Butterkuchen, Grilled Nectarine, Labneh and Dukkah

This is hardly a recipe but more of a quick summery dessert suggestion of Butterkuchen, Grilled Nectarine, Labneh and Dukkah.

The dessert shines in its simplicity and use of summer’s bounty of stone fruit. I just love how it is a delicious combination of textures and flavours with no effort at all. The soft buttery cake, topped with tart grilled nectarines, sprinkled with a spicy dukkah, served with a dollop of salty labneh. It is not a very sweet dessert and if you long for some more sweetness add a drizzle of honey.

The use of the butterkuchen is purely incidental. I was at the market in the morning and grabbed a few slices from the Woodstock Bakery stall. You could use any enriched and sweetened bread or pastry. I also stuffed some grilled nectarines in an almond croissant and as you can imagine it was all kinds of delicious.

I love using labneh but you could use any other soft creamy cheese of your choice. A homemade ricotta or mascarpone would be just a tasty.

Labneh is essentially a cheese made from straining yoghurt, resulting in a deliciously thick, creamy and tangy soft cheese. You can use it as you would any cream cheese, as the basis for tzatziki or spread it inside a pita or wrap.

The straining process is very easy and takes 12 – 48 hours. The longer you strain it, the thicker the cheese will become. Should you want a firm cheese to roll into balls you can strain it for the full 48 hours but I prefer to strain it for 24 hours. I also use a double cream full fat yoghurt. I am not too sure if a low fat yoghurt will give you the same consistency in the same time.