Serves 6

Ingredients

Pastry

• 1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Cup Chilled, Sweet Butter
• 1 Whole Egg And One Additional Egg Yolk

Filling

• 2 cups Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 3 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Fruit Jam (I Prefer Blueberry)
• 1 (10-11 Inch) Tart Pan With Removable Bottom
• Powdered Sugar

Preparation time
20 minutes

Preparation
Prepare the crust first, by first mixing the sugar, flour and baking powder. Cut the butter into this mixture until it resembles small peas. Whisk together your egg and egg yolk, and add this to the dry ingredients. Combine just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. If the mixture seems a bit dry, add a tablespoon or so of ice water. Wrap this dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, no longer than 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 10-11 inch round, depending the size of your chosen pan. Transfer the dough carefully to the pan and trim.

To prepare the filling, mix together the ricotta, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well blended. Spread the jam across the bottom of your pie pan, and pour the ricotta mixture overtop. Bake for about 55 minutes or until golden. Remove from the heat and cool. When cool, remove from the pan rim, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Ingredients

Fruit Filling

• Four Ripe Pears
• 1 Cup Chopped Pecans
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Coffee Cake

• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Cups Sour Cream (or Creme Fraiche or Yoghurt)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 8 Ounces Unsalted Butter At Room Temperature
• 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Lemon Peel
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• Dash Of Salt
• 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Preparation time
40 minutes

Preparation
Prepare your pan by buttering either a 10″ cake pan, or a 10″ bundt pan.

To prepare the filling, peel and core the pears. Cut the fruit into 1/2 inch dice. Mix together with the rest of the topping ingredients, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the eggs and sour cream with the vanilla extract. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue beating another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg mixture, and on low speed mix well with the butter mixture.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix just until it is combined. Pour half the mixture into your prepared pan, and spread the filling mixture over top. Pour the rest of the batter over the filling and carefully spread evenly. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve either warm, or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 cup of chopped apples
• 3/4 cup of skim milk
• 1/2 cup of raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preparation time
65 minutes

Preparation
In a large bowl, mix 11/2 cups of cooked rice, 1 cup of chopped apples, 3/4 c skim milk, 1/2 c raisins, 1/2 c brown sugar, 2 beaten eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla.
Pour into a 11/2-qt casserole. Bake at 325 F (160 C) for 1 hour, or until firm and golden brown

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 tb Margarine
• 1 c Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 c White flour
• 2 1/2 pt Baking powder
• 1 c Skim milk mixed with 1 ts
• 6 Granny Smith apples

Topping

• 1/3 c Brown sugar
• 1/2 ts Cinnamon
• 1/4 ts Freshly ground nutmeg
• 3 tb Margarine, no salt

Glaze

• 1/2 c Apricot jam
• 1 ts Lemon juice
• 1 About 1 tsp water

Preparation time
45 minutes

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Spray a 9″ x 12″ baking dish with a nonstick spray Cream margarine with sugar. Beat in egg. Sift together dry ingredients. into egg mixture alternating with milk and vanilla. In food processor, pro egg with sugar until well mixed. Add margarine and process and then milk. dry ingredients into processor and pulse 3 or 4 times, just until mixed. ( wash processor reserve for next step.) Spread batter evenly into prepare dish.

Top with fruit. Mix topping ingredients together in food processor or mixe Dot over top of cake. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean Cool completely.

For glaze, heat together apricot jam, lemon juice and water. Strain into s saucepan or glass measuring jug. Heat on top of stove or in microwave unti boiling and slightly reduced. If reduced too much, add a bit more water. onto completely cooled cake with pastry brush.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 medium pears
• 1 large mango

The Dough

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of water

The Cream

• 1/4 cup table cream
• 1/2 plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs

Preparation time
45 minutes

Preparation
To prepare the dough pour the flour in a large bowl and add the butter. Knead this with your fingers. When the butter and the flour are mixed thoroughly, add the eggs and 3 tablespoons of water. Keep kneading the dough until it’s smooth and homogeneous. When finished, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in a cool place.

Peel the pears, remove the seeds and slice them into pieces. Put the pear pieces in a sauce pan with a cup of water and cook them on a low heat for 5 minutes. Peel the mango, remove the pit and slice it thinly. Preheat the oven at 350F (175 C). Prepare the cream next. Mix the cream, yogurt, sugar and the eggs, in a bowl. Whisk everything together.

