Another year is going by, who likes getting older? I don’t and people who say they do, I am not sure they really mean it…yesterday was my birthday and I got up with a massive headache! So I still decided to treat myself thinking that one of those mini desserts, will make me feel better. When and if you make pain d’épices, you open the door to many preparations. I could not resist to make those mini desserts after I made pain d’épices. They’re not sweet, but very light and terribly delicious. Of course, they’re tiny so you can easily eat a few. That glass is actually about 2 inches tall, or a bit smaller, so with a few spoonful, you can finish it up.

Mini desserts are great for parties, you eat one and it’s not stuffy, no one likes the feeling of being stuffed (I don’t), the feeling of being satisfied is much more pleasant in my opinion. The mousse is so light and the fruity compote combined with spicy cake makes it the perfect trio.

Ingredients for 6 small verrines

For the Fromage blanc mousse

• 1 egg
• 1 tbs sugar
• 4 tbs fromage blanc or Fage Greek yogurt

For the peach compote

• 2 yellow peaches, peeled and cut in small cubes
• 1 tsp brown sugar (or to taste)
• a few drops of vanilla extract

For the pain d’épices – see recipe here

Preparation

For the mousse

Separate yolk from white and place in different containers. Add sugar to the yolks and beat until the mixture turns white and creamy and doubles volume. Beat the whites in a stiff consistency. Carefully add the whites to the yolk/fromage blanc mixture.

For the peach compote

Cook peaches with sugar and vanilla for about 15 min or until they turn soft and mushy. Let it cool down.

In a small glass, place one tbs or tsp (depending on the size of the glass) of crumbled pain d’épices, add 1 tps or tsp of peach compote, then add fromage blanc mousse. Repeat process twice until you reach top of the glass. Eat at room temperature or cold.

In France and mainly in the Eastern part of France, in a region called Alsace, which is bordering Germany, they make wonderful gâteaux and tartes au fromage blanc. They have their own version in Germany called käsekuchen, which is similar. It’s made with Quark which is a fresh cheese slightly different from fromage blanc because of its thicker texture. I made a more traditional version here, which has a crust, so that would be called a tart instead of cake. This version is lighter, because I only used egg whites, no cream and no crust, so this very light cake would fit in the “diététique” section.

I had extra egg whites when I made palets bretons that I didn’t want to throw away. I was thinking first to make meringue, but since I am not a big fan of crunchy and extra sweet egg whites, the use of eggs whites was perfect here. Of course, you could use yolks if you wanted to, and of course there are different recipes for this wonderful gâteau au fromage blanc, and this is only one light version of it.

Since we are in America, domestic fromage blanc is not easy to find, so I used Fage Greek yogurt and it worked perfectly. You don’t have to feel guilty about having dessert after a meal, because this is will not make you feel heavy, but simply happy and satisfied.

I used Meyer lemons for a stronger lemon flavor, but that’s not really necessary, regular lemons work perfectly fine and would fit better here because it does take over the tanginess of the fromage blanc. If you want to compare this to an American dessert, it would be a very light and extended cousin of cheesecake. You can serve it with any coulis you like such as raspberries, fresh blackberries, etc…but when in season peaches and apricots would be a wonderful alternative.

Ingredients for about 6

For the cake

• 1 lb (or 500 g) Fromage blanc or greek yogurt
• 130 g granulated sugar
• 50 g flour
• 4 egg whites
• zest of 1 lemon

For the raspberry sauce

• 1 lb raspberries
• 4 tbs orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs sugar or to taste

Preparation

For the cake

In a mixing container, mix yogurt, sugar, flour and lemon zest. Beat egg whites to a stiff consistency and add to the mixture. Grease with butter a deep dish pan. Pour carefully the mixture and cook in a pre-heated oven at 355-360F for about one hour. If the center of the cake looks a little pale while the borders are golden, decrease temperature. When cooked remove from oven and turn upside down, let it cool that way. Then turn cut and enjoy.

For the strawberry sauce

Cut strawberries, mix with sugar, orange juice, vanilla extract and cook for about 15 minutes. Let it cool and blend. You can pass the sauce through a sieve to remove strawberry seeds and make the sauce gets smooth.

]]> http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2011/02/light-and-lighter-fromage-blanc-cake-with-strawberry-sauce/feed/ 21 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/04/tart-for-those-who-dont-like-desserts-tart-brioche-with-coconut-fromage-blanc-and-pineapple-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tart-for-those-who-dont-like-desserts-tart-brioche-with-coconut-fromage-blanc-and-pineapple-2 http://citronetvanille.com/blog/2010/04/tart-for-those-who-dont-like-desserts-tart-brioche-with-coconut-fromage-blanc-and-pineapple-2/#comments Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:38:54 +0000 silvia http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?p=10161 La tarte pour ceux qui n’aiment pas les desserts – Tarte briochée à la noix de coco, fromage blanc et ananas

My good friend Ute came for dinner, she is German, I am Franco-Italian and we have exactly the same tastes, likes and dislikes as far as food and cuisine is concerned. We love the same flavors and dishes so it’s really a pleasure to cook for her, I don’t have to think for days about the menu. We both don’t like sweets too much but agree that a meal needs to end by a dessert, so I had to come up with something that would be filed in the dessert category without being too sweet.

When planning a dinner for picky people which becomes more of a headache than a real pleasure, it’s a sign that your guests are food un-educated, which is not the case for Ute and she is definitely my favorite guest to have around. Voilà, j’ai trouvé mon dessert! et en plus c’est léger!

Originally were supposed to try a new restaurant called George known for its seafood specialty dishes, then the rain started to pour and even though je ne suis pas en sucre as we say in French (I am not made out of sugar therefore will not melt), we decided to not go out…because after all I might melt, well the mascara will since the wind broke all my umbrellas.

For those who are not much of a sweet tooth and who like light desserts, this one is really for them. I loved it even better the day after while it was chilled. No heavy frosting, not a lot of sugar, just natural, fresh flavors due to the fresh pineapple and coconut milk.

I love to use fromage blanc in this dessert, but hard to find in the US, so I mainly substitute Fage Greek yogurt in any recipe requiring fromage blanc, either the 2% or the regular and it works perfectly. I used brioche as the “crust” instead of a regular pâte brisée or pate sucrée which resulted in a moist and semi-soft texture crust which also absorbed the coconut/fromage blanc mixture. You can serve it with some vanilla ice cream if you want, but I kept it “light”.

You can use individual deep molds or a large one, I prefer individual portions, it feel like everyone gets a whole full dessert and is a controlled portion.

Ingredients for 6

• 6 slices of brioche (or enough to cover one large dish)
• 250 ml coconut milk
• 400 g Fage Greek yogurt
• 60 g sugar
• 60 g coconut, shredded
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs golden raisins (soaked in rum)
• 6 slices pineapple (core removed)

Preparation

Cover the bottom of the molds with brioche ensuring there is no space in between each slice of brioche.

In a pan, heat coconut milk and reduce a little. Remove from heat, add fromage blanc, egg and sugar. Mix well. Add coconut flakes. Mix all ingredients to obtain a smooth texture.

Pour on top of brioche. Add pineapple slices and sprinkle with raisins.

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 370F for about 30-40 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the oven, let it cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Eat at room temperature or chilled.