Baking is the unofficial go-to quarantine activity, and most of us have tried our hands at something or the other be it a three-ingredient mug cake or something more elaborate. But not all desserts are summer-friendly; a heavily layered ganache or super heavy mud pie may not be the ideal dessert for this humid climate. Which is why more and more chefs are opting for cool, tropical light summer desserts which have easy consistencies and are more palatable and also have room for some fresh fruits.
Harshita Mundhra, the patissier who founded the beloved Kolkata dessert joint Ovenly has been spending her quarantine creating varied kinds of fruit-based desserts, like lemon meringue tarts and mango cardamom cake. Ovenly just turned three last week, and to share the sweetness, Mundhra has shared two of her quickest, summer dessert recipes with us which are not just delicious but also healthy. One of her recipes is a vegan, sugar-free chocolate tart which also does not have any gluten. The second recipe is that of a Spanish light sponge cake called Tres Leche, where you can add seasonal fruits. Read on:
Vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free Chocolate Tart
Ingredients:
For the base-
100gm Cashew nuts
135gm Oats, grinded
200gm Dates, soaked for 3 hours
For the filling-
180gm Choco Chip
20gm Date/Maple syrup
200gm Sweet potato, boiled
45gm cocoa powder
140gm grated zucchini
Method-
Grind every ingredient for the base in the mixer or the blender until a fine paste is formed.
Your mixture should look like paste that can be moulded in tarts. Line your tart with this dough and at 180 C for 10 min. Let it cool.
Remove excess water from the grated zucchini.
Boil Sweet potato until really soft. Let it cool.
Put the sweet potato, Zucchini, cocoa powder, Maple syrup and choco chip in the grinder until a really smooth paste has been achieved.
Pipe these into the tart mould. Refrigerate . Décorate with Cacao nibs.
You can store it in the refrigerator for upto 4 days.
Tres Leche
Ingredients
For the sponge-
400gm Condensed Milk
1Tsp Baking powder
1Tsp Baking soda
110gm Flour
15gm cocoa powder
60gm Butter, melted
75gm Thumbs Up, room temperature
1gm Vanilla essence
For the Leche-
250gm Evaporated Milk
500gm Whole milk
200gm Condensed Milk, Amul
1Tsp Vanilla
Fresh fruits for toppings
Method-
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in the bowl, except Thumbs Up.
With a whisk, gently combine the ingredients.
Gradually pour in room temperature Thumbs Up.
You will get a smooth thin consistency.
Pour this batter in your cake mould. Bake in an oven for 15 min at 180.
Check for brown edges and the centre should bounce back when you touch it.
Combine all ingredients in a pan and let it cook for about 15- 20 min until mixture becomes thick & half of the original.
You can layer them in a pudding or use in glass desserts. Decorate with Fresh fruits like Watermelon, Muskmelon, Kiwi. If you’re a chef, take out your melon baller tool & scoop out some beautiful fruits. Refrigerate throughout. Serve cold.