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.

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

After my trip to Iceland, I fell in love with that country…its gorgeous landscape, its friendly people, its peacefulness and its delicious food and products. One of which is called skyr. Basically skyr means yogurt in Icelandic. It’s a very thick yogurt, thicker than the Greek kind, and has 0% fat. It comes plain, or with various fruit flavors and you can eat it as is or use it in desserts. It’s more packed in protein than its Greek counterpart, and fills you up quite fast, since it’s really thick, similar to a cream cheese thickness. I ate skyr everyday, either in a yogurt form or dessert form. Most of their sky desserts are in this type of form or in a glass with a crust layer, then with skyr, then topped with blueberries or caramel sauce.

The good thing is that you can find skyr in the US. There are basically two brands available here in California, one is called “Siggi’s” and one is called “Smaeri“, both of which are locally made by Icelandic guys who moved to the US, and who apparently imported the real recipe form Iceland.

Those yogurts are a bit different from what I tasted in Iceland, and I wish they would import the real ones. I don’t have anything against US made skyr (and I’m thankful I found them even though they’re easy to make), but the taste is slightly different because the cows are obviously different and they are not eating the same type of grass/food than in Iceland; different soil, therefore the milk is different. Anyway, those are just little tiny details, but I think details can make sometimes a difference.

Going back to my beloved skyr, in this dessert, there is a slight resemblance to cheesecake in it appearance but that’s it. It has a lot less calories, because skyr low calories due to its nonfat content. Even adding some cream, it will never compare to cheesecake in its texture or taste. I could call this dessert “Skyr Tart” instead of cake. This dessert is now one of my favorites, and will make it regularly. It’s so delicious, creamy, light and delicate, that you would never believe that it’s made with 0% fat yogurt.

Ingredients for a 9 inch pan

For the crust

• Any cookies of your choice (I used no sugar shortbread), depending on the size of the cookie 10 to 20
• 70 g coconut oil
• 1 tbs coconut sugar

For the skyr filling

• 1 large plain skyr jar (680 g or 24 oz))
• 5 tbs vanilla skyr
• sweetener of your choice (I used stevia) to taste
• 125 g (4.4 oz) heavy cream
• 4 small gelatin sheets (7.5 g total weight of gelatin)
• blueberry jam
• fresh blueberries

Preparation

For the crust

Crush cookies to a medium coarse texture. Add coconut oil, coconut sugar and mix to obtain a homogenous texture. Using a non stick pan, place some parchment paper (the size of the bottom surface) on pan. Make a crust with the crushed cookies/coconut oil, pressing firmly with your hands and spreading crust on pan. Place pan in the freezer or refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes.

For the filling

In a mixing container, mix both skyr yogurts, add sweetener. Soften gelatin sheets in cold water for 10 minutes or until soft. In a small pot add 3 tbs cream and heat it up. When it’s boiling, remove from heat, add gelatin, stir well and let it dissolve. Add the mixture to the skyr mixture. Whip cream and fold carefully into the skyr.

Pour the filling on top of crust and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for about one day.

Spread blueberry jam on top and fresh blueberries.

Spring is here and I am just excited about a new season coming. I love spring, except for the allergies due to pollen. Hopefully this year will be mild allergy season.

One of the simple things that make me happy in life is eating coconut ice cream. Since I have no coconut ice cream, I would be just happy eating anything “coconuty” today. Since I have a lot of ingredients made out of coconut in my kitchen, I thought to make something simple, yet light and delicious.

I like the fact that this cake doesn’t need anything special in the making process such as dividing the whites from the yolks and beating them separately, etc… all ingredients are mixed together and that’s it.

For those with some gluten intolerance, I made those gluten free, otherwise you can make those with regular flour, it can be with whole wheat flour, or any other flour you prefer. I don’t have any problem with gluten but I was out of whole wheat flour so I used gluten free flour. I was gluten free for about eight months, I wanted to see if I would feel any different, since everybody is telling you, you have to remove the evil gluten from your diet. I my case, there was absolutely no change in the way I felt, weight, health, or anything else, so I decided to go back to gluten.

These cakes are so light that after eating one of those, it feels like you didn’t eat anything.

You would think that for a coconut cake, the result would be a snow white cake. I love snow white cakes, but you just have to use white sugar. In this case, the raw coconut sugar being brown like a brown sugar, you end up having a brownish cake. Oh well “tant pis“, they’re delicious, so the color doesn’t really matter in the end.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 5.3 oz (or 150 g)  raw coconut sugar
• 4.5 oz (or 130 g) raw coconut oil
• half can coconut milk (I used the light one)
• 5.3 oz (or 150 g) shredded coconut (I used the reduced fat kind)
• 4.2 oz (or 120 g) gluten free flour
• 1tsp baking powder

Preparation

Pre heat oven at 375F. Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Divide the batter in eight paper cups (or regular greased molds) – Cook in a preheated for about 35 minutes. You can enjoy slightly warm or cold.

I have been playing around with this recipe for a while, changing quantities and I finally managed to like this version which is moist and soft.

I am not necessarily pro or against gluten. I think if people have problems with it, then it should be removed from one’s diet. I removed it from my diet and ate sans gluten for a couple of months to see how my body felt. I thought since everyone talked about it, I should try it too, to get my own opinion, so I did.

Well to be real honest, I did not feel better nor worse. I had less and less carbs cravings and was less bloated but that’s basically it. So I won’t start preaching a gluten free diet or a not gluten-free one, I think that’s a personal choice. If you feel better when you don’t eat gluten, then don’t. That is my philosophy.

If you want to try a gluten free cake that is moist and light, then this is the one.

Ingredients for 6-8 people

• 6 eggs
• 190 g (6.7 oz) brown sugar
• 250 g (8.8 oz) almond flour
• 50 g (1.7 oz) gluten free flour
• 160 g (5.6 oz) melted butter
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bitter almond extract

 Preparation

In two different containers, separate the yolks from the whites. Beat the whites to a thick consistency. Mix yolks with sugar and beat until the mixture whitens and double volume. Add butter. Add flours and mix well to obtain a smooth batter. Incorporate egg whites. Add baking powder and almond extract.

Butter a round baking mold, sprinkle flour and spread the flour evenly into mold.

Pour batter in mold and cook in a pre heated oven at 350F for about 45 min or until completely cooked. Check the cake once in a while so that it doesn’t brown too fast. If it’s the case, lower the temperature.