Dessert Inspiration

I have wholeheartedly adopted the French concept of "dessert being a fruit or a yoghurt." And that's fine for me -- I don't have a sweet tooth. But my family does grouse a little about missing out in the dessert department. So now that my teaching schedule has slowed down, I'm trying to do a little better by them.

A recipe from Elle à Table has revolutionized my dessert-making efforts. Called "Petits pots façon trifles", it consists in layering, in glasses, soft ladyfingers soaked in fruit syrup, yoghurt mixed with fromage blanc and a bit of crème fraîche, and topping it all off with a fruit sauce.

I have yet to follow the recipe exactly since I never have "coulis de fruit" in my kitchen, but I have used the basic principle to make any number of quick and fun desserts. The key is to have biscuits à la cuillère on hand and to dip them entirely but quickly in a good quality fruit syrup. Smash them up with a potato masher or a fork, and use that as one of your layers. For the other layers, choose between fresh fruit, yoghurt, whipped cream, and/or fromage blanc. The possibilities are endless.