Roll the dough into a circle slightly larger than your pie pan. (Have enough dough to cover the edge). Once the dough is in the pie pan, make some holes in it with a fork. Cook this crust alone for ten minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and place the pears and the mango pieces on it. Pour the cream on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 F (200 C). Let it cool down.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• Cinnamon
• 8-10 apples

Preparation time
45 minutes

Preparation

• Fill an 8 or 9 inch pie plate with peeled sliced apples.
• Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and egg together.
• Place the egg mixture over the apples.
• Pour the melted butter over the flour mixture.
• Sprinkle with cinnamon.
• Cook at 350 F (175 C) degrees for 35 minutes or until apples are soft (Test them with a knife)

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 large pears
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 pinches of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon butter

Preparation time
15 minutes

Preparation
First peel the pears and cut them half, remove seeds and slice them. Put the sliced pears in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook over low heat until tender. Preheat oven at 300 degrees. With butter grease some individual serving bowls (oven proof).

In a mixing bowl, stir eggs, milk, whipping cream and cinnamon. Pour mixture into each bowl and Place a couple pear slices in each bowl. Bake for 1 hour. Serve warm.

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 pound blueberries
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup flour
• 5 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation time
40 minutes

Preparation
Mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the flour mixture. Stir this thoroughly and make it as granular as possible. Once you have a fine crumby texture put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. This will be the crust and the top layer of the tarte.

Put the blueberries in a pan with the white sugar and cook it over a low heat for 10 minutes. Spread a thin layer of dough in the pie pan evenly over bottom. Then carefully spread the blueberries over the crust. Cover the layer of blueberries with the remainder of dough. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and bake at 350° F (175° C).

Serves: 4

Ingredients
For the filling

• 2 1/4 cups milk with a slice of lemon zest
• 1/2 cup (heaping) finely ground semolina
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. butter

For the coating

• 3/4 cup finely ground dry bread
• 1 beaten egg
• 6 Tbsp. Butter for frying
• powder sugar to sprinkle

Preparation time
40 minutes (needs to be refrigerated for 24 hours)

Preparation

• Warm up the milk in a nonstick pan and when it starts to boil add the semolina flour a little at a time and mix using a wire whisk.
• Once the semolina is added continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to thicken.
• Remove the pan from the stove and add the sugar, the butter and the egg yolks.
• Wet a smooth surface with water and place the mixture. Flatten it down with a large wet knife or a glass.
• Cut the semolina mixture into disks using a glass. Use the excess to make other more rounds.
• Dip the disks into the egg and then coat them with bread crumbs.
• Melt the butter in a medium non stick pan. Fry the disks a little bit at the time on both sides. Be careful not to burn the butter. In case it gets brown change the pan with new one.
• Place the disks on a paper towel to eliminate the extra butter and serve them on a plate sprinkled with powder sugar.
• Sprinkle the top with cocoa powder through a fine mesh strainer.
• Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Serves: 6

Ingredients
Poached Pears

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups white wine or white grape juice
• 3 cups water
• Zest of 1 orange, in 1 by 3-inch strips
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 slightly underripe Bosc pears, peeled and cored, with stems intact

Chocolate Sauce

• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup Fra Angelico liqueur
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 8 ounces shaved semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream or low-fat frozen yogurt, softened, for serving

Preparation time
35 minutes

Preparation
This classic French recipe stands a poached pear in ice cream topped with chocolate sauce like a sundae. A low-fat frozen yogurt can also be used. Use a tall, elegantly shaped, and long-stemmed poaching pear like the Bosc.

To make the poached pears, combine all the ingredients except the pears in a nonaluminum Dutch oven or soup pot. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peeled pears, stem side up, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the pears are just tender. (Ripe pears will cook much quicker.) Remove the pears from the poaching liquid with a slotted spoon and regfrigerate for at least 2 hours. The poaching liquid can be stored and reused.

To make the chocolate sauce, bring the cream, liqueur, sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add the chocolate, and cover. After 3 minutes, blend in the chocolate until the sauce is smooth. (The sauce can be prepared several days ahead and chilled.)

To assemble, warm the chocolate sauce, if chilled, over low heat or in a double boiler. If it is too thick, add a few drops of cream. Place a large spoonful of vanilla ice cream in each dessert cup. Stand a chilled pear in the ice cream and spoon the warm chocolate sauce over the pears. Serve immediately.