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Transfer the pears and liquid to a large bowl to cool. Remove a cup of the liquid from the bowl and place it back in the pot. Bring it to a simmer, then turn off the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until completely dissolved. Let the sauce cool for the same amount of time as the pears, about an hour altogether. It tastes really good at room temperature.

To assemble:

Ladle a good amount of the chocolate sauce, about half a cup, into small dessert bowl. Place one pear, cored side down, in the sauce, and another, cored, side down, perpendicular to it and overlapping. If desired, place a scoop of vegan ice cream on one side and garnish with a sprig of mint.

STRAWBERRY-ROSE WATER COBBLER WITH LEMON-POPPY SEED PASTRY

SERVES 6 TO 8

TIME : 50 MINUTES

For this dessert, juicy strawberries are made even more fragrant with a little rose water. The lemon-scented crust isn’t plopped on as it is on most cobblers; here it’s placed in lattice strips, to add a little down-home sophistication. It’s so pretty and cheery that if you aren’t already donning a ’50s-style apron, you’ll feel as if you should be.

➣If you don’t want to braid your lattice, just place some strips one way and others overlapping them the other way. Still cute!

How to Make a Lattice Crust

GENTLY lay four strips of dough in parallel across the cobbler with some space between them. Then lift the second strip and lay a new strip perpendicularly across underneath it. Lift the fourth strip and tuck your cross strip under that one, too. So now you have a kind of weave. Repeat with the next strip, this time lifting the first and third original strips. When all the strips are used, tuck in the edges around the strawberries.

Filling: 3 pounds strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons rose water

Pastry: ½ cup soy milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1½ teaspoons baking powder

Generous pinch of salt

¼ cup canola oil

PREHEAT THE oven to 375°F. Have ready an 8-inch square baking dish or pan.

Mix together all the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to coat the strawberries and set aside.

Prepare the lattice pastry:

In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. Sift together with a fork. Drizzle the canola oil into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Add the soy milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough holds together.

Flour a flat work surface and your hands. Give the dough a quick knead in the bowl (like five times or so) and then turn it onto the work surface. If it feels very sticky, add a bit more flour. Gently flatten the dough into roughly the size of the baking dish you are using. With a floured pizza cutter or a knife, create seven or eight strips of dough, each about an inch or so wide.

Give the strawberry mixture another stir, and transfer to the baking dish.

Now make a lattice on top of the cobbler. You don’t know how to make a lattice? See the sidebar.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and bake for 35 minutes, until the cobbler is bubbly and the dough is slightly browned.

Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before serving. You’ll need to cut the cobbler with a serving spoon to get all the juices. For optimum presentation, serve each slice into a bowl, then lift the crust to preserve the lattice and spoon more strawberries and juice into the bowl. Don’t forget the vegan ice cream!

BERRY-COCONUT CRISP

SERVES 4

TIME : LESS THAN AN HOUR

This warm, fruity dessert topped with a crumbly coconut topping could be easily summarized by that popular bumper sticker