11 Desserts You Can Make in Just Ten Minutes
Toasted Chocolate Bread with Cream Cheese Crème Fraîche This dessert, from the new book Plum: Gratifying Vegan Dishes from Seattle's Plum Bistro, hits all the pleasure centers: It's bread; it's chocolate; it's cream—it's got to be good. It's also a snap to make. Just butter and toast slices of bread in a pan, pour chocolate sauce on top and then spoon on a dollop of faux crème fraîche (a dairy-free version that's surprisingly easy to make) and garnish with a sprig of rosemary. Serves 4 Ingredients 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk 8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 3 Tbsp. vegan buttery spread (such as Earth Balance brand), softened, divided 8 slices spelt bread or other rustic bread, cut about 1/2-inch thick 1/3 cup Cream Cheese Crème Fraîche * 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish (optional) Directions In a medium saucepan, heat the soy milk over medium heat until it's just boiling. Add the chocolate and turn off the heat, but keep the pot on the burner. Let the sauce stand for about 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. The texture should be thick and rich, just barely pourable. Keep the sauce on the still-warm burner until you're ready to use it. In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the buttery spread over medium heat. Working in batches, put the bread slices in the pan and toast until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Add more butter as needed. To serve, overlap 2 slices of toasted bread on each of 4 plates. Pour about 2 tablespoons of chocolate sauce over the bread, aiming for the center where the pieces intersect and letting the sauce cascade down to the plate. Top each with a dollop of crème fraîche and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
For Cream Cheese Crème Fraîche Makes about 1 3/4 cups Ingredients 2 ounces (1/4 cup) vegan cream cheese, softened 4 ounces soft tofu 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional) 1 cup canola oil 1 tsp. white wine vinegar Directions In a blender, combine the cream cheese, tofu, vanilla, and cinnamon. With the machine running, slowly pour in the oil so it emulsifies and slightly thickens. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl, whisk in the vinegar, and continue whisking until the crème has the consistency of heavy cream.
"Baked" Apples This microwavable dessert isn't just super speedy; it's also healthy. Top the softened, spiced apples with a spoonful of plain yogurt for a cool counterpoint.
Serves 2 Ingredients 2 apples 2 Tbsp. brown sugar 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 2 Tbsp. golden raisins 2 tsp. honey or agave nectar Directions Core the apples and cut them into rough chunks. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and raisins on top, and drizzle agave nectar over everything. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and microwave for about 3 minutes, until apples are soft. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Warm Chocolate Pudding Author and Food Network chef Kathleen Daelemans says this pudding—which you can whip up with pantry ingredients including sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, bittersweet chocolate and vanilla extract—is best eaten just five minutes after it comes off the stove, when it’s barely set.
Makes 4 servings Ingredients 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 2 tablespoons cornstarch 2 cups low-fat or non-fat milk 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions In a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, stir together sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Turn heat to medium high. Gradually add milk and stir constantly until pudding begins to boil and thicken, about five minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, add bittersweet chocolate and continue heating five minutes more until pudding is completely thickened. Remove from heat, let cool five minutes. Add vanilla and pour into pudding cups. Eat immediately or refrigerate. From the book Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen
Quick Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake You could spend an hour making classic American strawberry shortcake, but John Keller, chef at CoOp Food & Drink in New York, has figured out a way to cut the process down to 10 minutes. His secret ingredient: store-bought biscuit dough that comes in a tube. Strawberries, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla help transform any brand of the humble supermarket product into a treat worthy of any guest.
Serves 6, with some leftover biscuit dough Ingredients 20 ripened strawberries 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tube biscuit dough (store bought, any brand will work) 1 cup heavy cream 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar Directions Preheat oven to 400째. Slice store bought biscuit dough into 1/2-inch rounds. Place rounds on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place sheet in preheated oven for approximately 6 minutes, until golden brown. While biscuits are baking, roughly chop strawberries and toss with granulated sugar. Set aside. Put cold heavy cream, vanilla extract and confectioners sugar in a mixing bowl set over ice and whisk for 3 to 4 minutes, until desired whipped cream consistency. Do not overmix, or whipped cream will turn to a butter-like consistency. Place cooked biscuit slices on plate and top with sugared strawberries and whipped cream.
Nutella and Caramelized Banana Crepes This dish may sound complicated, but Sabina and Lorraine Belkin, sisters and chefs/owners of Duo Restaurant & Lounge in New York, promise it comes together quickly: You can brown the bananas in just two minutes and cook the crepes in two more. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll have the classic late-night Parisian street food right in your own kitchen.
