Great Combos Part Two The Sweet Side

 Some ingredients are made for each other. Dessert ones are no different. They make for delicious treats of all shapes and forms On their own they're good. Together, they're phenomenal.

We have French chocolatier Henri Roux who combined salt and caramel together in the late Seventies. This Breton candy maker wanted a treat that would stand out among the competition while making use of the local ingredients. Voila! He used a salted butter in his caramel recipe and it instantly became a hit and in 1980 was named Best Sweet In France. Now it's all over the place. A popular fun dessert to make is salted caramel cupcakes. This is making an almost butterscotch batter with the addition of a quarter teaspoon of sea salt. Another idea is salted caramel frosting, perfect for chocolate cakes and cupcakes.  The Two Sisters website - known for their variety of yummy frostings has a recipe for it , creating a homemade stove cooked caramel from butter, milk, brown sugar. It's added to confectioners sugar along with the addition of sea salt. For any salted caramel recipe use a good flaky sea salt like the British Malden or Celtic's Flower of the Ocean.Another good marriage is chocolate and any berry. You can't go wrong with a chocolate cake filled with strawberries and frosted with a strawberry frosting. Another treat is combining chocolate syrup with powdered raspberry for a delicious topping for ice cream sundaes and parfaits.It also makes for a tasty sauce for crepes. 

It's rhubarb season and that means the stalks are out in full force now.It's also strawberry season too. These two balance out each other's complexities while the sweetness of the berries counteracts the stalk's sourness. Another reason for their combo is that they both come into season at the same time.  The combo can be made into all sorts of recipes. For a lovely Spring dessert think a strawberry - rhubarb pie. This is perfect for barbecues , especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also put the combo in a rustic galette to bring to a picnic or in a buttery tart for an elegant end to a candlelight dinner. Of course both are perfect in crisps and cobblers. These are easy to make and they easy baked toppings bring out the flavor and juices of both. Strawberries and rhubarb can also be made into a compote. This is incredibly easy to make. Just add half a cup of brown sugar and a pinch of salt to the two. It's then letting the juices flow out and cooking the cut strawberries and rhubarb in them. This ruby red compote is perfect to add to Greek yogurt for a healthy dessert or spooned over pancakes or waffles.

There are some great combos for dessert out there. Try topping a cake with a salted caramel frosting. Top off a parfait with a chocolate and berry sauce. Finish dinner with a strawberry rhubarb crisp or cobbler.These pairings make for a sweet duo.