Light desserts fit with summer
Nothing sets a summertime mood like dining alfresco.
food
While enjoying a recent dinner at an outside cafe, the atmosphere primed my palate for a fresh seasonal dessert. I envisioned something sensually light; ice cream or dark chocolate seemed too rich for the occasion.
I settled on a light cheesecake with cherry topping. While the cheesecake offered a smooth and creamy texture, the topping deeply disappointed my taste buds.
The goop that adorned my dessert just barely qualified as a fruit topping. Unnaturally scarlet in color, the few cherries appeared to be drowning in a thick, overly sweetened gel. Yikes! I passed on chocolate for this disaster?!
More often than not it's tasting disappointing desserts rather than wonderful treats that get my culinary creativity flowing. After the first bite of a lackluster dessert I begin mentally remaking the recipe while still in the restaurant.
It occurred to me that it has to be a culinary sin not to incorporate fresh sweet cherries into desserts during the short summer season. While sweet cherries easily satisfy the taste buds as a solo treat, seldom do we work them into a layered dessert.
The idea of remaking cherry topping stuck with me after that cheesecake fiasco. My take on cherry topping leaves any similarity to pie filling in the can. This new dessert adornment offers the punch of fresh fruit flavor delivered in a neutral background base.
Success here lies entirely in creating a gel that melds seamlessly with the fruit while staying appropriately in the background. Most commercial glazes and pie fillings capture your attention through eye popping red hues that leave the fruit lost in a sea of artificial colors and flavors.
Sidestepping those unnecessary additions, I chose 100 percent fruit juice as my foundation. Juicy Juice offers authentic cherry flavor without other juices or sugar added in. Considered nature's candy, sweet cherries don't need sugar or artificial flavors, so I nixed additional sweeteners.
But I still had the challenge of thickening the juice so it would gently flavor and glaze the cherries, not overpower them.
Starting with cornstarch as a thickener, I realized over stirring and the addition of fresh fruit weakened the glaze's consistency. Flour was not an option either, due to its super-thickening powers and cloudy results. Tapioca, however, held out promise.
Seldom used outside of puddings and baked fruit pies, tapioca remains an old-school ingredient. Many dislike its pearly texture and therefore dismiss other uses.
Sensing tapioca could provide lasting thickening without clouding the glaze, I tested a few batches to resolve the lumpy texture issues. Bringing the mixture to a full, rolling boil unleashed tapioca's thickening powers while immediately straining the glaze kept the texture clear and smooth. Once cooled, the glaze gently coats 2 cups of fresh fruit.
Bring the fresh taste of summer fruit to your desserts with this fresh cherry topping.
• Annie Overboe, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, lives in Villa Park. Send questions to Baking Secrets, Daily Herald Food section, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or food@dailyherald.com. Questions will not be responded to personally.