Stuffed Dried Fruits

 Ingredients: 500 ml coconut milk, vanilla to taste, 50-60 g sugar, 50-60 g semolina, 12 dried dates, 6 dried apricots, 12 dried figs, 20 perfect walnut halves, 50 g marzipan (almond paste), 100 g sugar, 2-3 tablespoons of water, 75 g pine nuts, almonds, peanuts (optional - I did not use)

To prepare a delicious and appealing dessert, we start by boiling milk together with vanilla, sugar, and semolina. This combination will create a rich and aromatic semolina cream, perfect for filling the fruits. It is essential to stir continuously to avoid lumps and achieve a smooth texture. Once the cream has reached the desired consistency, we let it cool. It is important not to let the semolina become too firm, as it will harden significantly upon cooling, so we want a slightly softer consistency.

Meanwhile, we take care of the fruits. We choose fresh and fragrant fruits, such as peaches, apricots, or cherries, and cut them in half, being careful not to cut them completely so that the two halves remain joined. This detail is crucial to ensure a beautiful presentation of the dessert. After cutting the fruits, we use a piping bag with a nozzle to fill each half with the prepared semolina cream. We arrange the filled fruits on a platter, giving them an attractive shape.

If we have leftover semolina cream, we can enrich it with pine nuts, crushed almonds, and chopped peanuts, thus creating a crunchy and savory base for the fruits. This is optional, and if we want to simplify the process, we can go directly to the next step. Personally, I prefer to use a different stage instead of the semolina bed.

To add a touch of elegance to the dessert, we start working with marzipan. We knead it a little in our hands to make it softer and easier to shape. We take half a walnut, put marzipan on it, and then stick the second half, making sure there are no gaps. On the edges, we can add a little extra marzipan, so we get a whole walnut, perfect for decoration. We place the shaped walnuts on a platter.

In a separate saucepan, we put sugar together with water and let it cook to caramelize. It is essential to be careful with the temperature at which we caramelize the sugar, as overly dark sugar will give a bitter taste to the fruits. We want to achieve a light brown shade, pleasant and sweet. Once the sugar has caramelized properly, we take it off the heat and, using tweezers or tongs, dip each filled fruit in the caramel, ensuring they are evenly coated. After removing them, we place them on an oiled platter to prevent sticking.

We let the fruits cool and dry, and then we carefully arrange them on a serving platter. We decorate as desired, adding details that highlight the beauty of the dessert. This recipe is not only a delight for the taste buds but also a visual feast, perfect for any special occasion!

 Tags:  milk sugar fruits nut christmas and new year's recipes vegetarian recipes recipes for children pasta recipes