Natalie of Good Girl Style is on today to show you that there’s more to fruit and chocolate than chocolate-covered strawberries. Natalie joins us each month to share incredible desserts with Big Girls, Small Kitchen readers–desserts that are entirely gluten-free, but not like obviously gluten-free. That means no specialty flours or hard-to-find ingredients, just good old-fashioned berries and ice cream. Don’t miss her recent recipe for these gorgeous Cheesecake-Stuffed Baked Peaches.
The last berries of a now-faded summer melt into this garnet-colored, spiced fruit sauce. The compote comes together quickly with basic ingredients but manages to taste ultra-luxurious. It feels like something you’d order on stuffed French toast in Paris in the fall, or over pound cake at a five-star Southern country hotel. Get creative: Anything you would serve for breakfast or dessert could be elevated with a scoop of this compote.
I’m particularly fond of the sweet-spicy sauce over chocolate ice cream, a delicious and easy gluten-free dessert base. The cinnamon and chocolate combination give the dish a bit of that Mexican hot chocolate taste with a fall-berry-apple-ish flair. Use the best-quality chocolate ice cream you can find for deep chocolate flavor that stands up to the spices and fruit. I like Talenti gelato or Haagen Dazs (shown here). You won’t be disappointed.
**Recipe**
Spiced Berry Apple Compote
By Natalie Wise
Serves about 6
Ingredients
2 cups peeled, cored, chopped apple (about 2 large apples)
2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen (quarter larger strawberries)
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons. fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat and let simmer 20 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature over chocolate ice cream or anything already delicious that needs to be made even more delicious.
