Impromptu
Dessert Ideas
Here are a few ideas for some (mostly) quick and easy desserts, drawing on many of the recipes above and other basic dessert ingredients. They can be the springboard to lots of similar creations if you think imaginatively about equivalent ingredients to substitute for the ones suggested here.
Prepare a basic cream biscuit
shortcake recipe, adding the grated zest
of 2 oranges; split the shortcakes and fill them with fresh blueberries, blueberry compote, and Grand Marnier-flavored whipped cream.
Layer some blanched, peeled,
sliced peaches
with peach ice cream and raspberry sauce for a peach Melba variation.
Make your favorite chocolate
brownie recipe in a springform pan. Top it
with white chocolate chocolate-chip ice cream. Freeze, top with whipped cream before serving, and accompany with chocolate sauce.
Sauté thick-sliced
bananas with butter, sugar, and cinnamon and
then flambČ them with a little bourbon. Serve them over Jack Daniels vanilla ice cream with a bit of caramel sauce.
Make a batch of quickie puff
pastry. Roll thin and cut into individual
rounds. Top with a layer of pear sauce and overlapping thin slices of peeled and lightly sugared pears. Bake till puffed and golden and serve warm with créme fraîche, whipped cream, or ice cream.
Grill pineapple slices basted
with whiskey and molasses and serve with Jack Daniels vanilla ice cream.
Place a layer of mixed
seedless red and green grapes in a shallow
gratin dish. Top with a thin layer of sour cream and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Brulée lightly under a broiler or with a butane torch and serve garnished with a scoop of Concord grape sorbet.
Make a chilled, puréed
honeydew soup flavored with fresh ginger.
Serve with a dollop of honey-sweetened yogurt and a mound of watermelon granita.
Prepare the brown sugar pear
poundcake recipe without the pears and
serve toasted pieces of it with prunes that have been poached in spiced red wine syrup; top with créme fraîche.