Fruit Dessert

"From the Lord Commander's own table," Bowen Marsh told them. There were salads of spinach and chickpeas and turnip greens, and afterwards bowls of iced blueberries and sweet cream. —A Game of Thrones Medieval Crème Bastard
This recipe produces an addictive cream sauce that is simple to make and not too sweet, complementing the natural sweetness of the berries. As a treat on the Wall, where Jon Snow makes his home, we thought it particularly fitting that the recipe is called Crème Bastard. Bastard is an early form of the word custard, and has no connection with one's parentage when used in a culinary context. Take þe whyte of Eyroun a grete hepe, & putte it on a panne ful of Mylke, & let yt boyle; þen sesyn it so with Salt an hony a lytel; þen lat hit kele, & draw it þorw a straynoure, an take fayre Cowe mylke an draw yt with-all, & seson it with Sugre... —Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books

Molly Moon's in Seattle pairs apricot compote with vanilla ice cream, but you can experiment with other combos. We love chocolate ice cream with tart dried cherries.

Stew fruit in parcels to infuse it with vanilla and bourbon, then serve it with a dollop of Greek yogurt (or ice cream).

Effort Level: I This is a pretty common and easy trip dessert. You can use fresh or dried apples. Often people add rolled oats or granola to the topping, but in my opinion that can taste too much like breakfast. Without the oats and with lots of sugar it's a gooey and crunchy dessert.
-Mark Scriver

If you can't find almond syrup, floral, almond-flavored orgeat syrup is a fine substitute.

Berries get a subtle herbal note from tea-infused whipped cream.

This sublime lemon dessert is the perfect antidote to all those chocolate bunnies and chocolate-stuffed eggs proliferating at Easter like, well…rabbits. It helps that our pudding is simple to make, too.
A seriously tart lemon curd—quickly cooked on top of the stove—is folded into sweetened whipped cream, which both tempers the tang and lightens the dessert with a suave silkiness. Crisp, airy wisps of meringue, lightly sprinkled with chopped pistachios and easily shaped and baked into cigars, are delightful on their own, but they're surprisingly efficient alternatives to spoons for delivering the pudding to your mouth. Editor's Note: This recipe is part of Gourmet's Modern Menu for Easter. Menu also includes Frisée, Radicchio, and Fennel Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette; and Arugula-Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Roasted Spring Vegetables; .

Pastry chef Jennifer Jones of Topolobampo in Chicago shared this recipe as part of a Cinco de Mayo feature on Mexican desserts. Jones encourages you to use different fruits in this refreshing dessert, but recommends sticking to ones that are sweet but have acidity. Raspberries are a perfect example.

Caramelized pineapple with a honey-orange glaze makes for a quick and elegant weeknight dessert.

Balsamic vinegar and brown sugar combine to make a tart, sweet dressing for all kinds of berries—a high variety ensures you’ll get a range of antioxidants. Serve the salad as is or topped with chopped toasted nuts.

This Mediterranean-inspired dessert is a good source of two types of fiber—soluble, from the oranges, and insoluble, thanks to the hazelnuts. Look for orange-flower water at specialty grocers.

Chunks of kiwi, mango, and pineapple are poached in a spicy peppercorn-infused pineapple syrup, then served with sorbet. Kiwifruit and mango offer ample vitamin C; pineapple provides bromelain, an enzyme that aids digestion, reduces inflammation, and helps heal bruises.

Petite and buttery-tasting, Forelle pears are ideal for dunking in chocolate, although any type of pear will be delicious, from a plump Bartlett to an elegant Bosc. Although it should be eaten in moderation, dark chocolate (with at least 70 percent cocoa) contains flavonoids that help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Oven-drying is a slow, gentle cooking process that uses dry heat to extract the water from fruit. Left in the oven for several hours at a low temperature, the fruit does not burn but shrinks and shrivels bit by bit as the water evaporates. As the outside of the fruit dries, the inside turns soft and chewy. Although pears, plums, and apricots are used here, any combination of stone fruit, berries, or other fruit can be dried in a similar way.

In this quick-assembly dessert, Greek-style yogurt is a rich and tangy stand-in for whipped cream. If you can’t find Greek yogurt, follow the instructions on page 62 for straining regular yogurt.

The “cream” in this dessert is actually pureed silken tofu, flavored with fresh lemon juice. You can make the puree, cover it, and keep it in the refrigerator for up to three days.

A grunt, also called a slump, is a fruit dessert that’s cooked on the stove and topped with dumpling batter, which steams in the cooking liquid. In this case, the filling consists of blackberries and raspberries, and the whole-wheat dumplings are flavored with cinnamon and ginger. Serve dumplings splashed with heavy cream, if desired.

Berries, blended with ice and almonds, make a simple, refreshing dessert that is also packed with fiber and antioxidants. Raspberry and strawberry crushes are shown here (left to right), but blackberries and blueberries would work well, as would cut-up peaches or bananas.

Apples are very versatile—they work well with a variety of nuts, spices, and natural sweeteners. Rome Beauty apples hold up especially well during baking. Here, pecans, vanilla, and dark brown sugar create a winning combination of flavors in skillet-baked apples, irresistible served warm from the oven.

The peaches and cherries in this quickly prepared dessert are a great source of vitamins A and C. Vanilla beans are available in many large supermarkets and most specialty food shops; you can substitute one teaspoon pure vanilla extract for the one-half bean used below (don’t use imitation vanilla, which contains artificial ingredients).