Satiate your sweet-cravings with these rainy-day desserts

While it is incessantly raining outside, and it’s damp and cold inside, along with coffee, fritters and khichdi, we also constantly crave for something warm, fuzzy and sweet. To address our monsoon dessert cravings, chef Arvind Prasad, co-founder and director of academics at WhiteCaps, shares two recipes that are not very difficult to make, yet are exquisite in taste. Chef Arvind with his experience of more than two decades in the industry, who has conceptualised the dessert menu for ITC's Chocolate boutique Fabelle, is now the Ambassador for India for Callebaut Chocolates.

Apple Rosemary Breton Pie

Almond Sable Breton
Ingredients
Butter 200 g 
Refined flour 184 g
Almond powder 102 g
Castor Sugar 102 g
Baking Powder 3 g 

Method
Mix all the ingredients just to form a dough. Do not over knead.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes and then roll out into sheets, cut rounds as per apple dome mould and bake at 180 degree until fully baked.

Rosemary apple compote
Fresh apple chopped 1
Castor Sugar 15 g
Butter 5 g
Pectin 1 g
Rosemary fresh 2 g

Method
Caramelise 15g sugar and add chopped apple and rosemary. Cover it for a few minutes to infuse flavours. 
Cool down to 40 degree C and add pectin mixed with 8g sugar. 
Add butter and cook the apple. Put it in the mould and freeze. 

Vanilla Pastry Cream
Milk 100g
Cooking cream 100 g
Castor sugar 30 g
Custard powder 15 g
Butter 20 g
Vanilla extract 2 ml

Method
In a saucepan, boil milk and cooking cream together and add vanilla extract to it. 
Meanwhile, in a bowl, temper custard powder, sugar and some milk from the recipe. Once the milk and cream comes to boil, add slowly to the tempered mixture while mixing continuously. Sieve and pour back in the saucepan. Cook till you get a thick, shiny custard consistency. Blend butter at 35 degree C and keep it aside. 

For French Vanilla Mousse
Vanilla pastry cream 200 g
Whipped cream 60 g
Vanilla paste 1 g

Method
Fold in all the three ingredients without losing the volume. 

Apple clear glazing
Neutral glaze 500 g
Apple juice 50 g
Water 15 g

Method
In a saucepan, boil all the three ingredients. Cool to 40 degree C and glaze on the frozen pie. 

To assemble

Make thin slices of apple, poached in sugar syrup. Arrange in a silicone sphere mould.
Pour vanilla pastry cream and insert the frozen rosemary compote and end with vanilla pastry cream.
Freeze this in a silicon dome in silicon mould and unmould on baked Sable breton. 

Garnish with Sable Breton, fresh crumble, rosemary sprigs, fresh apple slices and drizzled sugar syrup. Serve at 4 degree C.

Apple Pie Cheesecake

For the baked cheesecake
Whipping cream 170 g
Breakfast sugar 100 g
Egg 1
Cream cheese 500 g

Method
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor to a smooth batter.
Bake on the top of Graham cracker/biscuit base, or you can use Sable Breton crumble with melted butter to bind well. 

For the Caramel Apple Jelly
Apple, peeled and sliced: 8 pieces
Castor sugar 60 g 
Pectin powder 2 g

Method
Caramelise the sugar and mix with Apple and pectin powder. Bake in a cake ring and freeze and transfer on top of the cheesecake.
Make sweet pastry lattice and transfer on the top of the cheesecake. Slice and enjoy at room temperature.