Mango Sorbet over Pineapple Carpaccio with Raspberry Sauce

In April I was invited to join the 5 Star Makeover Challenge.  A group of bloggers that come up with culinary topics each month, for members to create dishes and share at the end of the month.  In April the topic given was Restaurant Wars.  Members were divided up into teams of 3 and each team was asked to create a theme or use a specific ingredient, plus name their restaurant. We had until June to present it.

Our team elected to do a menu of Raw Food and the name of our restaurant was "Eating In The Raw."  Unfortunately due to circumstances out of our control, we had to bow out of the event.  However, since I already put my dish together, I decided to share it with you today. You can view other team creations here.

We were to make an appetizer, entree' and dessert.  I was elected to make the dessert.

The raw food diet is based on the belief that the most healthful food for the body is uncooked. Although most food is eaten raw, heating food is acceptable as long as the temperature stays below 104 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (the cutoff temperature varies among those in the raw food community).

Cooking is thought to denature the enzymes naturally present in food. According to raw foodists, enzymes are the life force of a food, helping us to digest food and absorb nutrients. If we over consume cooked food, our bodies are forced to work harder by producing more enzymes. Over time, a lack of enzymes from food is thought to lead to digestive problems, nutrient deficiency, accelerated aging, and weight gain.

I decided to make a Mango Sorbet and after a bit of research I came up with this dish.

Mango Sorbet over Pineapple Carpaccio with Raspberry Sauce

serves 4-6

Sorbet Ingredients:

4 Mangoes

juice of a lime (about 4 teaspoons)

zest of a lime

1/3 cup Agave Nectar

2/3 cup Pure Coconut Water

Pineapple, sliced paper thin on a Mandoline

Raspberry Sauce Ingredients:

6 ounce container Raspberries, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons Agave Nectar

1 1/2 teaspoons water

Directions for Mango Sorbet:

Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away for the pit.(Facts about and directions for cutting a mango).

Cut the flesh into chunks and put them in a blender with the next 4 ingredients.  Puree the mixture until smooth.  Taste, and add more agave nectar or lime juice if desired. 

Chill the mixture for about 2 hours then place in ice cream machine and swirl according to manufacturers instructions. 

  

Can serve immediately or remove from ice cream machine and place in a plastic container with lid and place into the freezer until ready to serve.  Let set out for about 15 minutes to soften before serving.

Raspberry Sauce Directions:

Puree the raspberries, water, and agave nectar in a food processor until smooth.  Then, strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.  Press the solids against the strainer to get as much of the sauce as possible.  Pour into a squirt bottle if you have one, this makes decorating the plate with the sauce easy.  The raspberry sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Pineapple Directions:

Cut off top and bottom of a fresh pineapple, then cut off the sides just leaving the flesh.  With a mandoline, starting at the top or bottom slice 1/8-1/4 inch slices.  (You may need to shape the sides of your pineapple to fit the top of the mandoline so the pineapple can slide easily). 

Plating this Dish:

Lie one slice of pineapple at one edge of the plate then slightly overlapping add 2 more slices.  Place the 4th slice on the opposite edge of the plate lying flat. 

Place a scoop of Mango Sorbet on the flat piece of pineapple.  Drizzle with Raspberry Sauce.  Serve.

Each component of this dish is delicious on it's own and can be served numerous ways, so let your creativity flow.  If you prefer not to use agave nectar where it's used in this recipe you could substitute honey or sugar (double the amount of sugar). 

Enjoy!

Heaven & Hell Cake with Raspberry Mousse

For years I've wanted to make the Heaven & Hell cake that was created by Stephan Pyles but never seemed to take the time to prepare it.  With a layer of sponge cake, devils food cake, peanut butter mousse and chocolate ganache I knew the cake would take some time. 

My sister who lives in California came in town this week with her 16 year old son.  He just celebrated his birthday in July and since we weren't there to celebrate, and they weren't in town to celebrate my kids birthdays, we decided to celebrate all of theirs, including my dogs birthday which was yesterday.  Afterall he's family too!

This seemed like the perfect opportunity to make Stephan Pyles cake.  So I gathered up all the ingredients with the exception of just one thing.  Since my daughters Butterfinger Cake last year had peanut butter in it she thought it would nice to try something different.  So we opted for a Raspberry Mousse filling instead of the Peanut Butter Mousse.

