Kids Cuisine

(Mango Apple compotes in pastry shells © 2006 Nika)

Today Q is going to show you all how she made these Mango Apple compotes in pastry shells. You may wonder what a compote is. According to the Wikipedia, a compote is:

.. a dessert made of fruit cooked in sugar syrup.

We took it a bit further and put the sauted fruit into pastry shells that had been filled with vanilla pudding.

Q’s take on this dessert - “I liked making; it was really fun. It tasted good – I liked the flavors. I liked the mango even though I don’t like mango lassis.”

Ingredients:

• 1 Mango
• 1 Apple
• 1 container Vanilla Pudding (it would be even better if you made your own homemade pudding. That’s another post, as Alton Brown would say)
• 3 Pastry shells (We used the pre-fabricated pastry shells from Pepperidge Farms. They are great and work every time. You can also make them yourself!)
• Minced ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon real Vanilla
• 4 tablespoons butter (If not salted, add a pinch of salt to the cooked fruit.)

(Mango Apple compote ingredients © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “I liked it because it has few ingredients.”

(Close up of frozen pastry shell from Pepperidge Farms © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “These pastry things were cute”

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper and stick it down to the sheet with a bit or water or cooking spray.
• Bake as per package instructions. Make sure to watch them so that they do not get too brown.
• Remove and allow to cool.

Q says - “I learned that I had to put down parchment because they might stick to the pan”

(Pastry shells ready for the oven © 2006 Nika)

(Baked pastry shells © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “I liked cutting these and eating the bits from the middle.”

• Cut out the central part to make the cup to receive your filling.

(Cutting out central party of pastry shell © 2006 Nika)

• Cube mango and apple. You are going to cook these two fruits seperately.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter to a small pot over medium heat.
• Add mango, 1/8 teaspoon of minced ginger, and 2 tablespoons of white sugar.
• Cook until it has dehydrated a bit and the sugar is starting to thicken the fruit juices.
• Cool.
• Repeat with the apple but use vanilla and no ginger.

(Cubing the fruit © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “I liked cutting up the fruit. My mom let me use the giant knife. I wasn’t scared; it was easy.”

• Put some vanilla pudding on the bottom of each pastry shell and then add the cooked fruit.
• Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.
• Enjoy!

(Q finishing off the Mango Apple dessert © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “It was sorta hard for me to put the pudding in the cups.”

(Q chopping the fruit and posing © 2006 Nika)

Q says - “To the kids reading this - you should really cook it because it’s really fun and yummy.”