Paleo Petits Fours
This whole summer, I have been crushing hard on doughnut peaches. You might also know them by the names of Saturn peach, saucer peach, Chinese flat peach and many others that are allindicative of this fruit's squashed shape. It's their size, though, that put them on my Paleo dessert radar as I came across a pile of baby ones at my local Whole Foods Market one day.With the biggest peach being as small as 2 1/2 inches across, they looked absolutely adorable, and I had to have them.
Well, I knew already that when ripe, doughnut peaches were very sweet and juicy with a hint of almond. So I figured their natural sweetness and the peculiar shape have to pair upfor some sort of simple summer dessert with very little sugar added, if any at all. Unless the fruit you work with is very tart, I see no need at all to mask its natural sugars that are sointricately tied in with the flavor.
I'd say doughnut peaches range in size from 2 1/2 inches in diameter to 3 and 3 1/2 (most commonly found) and even over 5. Over the summer I have laid my handson so many doughnut peaches of different sizes and colors that I am firmly convinced that since this peach species is gaining popularity, breeders are starting to cultivate new varieties.And while I adore the blushing tones of regular doughnut peaches, their solid yellow counterparts make a great presentation as well. They also seem to possess a tougher flesh that makesthem tolerate heat a lot better.
Not being a huge peach fan, Nicole, however, took to the doughnut kind immediately. They were small and nearly fuzz-less and looked UFO-ish.But, above all, they looked like DOUGHNUTS, and I suddenly knew what was coming next. She asked me to cut a hole in them. I gasped for air as I tried to make head or tail ofthe kids' fascination with doughnut holes, racking my brains simultaneously as to how to salvage the mutilated fruit.Have you ever made a mental note of how things come along so much easier when you stop resisting? And so, without a peep, I cut a hole in a bunch of them, trusting her vision.Would you guess what she did with her first hole-y doughnut? She stared at me through the hole!"Why in the world did I hole out a dozen peaches for this, Nicole? You need only two!" my previous frustration caught up with me.She then squeezed some of her vanilla yogurt into the hole of that same doughnut, generously overflowing the edges, nonchalantly dropped a few raspberries off center and took a bite.
There was no stopping her after that. The holies tasted great dipped in strawberry yogurt and sprinkled with loose red and champagne currants. Some other combos that Nicole triedwere blueberry yogurt and crushed granola, crème kefir and marionberries and, of course, a towering amount of freshly whipped vanilla bean cream that she piped on witha decorator's bag and a star tip. Quite a pro she's becoming!
And I saw those pip-less peaches to be a great vessel to carry all sorts of fillings. For starters, cream. Regular or coconut. If you are allowed dairy, you can also experiment
with crème fraîche, crème kefir, farmer's cheese, sour cream, quark and even cream cheese. If not, stay with whipped coconut cream. It's naturally sweet and doesn't need any
interventions other than maybe a splash of vanilla extract or, better yet, a liberal touch of vanilla bean paste. Then, decoratively arrange whatever fruit you have on hand and you will
have faux fresh fruit tarts in no time. No recipe needed.
Coconut cream is currently another crush of mine. I mix my berries into it, I add it to my smoothies but more often than not I just scrape it out of the can with a big soup spoon.It tastes cold and creamy underlined with coconut sweetness. I store a couple of cans of full-fat coconut milk and/or coconut cream in the fridge at all times while half the freezer is occupiedby the ice cream maker and a spare KitchenAid mixing bowl. Just like the dairy version, coconut cream whips best when your mixing bowl is thoroughly chilled. But, honestly, it's on arare occasion that it makes its way into that conveniently chilled bowl.
The next batch of baby holies yielded blackberry and doughnut peach faux crostatas. I filled the holes with a mixture of assorted crushed blackberries, lemon zest,and a ton of thyme leaves. Play with the ingredients until you get the right taste for you. A good starting point would be a cup of mixed blackberries, half a teaspoon to three quarters oflemon zest, and 1 tablespoon of thyme leaves. I prefer to muddle everything with a fork but feel free to give it a quick spin in your mixer. The key here is not to make the filling too runny.You still want berry chunks in it. After you have filled the holes, brush the sides of the peaches with ghee and bake in a preheated 400 F° oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the berryjuices start to run and the skin on the peaches blisters. Serve with coconut whipped cream of course! Makes about a dozen.
For the mixed blackberries, I used marionberries and boysenberries that we had u-picked and brought home from Patrick's Mountain Grown Fresh Berry Farm in Apple Hill, Cali.It was our second visit to this scenic homestead,and it looks like it's going to turn into a much-looked-forward-to summer family tradition. On this trip we were lucky to meet the farmer,Mr. Patrick himself, who engaged us into a pleasant conversion about his berry passion and fascination with the rare varieties. Although he uses commercial fertilizer,the outside shrubbery doesn't see a drop of herbicide and pesticide.You can imagine how the three of us just went at it. There are few things in life as sweet as a wholesome berry or a piece of fruit that's just picked. The brightest memoriesthat I have of sweet things are not those of fancy desserts tried in European and American fine restaurants but of climbing trees as a child to pick the reddest cherry or the plumpest apricotor the heaviest cluster of mulberries.
Now, the third batch got a little fancy. I filled the holes with fresh fig spread and topped the peaches with a crown of maple-vanilla meringue. To make the meringue, with an electricmixer on medium-high speed, whisk 1/2 cup egg whites (from about 3 eggs), 1/2 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of Himalayan salt until frothy.Add 3/4 cup powdered maple sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks form. Transfer the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip or a plain coupler and pipeonto the filled peaches, swirling the tops into a peak. Broil the peaches until the meringue is just beginning to color.
As for the fresh fig spread, in a small electric mixer, combine 1 cup of fresh, ripe figs, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom, and ground ginger from about 1/4 to 1/2-inch of fresh root. Pulse until the mixture is uniform and free of lumps. Stir in 1 tablespoon of black chia seeds and refrigerate overnight. This recipe will make about two dozen stuffed doughnut peaches with maple-vanilla meringue caps.
I have found out that bigger-seized doughnut peaches make the yummiest peach doughnuts. Blanch your peaches in boiling water for about 30-40 seconds to remove the skin. Cut out the pit.Coat with hazelnut meal/flour and cook slowly in a lot of brown butter until the hazelnut coating has browned and the peaches have softened up. Serve with coconut caramel sauce and sea salt flakes.
Have you ever looked through the hole of a doughnut peach? Try it. All good things start with a vision. Even if it's your kid's.