 lime (zest and juice)
• ginger (optional)
• light agave nectar to taste

For the pineapple coulis

• 1 cup pineapple
• agave nectar to taste
• vanilla extract to taste

Instructions

For the polenta cakes

Bring milk to a boil with vanilla beans scarped and sweetener. Pour polenta gradually and keep stirring for a few minutes. If the polenta is too thick add milk (it needs to be a thick consistency). Remove from heat and add rum and raisins. Using a wooden board or flat surface pour the polenta and spread evenly into a 1.5 com thick layer. Let it cool. When completely cold, using a cutter, cut into 2 inches squares.

For the braised pineapple

Take pineapple and cut top and bottom so that the pineapple stays vertically flat. Using a sharp knife cut the skin from top to bottom all around the pineapple. Slice pineapple from top to bottom to obtain 5 mm thick slices and about 4.5 inches wide. (The first slices will be narrow so use them for the tartare part). Keep the wider slices for braising. Using the same cutter used to cut polenta, cut pineapple into squares (or circles if used a round cutter).

Melt coconut oil in a pan. When melted add pineapple slices and at high heat cook them until slightly golden brown on both sides. Add agave nectar. Add orange juice and let it reduce. Add rum and flame. Let it reduce a little more. Keep warm.

For the pineapple tartare

Using the pineapple saved when making slices, dice in small 5mm. Add all other ingredients and refrigerate.

For the pineapple coulis

Using a blender, mix all ingredients and filter through a sieve to obtain a smooth coulis

To serve: place two polenta squares on a plate. Place braised pineapple on top of each polenta square. Add 1 tsp of pineapple tartare on top and pour some coulis around. Decorate with lime zests.

It’s the season for those gorgeous keitt mangoes, so nothing better that using seasonal fruits. They only last for a couple of months so don’t miss on that. You will recognize them because they’re very large, and whose skin remains green even when ripe. They’re so large that I used one for this dessert. I made some mango vinegar and wanted to experiment its use in different preparations. This turned out really well. The warm and soft mango is topped with mango coulis and diced mango with Poivre la Luna.

Poivre La Luna is a pepper from Madagascar with a vanilla and cocoa aroma that a friend of mine brought me from France. It’s a mild pepper but very aromatic that you can use on fruits, and seafood. I was reading about it and apparently it’s unknown to chefs in America, whereas chefs in France refuse to use something else. I guess, it’s worth a try. Madagascar was a French colony, so we got a lot of their wonderful products exported to France.

This can be a snack, a treat, a dessert or whatever suits you. It was my dinner one of those nights, and perfect for when you need something light yet delicious. You can substitute Greek yogurt with vanilla whipped cream, to make it more like a dessert and less of a snack.

For the mango papillote

• 1/2 keitt mango sliced
• coconut sugar (to taste)
• vanilla bean powder
• 1 tbs pistachios, toasted
• Greek yogurt or whipped cream

For the mango coulis

• 1/3 mango
• 1 tsp mango vinegar (optional)
• sugar of your choice to taste (stevia, coconut sugar, etc…)
• 1/2 tsp orange blossom water

For the mango salad

• 1/4 (about 2 tbs) finely diced mango
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp Poivre la Luna

Preparation

For the papillote

Pre heat oven at 380F. Using parchment paper, cut a circle of about 25 cm diameter. Place cut mango on one half of the circle. Add coconut sugar and vanilla bean powder. Fold the other half of the circle on top of the mangoes and start sealing the border all around.

Place in the oven and cook for about 15-20 min. Remove from oven and let it cool a bit.

For the mango coulis

Place mango and sugar in a blender and mix until smooth. Add mango vinegar and orange blossom water and mix well.

For the mango salad

Mix mango and lime juice and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add Poivre la Luna at the end, when ready to serve.

When the papillote is ready, remove from oven. Cut the top part with scissors to open it. Let it cool a little.  Add mango coulis, then add a spoon of yogurt and top it with mango salad and pistachios.

This fits in the category “entremet” in France.

