Biscotti with Lemon Curd and Fresh Blueberries

Hubby and I went for a long hike up in the hills this morning so we were able to justify dessert. We had a sweet tooth (rather we have a sweet tooth - every day) but nothing interesting in the house.

There was some biscotti in the pantry but knowing they had been there for about a month I perceived them to be stale and tasteless, even though I knew biscotti has a decent shelf life.

I was just about to inform my husband that we had nothing in the house and suggest to him that we travel to our favorite pastry shop, Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, CA (not far from our house). However, as soon as I thought about one of our favorite desserts at Fleur de Cocoa, the lemon & blueberry tart, I was inspired! I had fresh blueberries and some wonderful English lemon curd in the fridge... why not make my own version of that lemon & blueberry tart?

I spread the lemon curd on the biscotti, topped it with the fresh blueberries and voila! We suddenly had a tasty dessert to enjoy with our coffee without having to make the little trek to Los Gatos. Though it wasn't quite the same as Fleur de Cocoa's spectacular tart, I was happy to save the time and money today.

Doctoring recipes

Lemon blueberry yogurt pound cake
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

It drives my husband crazy that I'm constantly fussing with recipes to make them more "healthy", that is, if baked goods can be considered healthy.

Sometimes I fail miserably and what was suppose to be a healthy blueberry muffin ends up tasting like cardboard and doesn't quite satisfy the sweet tooth. But hey, at least I'm trying and with some practice I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Baking is tricky because it's more of a science than cooking, so you can't just change the measurements and expect it to turn out well. So unless you're scientifically inclined, trial and error (and taking lots of notes) is the only way to go.

Last week I made a second attempt at "improving" a lemon blueberry yogurt pound cake based on a recipe from Food Network's Ina Garten. I substituted the white flour for whole wheat flour, decreased the sugar and added stevia, increased the yogurt a little and added (frozen) wild blueberries.

It was a total hit! Really moist, good flavor with a nice pucker of lemon and just enough sweetness to satisfy the sweet tooth. This doctored recipe is a keeper!

If you'd like details on the "improved" recipe, write a comment and I'll reply. :-)