Fruit Compotes

A compote is essentially pieces of fruit in a sugar syrup. Fruit compotes are easy to make with a variety of fruit, a little sugar, and perhaps some spice or other flavoring. The they are cooked low and slow, just until tender and thickened. Here are some ideas below. 

Rhubarb Apple Compote
fresh rhubarb stocks, cut into small pieces
cooking apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
brown sugar
almond extract

Strawberry Lime Compote
fresh strawberries, sliced
cooked in a little sugar and water
lime curd
fold together

Strawberry Honey Compote
fresh strawberries, quartered
place in a pot with some honey

Blueberry Rhubarb Cardamom Compote
fresh or frozen blueberries
rhubarb, cut into small pieces
ground cardamom

Strawberry Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

Here is a dessert special I did the other day for work just using leftovers we had around. It is basically a miniature trifle in a mason jar. On the bottom I put some small pieces of coconut cake. I topped that with a fresh local strawberry compote, followed by chocolate cheesecake cream, then a lemon cookie crumble and a fresh strawberry. This made for layers of contrasting flavors and textures. 

Chocolate Cheesecake Cream
Beat some cream cheese until smooth. Beat in some cocoa powder and sugar. Then gradually pour in some cream and keep whipping until the mixture is stiff. 
I don't have amounts for this recipe - but I would say it's about equal amounts cream cheese and whipping cream. Then add enough cocoa powder and sugar to flavor.

Wild Berry Compote

Wild Berry Compote
one large  bag frozen berry blend ~ 1 kg (I used a four berry mix containing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
water
2 cinnamon sticks or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch, if needed
1 Tablespoon sugar of choice, if needed
drop vanilla extract
drop almond extract

Place the berries in a medium saucepan and just cover them with water. Add the spiced. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for an hour or so until berries are softened and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. This is one of those leave-on-the-stove-and-forget-about-it recipes, as long as it is at a low simmer.
If mixture does not become as thick as you would like it, or you are short on time, mix the cornstarch and sugar together and add, brining the mixture to a boil and stirring until it is as thick as you need it to be. Remove from heat and stir in the extract. Use warm or chill to set.

This is an easy and versatile recipe. It would probably work with any fruit blend, as long as the fruit is chopped up. Change the spices and extracts as desired. It makes a great warm sauce, pie filling, custard topping, yogurt stir-in, shortcake topper, etc.

Wild Berry Tarts

A stunning, colorful, individual-sized  wild berry tartlet featuring four juicy berry flavors, lemon, coconut, cream, and almonds!

This is a fruit tart I made as my first creation and my first lunch for the New Year. My boyfriend has been hinting at me for awhile about fruit tarts with lots of berries, and I was excited to finally make one. I will definitely make another version in the summer time when fresh berries are in season, but considering I used frozen berries, this fruit tart turned out pretty darn good. Despite being composed of 0% chocolate and 100% vegan ingredients. It's also chock-full of fruit and nuts, no-bake, gluten-free, and dare I say, healthy?

Components
CRUST (almond cookie crust)
FILLING (lemon coconut cream filling)
TOPPING (four berry compote)
GARNISH (berries)
GLAZE (maple syrup)

Procedure
Prepare the crust and press into two four inch tart pans or miniature aluminum pie plates. Freeze to firm up while preparing filling.

Prepare the filling and pour over the crusts. You can now refrigerate this until firm or freeze it so it firms up within hours. I recommend freezing, especially if you just made the crust, because if the crust is not fully set, it will become too soft in the fridge. Freezing for longer does not seem to affect the texture of the coconut milk in the cream filling.

Prepare the berry compote. Ideally cool the compote completely and chill it first, but if you are short on time like me, you can spoon it straight over the partially set cream filling and smooth it out as best as possible. It may make the filling melt a little, but it will be fine once you pop it back in the freezer. Alternately, chill it in the fridge.

Take the pretty whole berries set aside from the compote and arrange them artistically on the tarts. You want to keep the berries frozen until ready to use because they are too soft to work with (without smushing them) when thawed. However, you don't want to serve a tart with frozen berries, so keep in mind this must be done a little before serving time to allow them to thaw. The tarts can also be placed back in the freezer after topping with the berries if they are being held longer.

Heat a little maple syrup in the microwave for thirty seconds or so and brush over the fruit on top to make it shine. The tarts can be frozen again if you want to hold them, held in the refrigerator briefly, or if you plan to serve them very soon, left at room temperature to warm up a bit before eating. If frozen for more than a few hours, gently place in a container or cover with plastic wrap.

Serving
Gently unmold the tarts from the pans and place on plates. I find this is really easy if you line the tart pans with plastic wrap before filling with the crust mixture - then the tarts simply lift straight out! You can add other garnishes such as lemon wedges, toasted coconut, chocolate sauce, or (coconut) whipped cream, but I like to let these fruit tarts shine on their own.

Planning these ahead and serving them can be slightly tricky. The crust can be made as far in advance as you wish, as long as you have your dates soaked - so I recommend doing this at least the day before to ensure a less soggy crust.

The coconut custard firms up much better in the freezer and causes the crust to become a bit soggy if left for too long at lower temperatures.

The berries place don top of the tart should be done as closely to serving as possible, still allowing enough time for them to thaw out, though I did have success with freezing the tart like this as well.

Glaze the berries last minute for optimum shine.

Ideally thaw frozen tarts only 6-14 hours before serving, and allow to come to room temperature to serve. Do not freeze for longer than a few days, and do not leave at room temperature. This will ensure optimum flavors and textures.

Banana Erccherry

Banana Erccherry
4 bananas or 2 large plantains, peeled and sliced
water, to cover
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1 red chili pepper
2 green chili peppers
4 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

In a small saucepan, bring the bananas, water, tumeric, and salt to a boil, cook until just soft. Purée. Add remaining ingredients and purée until smooth. Add more oil if you want a thinner consistency. Serve at room temperature.

I am not sure exactly how to describe this dish. It is kind of made in the way of a fruit compote, with a lot of added spice, but it's consistency is more like a spread such as hummus. This is a bright green condiment that definitely has a kick to it. I even left the seeds in the peppers. You can tone down the spice, or add sugar for something sweeter. 

Khoshaf

Khoshaf (Dried Fruit Compote)
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup dried black currants
3/4 cup pitted prunes
water to cover
1/3 cup sugar
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon each: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves

Cover the dried fruits with the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer until fruit is softened and juices thicken. 
Chill well before serving, compote will thicken further and become sweeter.
Serve with bread or as a dessert sauce.

I really like this compote and could eat it by the spoonful. It is not too sweet, so could be used for both savory and dessert items. It keeps well too. If you don't want to use sugar, use honey, maple syrup or molasses instead for a slightly different flavor, and feel free to mix up the fruits and spices; no need to be exact! It's also very good if you add some chopped nuts to it.