Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites (31 page)

Place the fruit on skewers and let your kids sprinkle on the sugar. When you grill the skewers the sugar caramelizes, giving them a nice crunch; but you’ll know it’s still a very healthy dessert that is mostly fruit. You may use apricots and peaches in place of any of the suggested fruits if you like.

6 servings

Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray and preheat the grill to medium-high. Thread 1 piece of each fruit onto each of 6 skewers so that the cut sides line up and lie flat. Sprinkle the sugar over the cut sides of the fruit. Let stand until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.

Place the fruit skewers on the grill cut side down. Grill the fruit until it is heated through and caramelized, turning once, about 5 minutes.

A bit of mascarpone in the batter gives this cake just the slightest tang and keeps it moist, making it a good candidate for freezing. I always keep one of these in the freezer and when kids come to visit I pull it out and serve it with some strawberries and chocolate sauce for dipping.

Makes 2 pound cakes

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease and flour two 9 × 5-inch loaf pans.

In a small saucepan, combine the unsweetened chocolate and 1 cup water. Place over medium-low heat and stir constantly until the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool for 2 minutes, then whisk in the mascarpone until the mixture is smooth.

Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl for 30 seconds. Stir in the chocolate-mascarpone mixture. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of each loaf comes out with no crumbs attached. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (If you plan to freeze the cakes, wrap them well in aluminum foil once they are completely cool.)

To make the sauce,
place the chocolate chips in a small heat-proof bowl. Combine the heavy cream and vanilla extract in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until small bubbles appear at the edges of the pan. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips. Stir with a fork until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the pound cakes and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to set the chocolate sauce. Return to room temperature before serving.

I made this with my friend’s daughter for a school fund-raiser and it was a huge hit. She helped me crush the ice with a rolling pin, then scooped it up and drizzled on the syrup. We used raspberry because we liked the color, but you can make any flavor you prefer.

Serve these with some of the
Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes
and squares of the
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
and you have a wonderful dessert party for kids or the makings of a great bake sale.

10 to 12 servings

Combine the syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mint in a small pitcher. Refrigerate until cold.

Working in batches, place the ice in a heavy resealable plastic bag and hit it with a mallet or rolling pin to coarsely crush the ice. Place 2 to 3 cups of crushed ice at a time in a food processor and run the machine until the ice is finely chopped. (You can store the shaved ice in a large resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 1 day.)

Place 1½ cups of shaved ice in each serving dish. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of the syrup mixture over each scoop of ice and serve immediately.