Entremet literally means “entre“= between and “met“= meal. In the 17e century, it refers to a meal that is served after roastbeef, and before dessert. It evolved from a savory dish to a sweet one, nowadays all entremets are sweet. They are classified into three categories: hot entremets: Souffles, pudding, crepes, etc…; cold entremets: Flans, blanc-manger, etc…entremets with ice cream: mousses, sorbets, etc…

Blanc-manger goes back to Antiquity so it’s not a modern dessert. It’s literally translated into blanc = white, and manger= eat, due to its very white color. Originally, it’s made with milk, almonds and thickened with corn or potato starch. In the 18e century, they started using gelatin so I went with that recipe as well. Sometimes blanc-manger can be confused with panna cotta, which is cooked cream, sugar and gelatin. Nowadays when talking about blanc-manger, it’s usually referring to the recipe made with milk, almonds, cream, and gelatin.

This version is a bit different, I could call it revisited. I used almond milk, but the kind made with only almond and water from the brand “three trees” sold at Whole Foods in the refrigerated section. You have to look for the real almond milk, and not the one with added thickeners, and other unknown ingredients. It’s really delicious and natural. Then I used whipped coconut cream and I flavored the whole thing with almond extract. You can flavor it with vanilla or any other flavor of your choice.

Coconut cream can be whipped. You need to place a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator until very cold, and the mixing bowl you will be using to whip it as well. Then, take the thick part of the milk that lays on top of the can, and whip it. You can use heavy cream if you prefer.

Fruit compote is a lovely addition to this light dessert. Peaches and apricots are delicious with almond flavor, even though apricots are not at their best yet.

Ingredients for 3-4 (depending on the size of your cups)

For the blanc-manger

• 300 ml almond milk (the natural kind)
• 100 ml whipped coconut cream
• 4 tbs of sweetener of your choice (I used stevia)
• 4 gelatin sheets
• Almond extract

For the peach-apricot coulis

• 1 white nectarine, cut in pieces
• 1 large apricot, cut in pieces
• 1 large apricot, seed removed, and quartered
• 1 yellow peach, cut in peaces
• 1 tbs sweetener of your choice
• 3 tbs orange juice

Instructions

For the blanc-manger

Soak gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes, or until gelatin has softened. Boil almond milk with sweetener. Remove from heat and place gelatin sheet in milk, stirring until dissolved. Let it cool.

Whip coconut cream and add to the milk. Pour in small bowls, and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

For the coulis

Cook the cut fruits in a small pot with orange juice and sweetener until the fruits are soft. Let it cool.

Blend until smooth consistency.

I think I am getting into a “oat phase” these days. I try to put oats and oat bran wherever I can. Oat bran, oat flour, rolled oats, anything oat makes me happy, besides I love my fibers. I had bought too many bananas (I forgot I had a bunch at home), but I always fear to be banana depleted in the morning for breakfast, so I keep buying more than I can actually eat. Two of those bananas were overly ripe and what do do with over ripe bananas other than shakes? banana bread or cake, right? But it needs to be banana and oats together or nothing at all, so banana-oats combo it will be.

In my world, I would have called this a banana cake but in the US it’s more a bread than a cake (I’m sure there is an explanation, but I haven’t had the time to google it). In France anything called bread contains yeast and not baking powder. Anything called bread is something very different and looks like a baguette and tastes like one too.

Since I didn’t have any oat bran flour, I grounded some oat bran into a fine texture which ended up like flour. It all turned out quite well. This cake is very moist and not sweet at all so it could work as breakfast since it has a good amount of nutrients.

 Ingredients

• 1.5 cups oat bran flour
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar or sweetener of your choice
• 3/4 cup quick rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 Islandic Yogurt (or Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Pre-heat oven at 350F.

In a mixing container, mix flour, oats, sugar and baking powder. In a mixer, add banana, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla. Mix to obtain a smooth texture.

Pour liquid mixture containing the bananas to dry mixture containing the flour and oats. Mix well.

Grease a pan with butter. Coat with flour and remove excess flour. Pour batter and bake in the oven at 350F for about 50-55 minutes.

Even though I do not have a sweet tooth at all and rarely eat desserts, while in Japan, I got hooked on their matcha desserts, especially in Kyoto which is the capital of matcha sweets. Japanese desserts are barely sweet, the focus is on delicate flavors an not sugar. Nothing is too bold, screaming in your mouth and aggressive. I adore the slight bitterness of matcha…and the vibrant color makes all matcha desserts very sexy.