The cake was beautiful but it was SO, SO VERY RICH!  You honestly could only handle a sliver of it.  Thank goodness we didn't use the peanut butter mousse otherwise I think it would have been too much.  In fact, I think I would have preferred a Strawberry Mousse instead but my husband dislikes strawberries so raspberries seemed like the right choice.  

Everyone loved the cake but all agreed, a sliver was all they could handle.  Of course, that's not to say we didn't go back later that day or the next to have a piece but, we also shared it with our relatives and friends.  A seven layer, 10 inch cake feeds quite a few people.

My favorite part of the cake was the ganache being the chocolate lover that I am.  In fact, this would be perfect served warm, over ice cream.

Here's the recipe and a photo of what Stephan Pyles cake looks like.  Mine is at the top with the raspberry mousse.  In pink are the changes that I made.

FOR THE GANACHE:

2 lbs. milk chocolate, such as Valrhona, chopped (I used Nestle's chips for cost)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

 

FOR THE ANGEL FOOD CAKE:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 cups egg whites
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract (I used a total of 3 tsp. of vanilla, no almond since my sister's allergic)

 

FOR THE DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups cake flour, plus more for pan
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coffee
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

 

I MADE RASPBERRY MOUSSE INSTEAD OF THE PB MOUSSE BELOW:

2 cups (16 ounces) raspberries

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 3/4 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed (or you can use heavy whipping cream as described in the Peanut Butter Mousse recipe)

Directions:

Process first 3 ingredients in food processor until smooth. Transfer raspberry mixture to a large bowl; fold in whipped topping. Cover and chill.  Note:  To eliminate the raspberry seeds - puree the raspberries first, then run through a strainer, place back into the processor and continue as described above.  Or if you prefer.....

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE in Stephan Pyles original recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1. Make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium-size bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan; pour cream over the chocolate and let sit to melt for 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, combine the chocolate and cream. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to let rest for 4 hours.

2. Make the angel food cake: Heat oven to 325°. Line bottom of a 10" round cake pan with ungreased parchment paper. In a medium bowl, sift together confectioners' sugar and flour; set flour mixture aside. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt with a handheld mixer on low speed until frothy. Increase mixer speed to medium, sprinkle in sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and beat until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle half of the confectioners' sugar–flour mixture over egg whites; using a rubber spatula, fold until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake until top of cake springs back when touched, 45–50 minutes. Transfer cake to a rack and let cool.

3. Make the devil's food cake: Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 10" round cake pan with shortening and dust with flour to coat; shake out excess flour and set pan aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder; set flour mixture aside. In another medium bowl, whisk the coffee and cocoa powder until smooth; set coffee mixture aside. In a large bowl, beat the shortening, sugar, vanilla, and eggs with a handheld mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 minutes. Alternately add the flour mixture and the coffee mixture to the bowl in 3 stages, beating to combine after each addition. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean, 30–35 minutes; transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

4. Make the raspberry (follow instructions above) or peanut butter mousse: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, raspberry or peanut butter, and confectioners' sugar with a handheld mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Put cream into a large bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture; set mousse aside in the refrigerator.

5. Assemble the cake: Using a serrated-blade knife, slice each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place 1 layer of the devil's food cake on a cake stand and spread 1/3 of the raspberry or peanut butter mousse over the top with a butter knife. Top mousse with a layer of the angel food cake and spread with half of the remaining mousse. Repeat with the remaining devil's food cake, mousse, and angel food cake. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and freeze for 2 hours. Stir ganache until smooth and spread evenly over the top and sides of the cake with a butter knife. Refrigerate the cake for 2 hours before slicing.

SERVES 10 – 12 

I definitely think this cake is worth making.  It's rich but delicious!

Chocolate Raspberry Wonton Hearts

I thought it might be fun to try something new for Valentine's Day this year.  Since I'll be busy tomorrow during the day getting ready for a class to teach I wanted it to be a simple dessert to go with my Valentine dinner. 

