Summer desserts Archives - THE BAKING SKILLET

Mango Mint Parfait

July 25, 2017 26 Comments

If you like mango, mint, whipped cream and easy desserts, you will love this Mango Mint Parfait. It is perfect for hot summer days that call for a chilled seasonal dessert. Oh, summers make me so lethargic. I can barely get my butt out of bed in the mornings to workout (I have been playing hooky more often than I would like to admit). It is a good thing that it has been so busy or I would just be warming my butt on the couch in frontof a fan all day watching Grey’s Anatomy and reading some adventure fiction. We have been hosting guests for the last two weeks and our house is booked for this week and the next week and the week after! I am loving this. I never knew I enjoyed being a host so much. I can cook more, bake more and experiment more in general. Surely, I will suffer from empty nest syndrome once the guest deluge is passed. Any tips Mommy?? Also, there are 120 summer festivals going on in Toronto that we need to keep track of along-with the weather. Our calendars are full of events and you would have seen many […]

Desserts, Pies & Tarts

Pimm’s Summer Fruit Crumble

July 11, 2017 17 Comments

It is summer and everyone wants to be out and about. I get it! So, I won’t blabber on too much coz I have some sun to soak up, patios to be at and summer cocktails to sip! Do people here drink Pimm’s Cup? Or is it just an English thing? My sister-in-law, who is not a big dessert person, made a Pimm’s fruit crumble and she loved it. I trust her taste buds so I had to make it! But not before I made a couple of drinks for myself and I discovered I quite enjoy the herby, citrusy flavour. I haven’t had one of these since I first tasted it in a small town outside of London while visiting some friends. I am an Aperol Spritzer person and that is usually my summer drink of choice. However, it is nice to change it up and since I have purchased a bottle of Pimm’s now, I think I will be drinking Pimm’s long drinks with lots of fruit this summer! Since everyone is looking for easy summer desserts, this is a great option, especially to make good use of all that gorgeous fruits we are buying in bulk! And since I am a big sucker for mini / individual portion desserts and adding alcohol in my dessert, this one hits all the right notes. I mean, I am pretty sure that 80% of the time you have a chilled drink at hand while cooking so why not add some to the food right! From start to finish this takes about 45 mins with actual standing-at-the-counter time being 10 mins. Really, every amateur baker / cook should have a crumble in their repertoire because it is so easy, delicious and fool-proof! And intermediate / advanced bakers need not feel shame in making such a delightfully easy dessert because sometimes you need to chill with everyone else without having to fret over a show stopping 4-layer cake in a hot kitchen! Notes - I used rhubarb and cherries because that is what I had at home, but you can substitute for your choice of fruit. Make sure to chop into small pieces. - Use all AP flour if you prefer, I like the mix of the two and the nutty taste of whole wheat. - Baking the crumble topping in two layers helps all of it to crisp evenly – ref. Fine Cooking - The crumble is ready when the fruits is bubbling and overflowing. Make sure to place the ramekins on parchment lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Pimms Summer Fruit Crumble Ingredients – makes 4 individual servings For the Rhubarb Cherry Filling 1 cup (135g) Rhubarb – chopped into ¼ inch pieces 1 cup (170g) Cherries – pitted and chopped into half 3 tbsp Pimm’s ½ tbsp Cornflour 1 tsp lemon zest 3 – 5 tbsp fine granulated sugar (at 3 tbsp, it is slightly tart. Go up to 5 tbsp for a sweeter filling) For the Crumble Topping ¼ cup (55g) butter – medium soft ¼ cup (40g) brown sugar ¼ cup (25g) AP flour 3tbsp whole wheat flour ¼ cup pecans – chopped Make the Fruit Crumble Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 4 ramekins slightly with butter. Place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Mix all the crumble topping ingredients in another bowl with two forks or your fingers till it comes together in chunks. If it seems to wet, add some more whole wheat flour – 1 tbsp at a time. It should not be too dry and grainy and not too wet like a dough. You need whole pecan sized chunks. Divide the filling equally amongst the ramekins. Top with a thin layer of topping. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Add the rest of the topping and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes till the filling is bubbling over and the topping is golden brown. Enjoy warm with a chilled Pimm’s drink!

A super easy summery dessert with rhubarb and cherries and a to die for pecan crumble, this Pimm’s Summer Fruit Crumble is great for summer entertaining! It is summer and everyone wants to be out and about. I get it! So, I won’t blabber on too much because I have some sun to soak up, patios to be at and summer cocktails to sip! Do people here drink Pimm’s Cup? Or is it just an English thing? My sister-in-law, who is not a big dessert person, made a Pimm’s fruit crumble and she loved it. I trust her taste buds so I had to make it! But not before I made a couple of drinks for myself and I discovered I quite enjoy the herby, citrusy flavour. I haven’t had one of these since I first tasted it in a small town outside of London while visiting some friends a couple of years back. I am an Aperol Spritzer person and that is usually my summer drink of choice. However, it is nice to change it up and since I have purchased a bottle of Pimm’s now, I think I will be drinking Pimm’s long drinks with lots of fruit […]

Desserts, Pies & Tarts

Summer Galettes

August 1, 2016 No Comments

Make this super easy dough and keep it in your freezer. When you find yourself with lots of fruits that you got at the farmer’s market, make little galettes or one big mixed fruit tart and enjoy summer in its true lusciousness. I think what I really want to write is “10 tips for great Airbnb living”. I think that it has the potential to become a great post. Once I write it. Once I figure out those 10 tips. We are on our 5th BnB right now since we moved to Canada in January this year, and besides the packing and unpacking and the poor quality of beds, we manage rather well I must say. Right now we have settled ourselves in the first capital of Canada – Kingston, also known as the “Limestone City” due to the many buildings constructed using local limestone. This quaint little city, with its beautiful waterfront with hundreds of boats and thousands of seasonal tourists is our first pit stop on our summer escape from Toronto. They have a lovely farmers’ market at the Springer Market Square which is in the heart of downtown and very hard to miss. The quality of produce […]

Cakes, Desserts

Pavlova with Summer Berries and Cream

July 6, 2016 2 Comments

Is it weird that I made a Pavlova which is a typical Australian/New Zealand dessert for Canada day? Well in my defense, firstly, I did not know that (I just looked it up on Wikipedia). Its only a few months since I arrived in Canada, so I am still allowed to make such silly goofs. Finally, I only wanted to highlight the delicious summer fruits of this country and I innocently picked the Pavlova to be the white canvas on which to do so. I hope those are good enough explanations to redeem myself! That being said, I truly enjoyed my first Canada day weekend. We did not go to Ottawa for the fireworks, but in true Canadian fashion went away from the city for a chilled long weekend at the family cottage by the lake to spend our days lazily floating in the water, barbecuing on the sun-soaked deck, listening to hummingbirds flap their little wings and gazing at stars at midnight. For a city girl like me, it is hard to pick between the stillness of nature and the buzz of the city that I am used to. I truly enjoy the slow paced rhythm in the woods and […]