Autumn

Peeled, sliced pears roasted in brown sugar and butter, and then layered on a simple shortcake base with toffee sauce and whipped cream. This time, I didn't sweeten the whipped cream at all. Truth is, I think I forgot to in between trying to assemble the cakes, but it didn't take away from the dessert. In fact, it was a nice bit of richness without all the sweet to add to the toffee sauce.


On another note, I took a class where I used to work with an Italian chef who showed us how to make three desserts. I have the recipes for them somewhere, I think.

Chocolate and Olive Oil Mousse with Rosemary Creme Anglaise

Lemon Mousse with Thyme Syrup - actually, I took this picture spontaneously, one-handed, and I'm surprised that it's the best one out of this set.

Soft Orange Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Glaze - this one involves pureeing whole, boiled oranges, so the cake is slightly bitter itself.

Muffins that eat like a Doughnut

Don't those look amazing? I found the recipe here after having seen a scrumptious looking photo here. They require a lot of butter, a lot of sugar, a lot of flour, milk and eggs. Plus a whole teaspoon of nutmeg, which I reduced to a half teaspoon, adding a half teaspoon of cinnamon. They came out of the oven a little bit lumpy and lightly flecked with spices. They are just dense enough to not fall apart, but light enough to not feel heavy.

I made honeyed fruit skewers to go along with them: