Pineapple, the versatile fruit most notably used in tropical desserts and beverages, can be a novel ingredient in your party desserts, especially if you’re looking to go beyond chocolate or vanilla treats. Pineapple lends itself to a whole lot of sweet dishes, whether you want to have the palate-cleanser pineapple chutney, the traditional rustic upside-down cake or a dainty panna cotta for high tea or brunch.
Here are some yummy desserts with pineapple you can try out if you are planning to host a get-together during the holiday season.
Pineapple Crumble
This is a perfect dessert after lunch. It’s light but has some body, and works well even as an evening snack.
Ingredients:
- 500 gm pineapple
- 152 gm sugar
- 63 gm flour
- 104 gm oats
- 100 gm sugar
- 52 gm butter
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
Method:
- You first have to preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Then, take a large bowl and add pineapple slices, sugar, and flour in it, before giving everything a good mix.
- Then, you need to carefully transfer the mix to a baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- In another bowl, combine rolled oats, brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Then, evenly spread the crumble mix on top of the pineapple.
- After that, you need to allow the mixture to bake for 45-50 minutes.
- While serving, present it warm with a side of vanilla ice cream.
To make this a gourmet, you can scrape a vanilla bean and sprinkle it on the ice cream. In addition, to make it even more winter-appropriate, you can also add strawberry slices or blueberries to your fruit mix.
Pineapple Tart
Ingredients:
- 6 sheets puff pastry
- 210 gm pineapple
- 100 gm sugar
- 23 gm butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Method:
- Begin by cranking up the oven to preheat at 200°C.
- To get your puff pastry ready, spread out the sheets and stack them on top of one another with butter in between each layer.
Once the sheets have been stacked, put the puff pasty gently in a tart pan and press slightly. The bottom and insides of the tart pan should be greased with cooking spray to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
- After that, you need to layer pineapple slices in a spiral shape on the pastry.
- On the side, you have to make a fine blend of sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, and salt using a mixer grinder.
- Then, taking a small spoon you have to dust this mix all over the pineapple.
- Once done, you have to let it bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Before serving, you can drizzle some maple syrup to bring out the toffee and caramelly flavors of baked pineapple.
If you are unable to find puff pastry sheets, you can also make a rough puff at home.
Pineapple Panna Cotta
Ingredients:
- 225 ml cream
- 135 ml milk
- 75 gm sugar
- 55 ml condensed milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 gm pineapple
Method:
- You have to start by mixing heavy cream, whole milk, sugar, and unsweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan.
- Next, you need to start heating the mixture on a medium flame, stirring every now and then, until the sugar melts.
- Once you remove it from the heat, you need to add vanilla extract to it.
- You have to pour it into separate serving cups before the panna cotta sets in the pan, so this process needs to be done as quickly as possible.
- Let it cool in the refrigerator for at least six hours.
- Just before serving, garnish with diced pineapples on top.
For this recipe, it goes without saying that using freshly cut pineapples would make for the ideal dressing. You can also make a gastrique or a runny syrup by reducing four parts of pineapple juice with one part of sugar, and generous splashes of lime juice.
Although pineapple with creamy sides gives a richer mouthfeel to the dessert, you can always substitute heavy cream with coconut cream for a vegan, plant-based option. You can even combine some citrus fruits like oranges and sweet lime to complement the tanginess of your pineapple desserts.