Most matcha desserts are served with black bean paste made with adzuki beans, those kinds of beans are used in Asia to use in sweet preparations. You can make the paste yourself by cooking the beans and adding sugar, or you can buy already made paste at Japanese stores (which is what I did). As for tea, there is two different kinds of matcha, the one for cooking, baking, using in shakes, etc..and the one for tea ceremony drinking. Make sure you buy the right kind of matcha. They are quite different in flavors and colors.

I have seen so many gorgeous pastries, sweets, desserts made with matcha such as baumkuchen, jellies, ice creams, cookies, and anything you can think of. This recipe has been the courtesy of Hibiki-an.

I follow instructions carefully but I might have used less gelatin than the recommended dose of 5g. I found that my jelly was a bit too soft and not as hard as the ones I tasted in Japan. I used one pack, it might have not been 5 grams. The flavor was delicious. I replaced the condensed milk with vanilla ice cream.

A little sample of matcha desserts in Japan…absolutely amazing. They almost managed to turn me into an addict. For someone who does not eat desserts, I did quite well in that department!!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons(5g) gelatin
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon Matcha
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 250ml hot water
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
• 3 tbs adzuki bean paste
• 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream or condensed milk

Preparation

Soak gelatin in cold water. Set aside.
Make the Matcha: first sift Matcha with a tea strainer, put into a bowl, add 2 tablespoons hot water and then gradually add 250ml more hot water.
Add sugar and gelatin to the Matcha and stir to dissolve.
Strain through a sieve and pour into 4 glasses.
Chill in the refrigerator.
Serve with sweet red adzuki bean paste (anko), vanilla ice cream or condensed milk.

Usually for breakfast I like my multi grain toasts with no desire to change but once in a while I like to treat myself with some fancy little bites like these ones. I would have called those mini cakes (which in French gâteaux are what those are), but I feel they’re more muffins than cakes, as per American standards. Cakes are described as sweet, with frosting and no fruits.

They’re light, very airy, moist and perfect for breakfast or as afternoon snack. The base is like the traditional French yogurt cake, but I used Greek Yogurt instead and oat and almond flours instead of regular white flour. I used a pear but you could also use an apple.

Ingredients for 6-8 muffins

• 1 1/3 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tbs stevia powder
• 1 Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/4 tsp bitter almond extract
• 1 pear, peeled and grated
• sunflower seeds for topping

Preparation

Preheat oven at 365F. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and vanilla powder.

In another bowl, beat eggs with coconut sugar, stevia, oil, yogurt, bitter almond extract. At the end add pear. Mix well.

Pour the bowl containing the eggs/sugar mixture into the bowl containing the flour mixture. Mix well.

Divide batter in individual muffin molds. sprinkle with coconut sugar and sunflower seeds.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Originally this was supposed to be just poached pears in spicy red wine topped with this magnificient pepper…then after some more thoughts, I decided to add a crust under the pears and make it a galette, a rugged and peasant type of galette, full of flavors but yet delicate. I love when dishes are a mix of rustic and delicate at the same time (actually thinking about it, I love when people do have this type of contradiction too!), otherwise it gets too predictable.

My friend Laurent brought me this amazing pepper from France, it’s a Madagascar pepper infused with vanilla and chocolate…and I just wanted to create a little sweet thing where fruits marry this pepper, and this is it. I will make it again and again until I ran out of pepper.

The crust is light and nutritious, a little unusual since I used a very fragrant olive oil instead of butter, and the pears are poached in spicy red wine. This is truly a delicious and fragrant treat, and a third of the calories of the traditional desserts. To be consumed…without moderation!

Ingredients for one large galette

For the dough

• 3 tbs whole grain farro flour
• 1 tbs amaranth flour
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs water
• 2 tbs coconut sugar

For the filling

• 1.5 medium red d’Anjou pears, peeled and medium sliced
• 200 ml red wine
• 1 tbs honey
• 2 tbs coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1 tbs apricot jam or apricot fruit spread (which I prefer since there is less sugar)
• 1/2 tsp Luna pepper

Preparation

For the dough

In a wooden surface or mixing container, mix flours together, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to obtain an homogeneous and smooth dough. Set aside.