I lucked out this year because the weather in Missouri will be in the high 50s tomorrow.  A huge difference from last week and the past month where we've had single digit temperatures with tons of snow.  So to celebrate I'm going to grill tomorrow evening (Valentine's Day) and make this special dessert.

It's a little off the wall yet fun and unique. The best part is it's a cinch to make.

I made this and plated it several different ways which I'll show below.  I have to say I truely enjoyed all three versions but, my favorite was when I drizzled it with both the Raspberry Balsamic Reduction and Chocolate Sauce.

A simple dessert with simple ingredients.  What could be better except of course tasting it.  Make as many or as few as you like. 


Chocolate Raspberry Wonton Hearts

Ingredients:

Chocolate chips (any variety will work)
Wontons
Raspberries
Butter, melted
Raspberry Balsamic Reduction (optional)
Chocolate Sauce (optional)
Powdered Sugar (optional)
Vanilla Ice Cream (optional) or Raspberry Swirl; Chocolate, etc

Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees

Directions:

Place wontons on a smooth surface.  You will need 2 wontons to make a single Chocolate Raspberry Wonton Heart.

Spread melted butter around the edges of one of each pair of wontons.  On the wonton with butter, place 2 raspberries and a small handful of chocolate chips or desired chocolate.

Place other half of wonton on top of the wonton with raspberry and chocolates trying to get the edges to meet as closely as possible. 

Take a heart shaped cookie cutter (optional but cute) and cut the wonton.  If necessary use the tip of a sharp paring knife to cut through the wonton and carefully remove the excess leaving the heart shape. Then with the tip of a fork press down the edges of the heart shaped wonton to seal.                

Set on a foil lined tray that's coated with the butter.  Brush melted butter over the tops of each wonton heart and if desired, sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Continue for each wonton. 

Place in preheated 350 F. degree oven for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Remove from oven and place 2 wontons on a plate with ice cream and drizzle with Raspberry Balsamic Reduction and Chocolate Sauce or Powdered Sugar. Serve while still warm.

The wontons can be prepped ahead of time and left in the refrigerator until just before serving.  Then place in the oven.

These couldn't have been simplier to make.  I purchased ready-made Raspberry Balsamic Reduction at a store here in town however, you can make some or omit it and just use chocolate sauce or the powdered sugar.

 Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!

Luscious and Smooth Raspberry Sorbet

Yesterday I opened my refrigerator and saw the 4 packages of Driscoll Raspberries that I had purchased. They looked so incredibly delicious at the store that I couldn't just purchase one pack. I knew I needed to use them up quickly otherwise they'd go bad. So I decided I'd make some Raspberry Sorbet. I knew it would be the perfect use for them considering the holiday is tomorrow and it would be a nice light dessert to go with my BBQ menu.

So I gathered up the ingredients along with my Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine, Mini-Prep Food Processor and Microplane . All the greatest tools for what I needed to do.

In fact, I love that Mini-Prep Processor. Rather than taking out my large Food Processor this is light, efficient and makes for a quick clean-up. So long as I'm not processing a huge amount, this size works great.

Raspberry Sorbet
serves 4

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar (I used ultrafine sugar)
1/2 cup water
3 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 egg white
juice of 1/2 a lime
zest of a lime
1 tsp. Framboise (raspberry liquor)

Rinse berries in a colander.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. By using the ultrafine sugar it dissolves much quicker but the regular sugar is fine as well. Once dissolved set aside to cool.

In a blender or food processor, puree 3 1/2 cups raspberries until smooth. Strain in a fine-meshed sieve to remove the seeds. (This takes just a few minutes but the results left in the container below your strainer are a nice smooth, seedless pool of raspberry sauce.

Add the lime zest, lime juice and Framboise and stir to blend. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until chilled.

Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions until partially frozen. Add the egg white and continue to freeze until firm.




At this point it will be like soft-serve (as shown below) and can be eaten. Or place in the freezer to get to ice cream consistency as shown in the photo at the top of the page.




Note: Adding the Framboise insures that the sorbet won't freeze to rock solid,
plus adding that extra bit of raspberry flavor.

Adding the egg whites helps to emulsify the mixture and gives it a smooth,
creamy texture.

The results of this recipe are so delicious you owe yourself to try it. It couldn't be any simpler.