You won't find tropical fruit as sweet and tangy as the pineapple, and it's this versatile ingredient that finds its place in these airy and fresh pineapple desserts. From the refreshing Honey and Pineapple Sorbet to Pineapple Angel Food Cake, you can look forward to a dessert after lunch every time you choose to prepare any of these sweet dishes.
While fresh pineapples are often associated with spring and summer delights, you can find the fruit also in winter. But in case you are unable to, you can also procure canned pineapples in case, like most tropical fruit lovers, you get borderline desperate to get a whiff of its juiciness and crunch during autumn or winter.
Honey Pineapple Sorbet
It won't be wrong to say that crushed pineapple desserts highlight the best part of the fruit. Made with only a few ingredients, which include crushed and frozen pineapples, this Honey Pineapple Sorbet is icy, crunchy and juicy, and can get anyone to crush on sorbets.
Ingredients:
- 500 gm pineapple (frozen, cubed)
- 200 ml honey
- 70 ml water
- 14 ml lime juice
- 11 ml lemon juice
Method:
- You have to first grind the frozen pineapple pieces in a blender or processor until it becomes like a slushie.
- Then, into the pineapple puree, add the honey, lime juice and water. Add the water slowly, in small teaspoons, to not make the mixture too runny. Frozen pineapple will already have water in them, so do not use extra water unless the mixture is thick and gloopy.
- Cut a few pieces of the unused frozen pineapple chunks into small bits, and fold them into the pineapple mix, and blend it once more in a slower setting.
- Scoop the mixture out of the blender and transfer it to an ice cream tray, then cover it with a saran wrap or a cling film to prevent icicles from forming onto the sorbet. You can also add a few flakes of salt into the mix when blending. Adding salt can significantly reduce the chances of the pineapple sludge becoming watery too soon.
- Before serving, you need to let the sorbet chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Serve with a fresh slice of pineapple and a piece of cherry on top.
If you are feeling more ambitious, make honeycomb shards by first heating honey and sugar syrup in a pan. Once the mix reached 300 C, remove it from the heat, add baking soda and stir vigorously, and transfer it to a baking tray sprayed with cooking oil. Let the mix become foamy and hard. You can freeze it for a while to expedite the process, but once it's hard, break it apart into shards, and then use each of the shards as garnish for the sorbet.
Pineapple Angel Food Cake
Ingredients:
- 240 gm refined flour
- 210 gm confectioner’s sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 6 egg whites
- 11 ml cream of tartar
- 110 ml pineapple juice
- 13 ml vanilla extract
Method:
- You can prep the oven by setting it at 180°C.
- In a big mixing bowl, you need to whisk together refined flour, confectioner’s sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- And then, you can beat egg whites with cream of tartar till stiff peaks form.
- Carefully fold the mixture of the egg whites into the flour mixture till everything is properly incorporated. You need to make sure that the egg whites don’t get deflated in the process of mixing. The essence of an angel’s food cake is that it is very light and melts in your mouth like cotton candy.
- Add the pineapple juice and vanilla extract to the original mixture, and stir it well.
- Then, pour the mixture into the cake pan, and bake the batter for 40-45 minutes.
- Before serving, you can add a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. Pineapple also pairs well with cherries, so you can also make a quick cherry sauce with fresh cherries, sugar and cherry liqueur.
Pineapple Panna Cotta with Toasted Coconut Flakes
Ingredients:
- 195 ml heavy cream
- 100 gm sugar
- A pinch of kosher salt
- 105 ml pineapple juice
- 11 ml vanilla extract
- Coconut flakes
- 2 tbsp cornflour
Method:
- In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream, granulated sugar, and kosher salt.
- Then, heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
- Once cool, add pineapple juice and vanilla extract. Make a cornflour slurry with water, and add it too.
- Now, carefully pour the mixture into small glasses.
- Then, you need to wait as they refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Sprinkle toasted coconut flakes over top before serving them the next morning.