Who says tapas always has to be savoury? Perfect for those of you with a sweet tooth, this dessert tapas has a sugary spin on all the classic tapas favourites.
And so, Mediterranean week continues! Today’s recipe is a bit of a mammoth one. So many ingredients, and oh so many steps. The good news is that you can pick and choose which dessert tapas dishes you actually want to make, and skip the ones you’re just not feeling.
Whatever you do though, don’t skip the chocolate salami… hands down the best fridge cake I’ve ever tasted. Amaretto and chocolate are a match made in Italian heaven. Yep, this dessert tapas might have strayed slightly into non-Spanish territories at times. I don’t even care.
Where shall we start?
Guacamole without Avocado?
Looks wise, the absolute star of the dessert tapas table is the nachos and salsa. Yes, we’ve all seen dessert nachos before, but this time they’re served with a dollop of creamy lime guacamole!
You’re going to need to track down some green jelly (jello) powder for this one, unless you just want to colour the whipped cream green with food colouring. Add a tablespoon or two of the jelly powder to a bowl of double cream, and whip to stiff peaks. It doesn’t have an overwhelming lime taste, and almost weirdly tastes a little like rosemary. Whatever it is, I couldn’t stop eating it.
Madeiras Bravas
Everyone’s favourite tapas dish is patatas bravas, am I right? You literally cannot have tapas without it. Them’s the rules. When the idea for dessert tapas came knocking, I knew I absolutely had to make a sweet version of this friend potato classic.
Enter: Madeira cake.
Cube up the cake, toast in the oven for 5 minutes, and you’ve got yourself a crispy little cake bite, which just happens to have more than a passing resemblance to fried potatoes. Niiiiice.
I topped my cake cubes with some extra thick double cream (no need to whip) and some raspberry sauce. Because cream and raspberries are so much better than mayo and tomatoes.
Easy as apple… croquettes
Patatas Bravas might be the crowd pleaser, but I’m always a sucker for some potato croquettes. Swap out the potato for some grated apple, and you’ve got yourself an incredibly simple miniature apple pie bite.
Because I’m nothing if not predictable, where there’s apple, you can be sure that cinnamon isn’t too far behind.
The breadcrumb coating for these cuties uses panko crumbs mixed with sugar. Panko breadcrumbs are a little bit crispier and lighter than regular old white breadcrumbs, and so they’re weirdly perfect for desserts. If you can’t get hold of them (you can usually find them in the Asian foods aisle) then regular dried breadcrumbs will do in a pinch.
The croquettes can be fried if wanted, although I opted to keep things simple and have everything cooking in the same temperature oven. Baking the croquettes is less likely to end up with you burning yourself with hot oil, but the pay-off is a slightly less golden colour. I can live with that.
Chocolate Chorizo Salami
Yeah, this doesn’t look anything like chorizo. I’m not even going to try and pretend otherwise.
This is a simple version of an Italian classic, which just involves mixing broken biscuit pieces and almonds with some melted chocolate, butter, and a splash of amaretto.
I’m begging you – don’t miss out the amaretto. It’s heavenly.
Dessert Tapas Goals
I finished my dessert tapas table off with some fruit skewers (I grilled mine, but they’re just as good cold) and a couple of bowls of grape ‘olives’. Add a couple of sprigs of rosemary to the olive bowls for decoration, although they ain’t really fooling anybody.
If you really want to make a night of it, feel free add some sangria to the table! And of course, add in your own mini desserts – grilled peaches and ice cream would be fantastic, or little red wine chocolate mousse cups. Whatever takes your fancy.
And what about our time in Barcelona? It was gorgeous. No dessert tapas, but a delicious savoury tapas dinner at the Taller de Tapas on Las Ramblas. We spent the day checking out all Gaudi had to offer, starting with the epic Sagrada Familia, and culminating in a stroll around the completely incredible Parc Guell. It has to be seen to be believed.
Barcelona, I feel like we’ll be back some day. Hopefully a less hot day, without a taxi strike.
