I’ve never heard the word “pavlova” more than in the past month. It’s not a dessert that gets a lot of attention, but for some reason I’ve been seeing it everywhere: At parties we’ve gone to, on the Food Network, and even on one of my favorite blogs. Since it’s a naturally gluten-free dessert, I wanted to get in on the action and make my own.

The only part of the recipe that really ever changes is the base; everyone seems to make their meringue different. I like using powdered sugar for a sweeter and pure white meringue, with a little bit of cream of tartar to help it stay up. I also choose to let it “cook” overnight in a hot oven to get the best texture. When it’s done, the outside should be hard and crispy while the inside meringue is soft like a marshmallow.

The fun thing about this dessert is you can dress the meringue any way. Whip regular cream instead of coconut milk for a more traditional dessert. You can serve it with any fresh fruit that’s on hand or even use a fruit sauce.

Cherry Coconut Pavlova

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 hours(overnight)

Ingredients(Makes 3-4 servings):

• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup coconut cream*
• 1/2 cup pitted and halved cherries

*To get coconut cream, leave a can of full-fat coconut milk undisturbed in the pantry for a few days. Open it without shaking the can. The cream will be separated on the top from the coconut water, a clear liquid that you can save and use as a sports drink.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whip the egg whites in a glass bowl slowly adding the powdered sugar and cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks.
3. Pour the meringue in a mound on a non-stick baking tray. Swirl a utensil on the top of the meringue for an artful effect.
4. Put the meringue in the oven and immediately turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door. Let the meringue sit undisturbed in the hot oven overnight.
5. When the meringue is ready, whip the coconut milk in a chilled glass bowl until it forms stiff peaks.
6. Spread the whipped coconut milk on top of the meringue and garnish with the cherry halves. Serve immediately.

This dessert definitely stops being pretty once you cut into it. That’s ok; it’s delicious enough that no one will notice. The best bites are the ones where you get a little of everything: The sweet meringue, the rich topping, and the tart cherries.

I doubt there’s any way you could reinvent s’mores and have it not be delicious. Food bloggers test this theory every Summer and it always holds true. Here’s one more delicious s’mores recipe to throw into the mix.

By the beaches in Maine there are candy shops that sell just about everything covered in chocolate. Graham crackers covered in chocolate? Sure. Marshmallows covered in chocolate? Mhmm. But no s’mores covered in chocolate. Why not? Beats me. Thankfully, you don’t need to travel farther than your kitchen for something as delicious as this.

Instead of melted marshmallows which would get stale in a refrigerator, this recipe uses marshmallow crème which is soft at room temperature just like a melted marshmallow. My favorite part about this is that Fluff is a naturally vegetarian marshmallow option, so you don’t have to go out and buy a $5 bag of marshmallows to get your s’mores fix.

Chocolate Covered S’mores

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6 squares):

• 12 graham cracker squares
• 1/4 cup marshmallow Fluff
• 6oz chocolate(about 3/4 cup chocolate chips)

Method:

1. On half of the graham crackers, spread roughly 2 teaspoons of Fluff.
2. Sandwich each covered graham cracker with an uncovered one and put these aside.
3. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler until it is smooth and liquid.
4. One by one, lower the s’mores into the melted chocolate. Flip once and use a utensil to make sure the sides are covered as well as the top and bottom.
5. Take the s’mores out of the melted chocolate and put it on a non-stick surface to dry. You can quicken the process by moving them to the refrigerator once you’re done.
6. Repeat with all the s’mores.
7. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

A fun thing to do might be to decorate the outside while the chocolate is melting with graham cracker crumbs and mini-marshmallows. These are the things I think of after I’ve eaten the whole batch. Shame.

To be honest, grilling in the Summer is slightly less fun when you’re a vegetarian. I don’t do it nearly as much anymore. That doesn’t mean vegetarian grilling isn’t delicious; sometimes I just need to be reminded of that.

Just like you can grill any kind of meat, you can grill all different sorts of fruit and vegetables. The heat from the fire makes the fruit taste even sweeter and pairs perfectly with something cool and creamy. Most recipes use a soft cheese or ice cream; this one uses Greek yogurt for a similar taste and texture only a  little bit healthier.

Peaches are a great substitute for when cantaloupe isn’t available; you won’t have to change anything else in the recipe. Make sure to use full fat or 2% yogurt; non-fat yogurt won’t have the same depth of flavor or creaminess to really make this satisfying.

Grilled Cantaloupe with Yogurt and Mint

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 6 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

• 1/2 cantaloupe, cut into quarters
• Olive oil
• 1 16oz container full fat or 2% Greek yogurt
• Small handful of mint leaves
• Honey(optional)

Method:

1. Heat up your grill to roughly 400 degrees.
2. Brush both sides of each cantaloupe wedge with enough olive oil to cover.
3. Once the grill is hot, lay the cantaloupe down and let it cook undisturbed for roughly 3 minutes until grill marks have formed.
4. Flip the wedges once and repeat with the other side.
5. When the cantaloupe is done cooking, plate it with the skin touching the plate. Scoop about half a cup of yogurt over each wedge. Garnish with mint leaves and honey if desired.
6. Serve immediately.

Happy (almost) 4th of July! I know I’m five days early, but consider this my obligatory patriotic post.

A few weeks ago I went to an American citizenship party for some friends who recently passed the citizenship test. There was grilling and beans and red, white, and blue napkins so of course there had to be flag cake.

A family friend at this party recently had to cut gluten out of her diet; one of her favorite foods is chocolate cake so naturally I knew the cake I made had to be chocolate. I’d never experimented with almond flour and coconut flour in the same recipe but I thought I’d give it a shot. The texture was just like any good ol’ fashioned American sponge cake. You’d never guess it was gluten-free and grain-free.

The frosting also got a lot of praise, too. Then again, how can something with butter, cream cheese, and a pound of sugar not be good?

Make sure to use fresh fruit and to assemble it as close to serving as possible. The more the cake sits out, the more the juices from the strawberries runs into the frosting, and no one wants a runny flag.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Flag Cake

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 9 x 12 cake):

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 6 extra large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water

For the frosting:

• 1 4oz stick of butter, room temperature
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1lb box of powdered sugar

 Fruit topping:

• 1 half pint blueberries
• 1lb fresh strawberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.
3. While the chocolate is melting, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, and oil.
4. Mix the melted chocolate into the flour mixture completely.
5. Crack the eggs into the batter and beat each in.
6. Add in the vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add in the hot water and mix until the batter is smooth and slightly runny.
8. Grease a 9 x 12 baking pan. Pour the batter in in an even layer.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center of the cake has set. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before frosting.
10. Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and half of the sugar in a large bowl.
11. With an electric mixer, beat together the ingredients until the sugar is entirely incorporated.
12. Slowly add more sugar into the mix until all of it is mixed into the frosting.
13. Spread a few tablespoons of powdered sugar on top of the cake and brush it all around to prevent the frosting from tearing the top of the cake.
14. Spread the frosting out all over the cake in an even layer and around the sides.
15. Make a square of blueberries in the top left corner of the cake.
16. Remove the stem from each strawberry and cut each in half. Lay them out top to bottom in horizontal lines in a flag pattern.
17. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  

There were practice American citizenship tests at the party. I scored a 12/20. I think that’s good enough not to be deported, right? Too bad how to make a flag cake isn’t part of the test.