For the filling

In a deep pan, mix wine with sugar, honey and vanilla extract (including cinnamon if you like it). Mix well to dissolve sugar. Place pear slices evenly in pan and let cook until cooked but still firm. You want to avoid mushy pears, they’ll be hard to handle. When cooked, drain liquid and let the pear cool down.

Roll dough with rolling pin, about 3-4 mm thick forming a galette, and spread apricot jam or Fruit spread on top. Place pear slices evenly leaving 1.5 inches to form a border. Sprinkle with a little coconut sugar. Bring the sides of the galette back inside.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 20-30 minutes until the galette is cooked. Check to bottom part of if to ensure it’s cooked.

When cooked, sprinkle poivre la luna pepper or any other fragrant pepper on top and eat lukewarm.

This post has been long overdue…I made those plums in fall, so when they were in season, then never got the chance to post it. With my trip to France and work schedule, everything got delayed and now it’s November and the plums are no longer in season. I figured I would still post it and not wait for one more year.

I love all poached fruits, they end up being such a delicate and light little treat. I make those quite often when I can find plums and you can complement them with all kinds of dried cookies, biscotti, madeleines, anything you can dip in the syrup. Needless to say this dessert is very quick to make, and “unratable” (that you cannot fail).

The first step is to make the tea. I used green tea in which I added fresh mint leaves and dried verbena leaves (I could not find any fresh ones). Don’t make the tea too strong or the syrup will end up bitter and unpleasant.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup green verbena-mint tea
• 1 star anise
• vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
• 2 tbs honey
• 6 red plums, not too soft
• 2 tbs macarpone
• 2 tbs Plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp powder sugar (optional)
• zest of 1/2 Meyer lemon
• pistachios, roasted

Preparation

First make tea, letting the mint and vebena infuse for 10 minutes in green tea. Drain and add honey.

In a pan, cook plums with tea, then add star anis and vanilla bean. Let the plums cook until soft but not mushy. At this point the syrup has thickened. It should not be too thick, add water if too thick. Remove vanilla bean and filter syrup if necessary. Let it cool.

Mix mascarpone and yogurt until smooth, add 1 tsp of powder sugar or more if you like it sweeter and add lemon zest.

Serve plums in cups pouring syrup around and 1 tbs of mascarpone cream on top. Sprinkle with pistachios.

I had a lot of fun this weekend, playing in my kitchen. I love to spend time trying out new recipes and exploring new ideas. Unfortunately it does not happen as often as I’d like due to lack of time, and trying to accommodate everyone in the house.

Here is one way to prepare quinoa as a dessert, a little change from the savory preparations. You could eat this for breakfast as well, or anytime, you have a little sweet craving, but do not want to add up the calories. It’s a light dessert with lots of flavors, and the combination of the coconut and rum gives it an exotic flair, it brings me back to the island vacations, with the sun and the beach.

You don’t need to use a lot of quinoa in each mold, since it expands and absorbs liquid, a few tbs are enough. I found in my kitchen cabinet a baking emulsion I had bought a while ago at Chef Warehouse. It’s basically some strong coconut extract bakers use in their pastries, I thought to add some additional coconut flavor, and it enhanced the flavor to 60%, so if you can find this type of emulsion, it’s worth buying it, you could use it in any sweet preparation you use coconut.

Ingredients for 4 flans

For the flans

• 110 g cooked quinoa
• 3 eggs
• coconut sugar to your taste
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp coconut emulsion

For the mango salad

• 1 mango not too ripe, diced finely
• 1 tbs brown rum
• 1 tbs mint
• coconut sugar or stevia (or any sugar of your choice) to taste

Preparation

For the flans

Beat eggs and coconut sugar with an egg beater, beat for 5-10 minutes until obtained a smooth texture. Add the rest of the ingredients, and keep beating.

Pre heat oven at 365F. Divide quinoa in the four molds and pour coconut-egg mixture. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes. When the flans are cooked, remove from molds and let them cool. You can eat them lukewarm or cold. Serve with mango salad on the side.

For the mango salad

Mix all ingredients together and serve with flans