Dessert Tapas
Ingredients
For the chocolate salami
- 100 g digestive biscuits or graham crackers
- 25 g ground almonds
- 50 g whole almonds coarsely chopped
- 125 g dark chocolate (bittersweet)
- 50 g unsalted butter
- ½ tablespoon amaretto
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
For the dessert nachos
- 2 large plain tortilla wraps
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 25 g caster sugar (US granulated)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 100 g fresh strawberries
- 1 fresh peach
- 1 fresh kiwi fruit
- 100 ml double or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon lime jello powder
For the apple croquettes
- 3 large green apples (Granny Smith)
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 beaten egg
- 40 g panko bread crumbs
- 20 g caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 3 tablespoons salted caramel sauce
For the patatas bravas
- 250 g madeira cake
- Fresh mint, chopped
- 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce
- 6 tablespoons double or heavy cream extra thick is best
For the fruit skewers
- 150 g fresh mango
- 150 g fresh watermelon
- 150 g fresh pineapple
For the grape olives
- 200 g red grapes
- 200 g green grapes
- Sprig of fresh rosemary for garnish
Instructions
For the chocolate salami
- Place the biscuits or crackers in a heavy-duty plastic bag and hit with a rolling pin until you have smaller chunks. Don’t keep crushing the biscuits until you have 100% crumbs! Pour the biscuit pieces into a medium bowl, and add the ground and chopped almonds.
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl with the butter. Microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring well between each, until melted. You can also melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water if you don’t want to use the microwave. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the biscuit pieces, and add the milk and add the amaretto and milk. Give the mixture a really good stir.
- Spoon the mixture onto a piece of baking parchment or greaseproof paper, and then roll up tightly into a sausage. Twist the ends of the paper like the ends of a candy wrapper. Pop the salami in the fridge for a couple of hours to set firm.
- To serve, remove from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 5 minutes. Cut into 2cm (¾ inch) slices and serve immediately.
For the dessert nachos
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan) and line a couple of baking trays with parchment. Chop the tortilla wraps into small triangles and place on the lined trays. Lightly spray them with olive oil.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the tortilla chips and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. They might not be crispy yet, but they will firm up when cooling. Leave to cool completely on the trays, and then pop in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.
- To make the salsa, chop the strawberries, peach, and kiwi fruit into small chunks. Place in a small bowl, and stir together with the lemon juice. Leave in the fridge until needed.
- To make the whipped cream toppings, place half the cream into two small bowls. Add the lime jello powder to one of the bowls. Whip both creams to stiff peaks, and then pop into the fridge until needed.
- When ready to serve, place the tortilla chips onto a plate. Top with a mound of fruit salsa, and add a dollop of both the green and white creams.
For the apple croquettes
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan) and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Peel and grate the apples (use the biggest side of your grater) and then use your hands to squeeze out all the juice. Place the apple pulp on a piece of kitchen towel and press out any remaining water.
- Place the apple pulp into a small bowl, stirring in the lemon juice and ground cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and caster sugar. Form the apple pulp into small thick sausage shapes (or balls), dip in the beaten egg, and then gently roll in the sugary breadcrumbs until completely covered.
- Bake the croquettes for 20-30 minutes (depending on size) until golden brown. Serve warm, alongside a small bowl of salted caramel sauce.
For the patatas bravas
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan). Chop the Madeira cake into 1 inch (2½cm) cubes and place on a baking tray. Toast in the oven for 5-10 minutes – keep an eye on them as they will turn from golden brown to burnt in a short space of time. Once golden and crispy, remove from the oven.
- You can serve these cake cubes slightly warm or cold. To serve, place in a small bowl, sprinkle with the chopped mint, and then top with the thick cream and the raspberry sauce.
For the fruit skewers
- Chop the mango, watermelon, and pineapple into cubes, and push onto four skewers. You can either serve these as they are, or place under a hot grill (broiler) for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally. If you are going to grill/broil them, then it is best to soak the wooden skewers overnight in water to stop them burning.
For the grape olives
- Place the grapes into two small bowls, and sprinkle with rosemary leaves.
