Roasted Apricots With Mascarpone And Pistachios Recipes

APRICOTS WITH MASCARPONE CREAM

Steps:

• Beat the cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar and set aside. In another bowl, whip the mascarpone cheese with an electric mixer until very soft; beat in the apricot nectar, vanilla extract, and cardamom. Gently fold the mascarpone mixture into the whipped cream.
• Place the apricot preserves and honey into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave oven until warm but not hot, about 30 seconds. Mix well and stir the balsamic vinegar into the honey mixture.
• Stuff each apricot half with a dollop of the mascarpone cream and place the filled apricot halves on a serving dish. Drizzle the fruit and plate with balsamic sauce and serve.

POACHED APRICOTS WITH PISTACHIO AND AMARETTO MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Poach the apricots: Add Sauternes, lime half, vanilla, sugar and 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters water to a saucepan just big enough to hold the apricot halves in one layer. Place the pan over high heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid boils.
• Remove the pan from the heat and place the apricots in the hot liquid, cut sides down. Leave them to poach in the residual heat until they are soft but still hold their shape (20 to 40 minutes, depending on how ripe they are) flipping them every 10 minutes. Set the apricots aside to cool slightly. (If not serving immediately, transfer the apricots to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.) Squeeze the lime into the syrup and then discard it; return the saucepan with the syrup to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup/70 milliliters, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
• Prepare the mascarpone mixture: Combine pistachios, amaretti cookies and sugar. Add three-quarters of this mixture to a bowl with the mascarpone and mix it all together until combined, then fold in the cream.
• To serve, divide the apricots and the amaretti cream between four bowls. Pour the syrup over the apricots and sprinkle the remaining amaretti and pistachio crumble over the cream. Finish with orange blossom water and lime zest and serve.

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE WITH HONEYED PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• PREPARE THE HONEY-ROASTED PISTACHIOS:.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Warm the honey in a medium bowl to microwave for 10 seconds; warm it slightly.
• Add nuts, sugar and salt to the honey bowl and toss to coat well; toss again.
• Spread the nuts onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, separating them, and bake for 10 minutes.
• Stir the nuts after 5 minutes.
• Cool completely, and then separate again.
• Place the nuts in food processor and make sure not to overprocess. They can be prepared up to one week ahead of time & stored in air tight containers.
• PREPARE THE CRUST:.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• To make crust mix the ground biscotti, sugar, & unsalted butter in large bowl.
• Wrap bottom of 9" springform pan tightly with foil(to prevent water from seeping into the pan while baking in a bain marie.).
• Butter pan with butter or use cooking spray.
• Pour crumb into the prepared pan and press evenly to form a crust.
• Bake the crust until crisp and golden, about 10-12 minutes.
• Cool completely before filling.
• PREPARE THE FILLING:.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Place cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, & beat on low speed until batter is smooth.
• Scrape the sides of bowl often to acertain even mixing.
• Add the mascarpone cheese until well combined, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Add lemon or orange zest, juice, vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
• Pour the filling into prepared crust.
• Place the crust pan in a larger pan or deep baking dish.
• Once in oven, add boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the crust pan.
• Bake cheesecake until it's puffed around the edges and the center jiggles a bit when the pan is tapped lightly, about 45-60 minutes.
• Turn off oven and leave the cake in the oven with door slightly open for another 30 minutes to cool gradually, so the top won't crack.
• Remove cake from oven and allow to cool;.
• then chill in the refrigerator overnight. (You can serve after cooling 4 hrs.) However it is preferable to chill a minimum fo 12 hours.
• Carefully remove the sides from springform pan to release cheesecake. Place on a large serving platter or cake stand.
• ASSEMBLY:.
• Sprinkle the pistachios over the entire top of the cheesecake, to garnish. The pistachios will stay put if you apply a little pressure.
• Warm the honey in the microwave for 10 seconds or on stove-top.
• Drizzle honey over the whole cheesecake or over each slice and drizzle the honey on cheesecake as well as on the dessert plate. Also, use a sprinkling of the pistachios and a sprig of mint.
• Now sit back and enjoy this wonderfully delectable dessert with a great cup of freshly brewed coffee.