Raspberry Trifle (Charlotte aux Framboises)

At first blush, charlotte aux framboises closely resembles an Italian tiramisu. The lady fingers and cream are where the similarities end though. This recipe is made with raspberry extract, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce. For a more grownup treat, you can use framboise, which is a raspberry-flavored liqueur. Charlottes are traditionally made with fromage blanc, which is a thick yogurt that you can find in any market in France. I didn't have any, so I substituted mascarpone in instead. It's delicious either way.

Chocolate Macadamia Brownies with Pumpkin Cream

The base of the dessert is a layer of chocolate macadamia brownie. I filled the rest of the bowl with a pumpkin cream made with mascarpone cheese. It has a light and creamy texture that is the perfect backdrop for the decadence of the brownie. To top off the dessert, I added some whipped cream dusted with cinnamon. A few brownie crumbs make a nice final touch, as well as sign of what's to come as your spoon cuts through the pumpkin cream.

We love brownies and make them more often than we probably should, but until now I've never served them to guests. This was my attempt to dress up a brownie into a dessert that could be served at the end of a nice dinner party. I'm happy to report that the dessert went over very well. Brownies have an incredible ability to turn anyone who even looks at them into a kid again, and it was a wonderful way to end an elegant meal.

Vietnamese Deep Fried Banana Fritters with Ginger Coconut Mascarpone Sauce

Banana fritters, or chuối chiên in Vietnamese, can be found on street corners throughout Saigon. Aunt Elise, who is visiting us from Vietnam, has been teaching me many Vietnamese recipes, and today she showed me how to make these tasty treats. It's been a lot of fun learning about my culture and of course, the food, from someone who spent her whole life in Saigon.

The batter that the bananas are coated in is very similar to tempura batter. To make it a touch sweeter, we added some banana and banana extract. The fritters are usually eaten as is, but I wanted to make them a little fancier. I prepared a decadent mascarpone dip flavored with ginger, Vietnamese mint and coconut. The dip, though non-traditional, provides a nice contrast to the texture of the fritters. It's a taste of Vietnam that you won't be able to resist.

Grilled Pineapple with Coconut Syrup and Mascarpone Cream Dessert

We hosted a dinner party at home this evening. I wanted to make a "summery" tiramisu parfait, as opposed to the "wintry" coffee tiramisu I made in the past. I found some beautiful sweet Maui Gold pineapple and decided to add a refreshing twist to the classic Italian dessert. I added some fresh mint from the garden, some coconut, mascarpone and crème fraîche.

I served a wide variety of sweet petit fours and other desserts along with the pineapple mascarpone desserts. I know it was a hit because there wasn't a bit left. When everyone went home, I gathered 14 empty parfait glasses. It looked like the guests washed the dishes themselves. I'm definitely going to make this again!

Tri-Color Fusilli Pasta with Mascarpone Tomato Sauce

I just discovered over the weekend the new KitchenAid fusilli pasta maker attachment at Williams Sonoma in the Valley Fair Mall, in San Jose, CA. It looks amazing; I had no clue that fusilli could be made at home. Well, I didn't buy the attachment, but it gave me the idea of making the corkscrew-shaped pasta dish. I used store-bought tri-color fusilli. I find the color to be very playful. The red color is made from beet juice and the green one from spinach juice instead of using regular water in the dough.

Pasta to me is a natural comfort food. To give this dish a heartier feel, I paired the pasta with a creamy mascarpone homemade tomato sauce. The tomatoes are Brandywines from our garden. They are big, bright red and -most important- so sweet. The girls helped me make the sauce; I think it's always more satisfying for them to eat food they helped prepare.