Are you a banana cream pie aficionado? If you are, try this updated version featuring a surprise semisweet chocolate layer, chocolate-hazelnut custard filling and bourbon whipped cream.
The lemon biscuit and custard add a freshness to this finest of all June desserts. Garnish with a curl of lemon rind.
Quickly saut?ng the apples first gives them a silky texture and reduces the airspace that naturally occurs under the top crust as the apples shrink during baking.
Sunshine cake, really angel food cake made with whole eggs, is relatively obscure despite being around for more than a century. However, with its light moist texture, golden colour and citrus flavour, it makes an ideal Passover dessert using kosher-for-Passover ingredients, as well as one for Easter (see Variation, this page) and certainly deserves more celebrity.
This rich torte is filled with gooey caramel and crunchy nuts – perfect matches for chocolate. You don't need a candy thermometer to make the caramel, but you will need to keep an eye on it, so make sure that you have all your ingredients handy before you start cooking. For a special touch, sprinkle a pinch of fleur de sel over each slice before serving.
Good-quality dark chocolate (such as Lindt, Callebaut or Valrhona) adds richness and depth to this decadent dessert without adding loads of sugar.
Bittersweet and white chocolate pair in a very rich frozen two-layer mousse created for Christmas in November by executive chef Michael Mandato. In his pastry kitchen, there is a good supply of rounded silicone moulds necessary for the igloo shape. But layering the rich dessert in ramekins is just fine, especially if, instead of turning out the dessert igloo-style, you simply garnish each with a dollop of whipped cream and chocolate shards. Or garnish with a coffee bean, edible gold, raspberries or even finely diced mango and kiwifruit.
First Prize in Rolled Cookie Category
Catherine Laframboise of Toronto loves the flavours of maple and walnut together and says they are even better dressed up in this recipe with buttercream and praline. If you can't find maple sugar, substitute 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar and 1 tsp (5 mL) maple extract.
This stunning tart showcases delicately flavoured figs. For best results, choose ripe ones that are plump, tender and heavy. To preserve freshness, refrigerate the fruit in a single layer for up to two days if needed.