Serves 4 Ingredients For the crêpes 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 Tbsp. white sugar Pinch of salt 3 eggs 2/3 cups milk
1 tsp. olive oil 1 jar of Nutella For the caramelized bananas 2 bananas 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar 4 Tbsp. butter
Directions Slice banana into rounds. In a pan, melt butter, then add light brown sugar and stir, then add the banana rounds and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Little by little, incorporate the dry ingredients, and mix until smooth (if batter seems tough add a small amount of milk to loosen it). Stir in the olive oil.
Set an 8-inch frying pan over medium heat and add a touch of olive oil. Using a ladle, pour 2 ounces of the crêpe batter into the frying pan, and in a circular turning motion, let the batter move evenly around the pan. Cook until the outside edge of the crêpe is light brown; then flip the crêpe and cook the other side. It should take no more than 2 minutes to cook. Slide the cooked crêpe onto a plate. With a spoon, spread Nutella on half of the crêpe. Place the bananas (which should still be warm) on top. Either fold the other half of the crêpe over the bananas and Nutella to form a half-moon, or line up the bananas and roll the crêpe.
Sautéed Peaches If you’re stuck with peaches that aren’t quite ripe, this is a fast and delicious way to turn them into a dessert you can eat within minutes. Sautéing the fruit with lemon juice and sugar helps tenderize and sweeten it. The peaches are terrific on their own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a few plain graham crackers.
Serves 2 Ingredients 2 peaches Juice of one medium- to large-sized lemon 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. butter Directions Halve and pit the peaches, and cut them into thick slices. Toss them with the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then add peaches and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve plain or with vanilla ice cream and graham crackers.
Lemon Ricotta Bowls Follow a rich meal with this unexpected choice, where ricotta—which usually only shows up on the dessert menu in cheesecake—gets the spotlight. Though it only takes a minute to stir 2 cups of cheese with 1 teaspoon each of lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and sugar to taste, it’s best if you make it before dinner so the cheese can absorb the bright flavors.
Citrus Salad with Brandy Sabayon At La Silhouette restaurant in New York, pastry chef Jeff Sytsma serves a peanut butter sabayon (a light, foamy Italian mousse) with warm chocolate cake. This more traditional version—made with just brandy, water, egg yolks and sugar—is a lovely complement to bright pink and orange winter fruits such as blood oranges, Cara Cara navels and grapefruit.
Serves 4 Ingredients For the sabayon 3 1/2 Tbsp. brandy 3 1/2 Tbsp. water 5 egg yolks 1/2 cup sugar Pinch of salt 1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup heavy cream
For the citrus salad 2 blood oranges 2 Cara Cara oranges 1 grapefruit Mint leaves Brown sugar Salt
Directions Over a double broiler (pot of simmering water), whisk together the brandy, water, egg yolks, sugar and salt in a metal bowl until doubled in volume, pale yellow in color and thick. Place the hot bowl over a bowl of ice and continue whisking until the sabayon has cooled to room temperature. In a separate bowl, whip cream to soft peaks and fold into the sabayon. Reserve in the refrigerator until ready to use. Segment all of the fruit by cutting the top and bottom off of each piece of fruit and carefully removing the pith from the fruit. Using a serrated knife, cut in between the membrane to remove the fruit.
Mix all of the segments with a pinch of salt, some torn mint leaves that have been cleaned in cold water, and some brown sugar to taste. (As citrus fruits are always different in sweetness and sourness, the amount of sugar needed depends on how sweet or sour you would like it to be.) Place some of the citrus salad in a bowl and spoon some of the brandy sabayon over the fruit. Top with torn mint leaves.
Ice Cream Sandwiches The trick to making these standbys perfect is to use soft cookies. Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked cookies are ideal and come in oatmeal raisin, dark chocolate brownie and dark chocolate flavors. The fun is in dreaming up the perfect sandwich combination: Try chocolate chip with H채agen-Dazs salted caramel truffle, snickerdoodles with Three Twins cardamom ice cream, or chocolate cookies with any peanut butter ice cream.
Banana Ginger Parfait Chef Anthony Stewart of the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Miami transforms one of our go-to quick desserts—a parfait—by using unconventional ingredients, like apple juice concentrate and ginger root. Follow Stewart’s recipe to keep it healthy or make it with vanilla bean ice cream instead of Greek-style nonfat plain yogurt for a richer dessert.
Serves 6 Ingredients 3 ripe bananas 2 Tbsp. apple juice concentrate 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups Greek-style nonfat plain yogurt Ginger root Directions Slice skin off ginger root and grate, using a microplane, to extract 1 teaspoon of juice. Mash bananas using a wire whip. Combine bananas, apple juice concentrate, vanilla, yogurt, and ginger juice in bowl. Mix well.
Sparkling Lemon-Strawberry Floats Puckery lemon sherbet, crushed frozen strawberries and sparkling wine all poured into a single glass make for a gorgeous palate cleanser that falls somewhere between a slushy and a smoothie. A champagne flute or coupe is perfect for this dessert; top it with a sprig of mint.