raspberry Archives - Page 6 of 6

Raspberry Poached Pears With Chocolate Sauce

22|07|2013

Poached pears in a beautiful pink raspberry puree and served with a homemade chocolate sauce.

All the dessert lovers of the world, in my opinion belong to two broad categories. The chocolate lovers and the non-chocolate lovers (do they even exist?). Okay, let me rephrase that…the chocolate lovers and the fruits-over-chocolate lovers. And of course, there are the ones like me who fall somewhere in between. The ones who like to enjoy the best of both worlds!

Poached pears make for a fancy yet healthy dessert. Though I have experimented with various fruits, pears are my favourite poach-able fruit. Not only do they take in the colour and the flavour, of the poaching liquid (which can be totally customised to your preference), they are pretty simple to cook with a handful of ingredients and can be made ahead in time. At one time, I was so obsessed with poaching pears in different combinations that I think I would have to create a separate category if I had to blog about them. The bottom line is, that the possibilities with them are endless.

There are so many varieties of pears to choose from but I personally prefer to use the Bosc pears as they retain their long slender shape well. Though it’s a fairly simple process, they key is not to undercook or overcook the pears. What we are looking for is a firm fruit, cooked evenly, without resistance when you cut through with a spoon. For this purpose, the pears need to be turned around in between. Also, letting the pears cool down in the liquid, intensifies the flavour and colour.
The chocolate sauce complements the deep flavour of the raspberries and elevates the dessert to a whole new level. I have included a non dairy version of the sauce too that will be slightly thinner than the first one but tastes almost as good. You can have the poached pears warm or cold. I like them warm with a bit of whipped cream to go alongside.

Raspberry Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce
Serves 4

1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
4 Beurre Bosc pears, peeled and cored

For the chocolate sauce
100 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup pouring cream/single cream
25 g butter

For a dairy free, chocolate sauce
1 tbsp castor sugar
½ cup cocoa
¼ cup boiling water

Trim the bottom of the pear to make a flat surface so it can stand upright. Retain the stems for a nice presentation. Combine all the ingredients except the pears in a large saucepan. Over medium heat, bring it to a boil, stirring in between till the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer and gently add the pears. Cover and cook till tender turning in between until cooked evenly. To test this, poke with a fork. Remove from heat. Let the pears stand in the poaching liquid till cool. Remove the pears and strain the liquid to remove seeds or any fruit bits that may be present.
Pour the liquid back to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce it till it reaches a syrupy consistency. Keep aside.

For the chocolate sauce, heat cream in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer, add the chocolate and whisk until melted, add the butter and continue to whisk until well combined.

For the dairy free version, combine sugar, cocoa and boiling water in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth.

To Serve, place a poached pear on a plate. Pour over the reduced raspberry sauce. Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce. Add a dollop of whipped cream or pipe little flowers of whipped cream around the pear.

No Churn Raspberry Ice Cream

28|06|2013

Well, I suppose I told you that my Raspberry mania did not end with my raspberry cupcakes. Actually I doubt if it will ever end. Raspberries have taken over my life at the moment. After spending a good amount of time reading up on how to freeze berries, I promised myself I will wait till summer. Passing by the freezer section at the supermarket, I forgot all about my resolve and got a larger pack this time. And thus began the raspberry madness. All over again.

I notice ice cream recipes, frozen yoghurt all over the blogosphere. So I decided to make one too. I love this recipe to bits. The colour just blows me away. What an amazing pink! And the taste.. Honestly the only reason you wouldn’t make this is if didn’t have access to raspberries. Or if eggs (egg white) are an absolute no-no. Once you do…you are addicted for life! Like me:-) The recipe, rather somewhat similar recipe was featured on Masterchef Australia with different set of fruits. I adapted the concept with a bit of variation on the ingredients and proportions to suit myself. And it worked beautifully for me.

Can it get simpler than this? Just 3 ingredients! No ice cream machine! Dairy free too. And so easy to make. Texturally it is like a ice-cream but tastes like a sorbet. The ice cream can be stored for up to a month in your freezer.

No Churn Raspberry Ice Cream

250 g frozen raspberries (if you have fresh raspberries, just put them in the freezer in an airtight container and freeze overnite)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 egg white

In the bowl of your electric mixer or with your hand mixer whisk all the ingredients together on high-speed, till the mixture doubles in volume (about 5-7 minutes)

Pour the mixture into an ice cream container or any air tight container and freeze for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight. I stored mine in a glass tray and covered tightly with cling film.

Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting

20|06|2013

If someone ever asked me what I miss most about summer, my answer would be the daylight and BERRIES! With the evenings getting colder and darkness setting in by mid afternoon, I am almost ready to retreat into a hibernating mode. While Summer is nowhere near and little that I can do about daylight, there is technology and there are Berries. If not fresh, then frozen!

As much as I love the colourful little jewels of deliciousness, I have always shied away from freezing them or buying frozen pre-packs. There is definitely a freshness that seasonal berries would contribute but I realised there is a lot that can be done with frozen ones. Looking at the prices of fresh raspberries at this time of the year, I finally convinced myself to get a frozen pack. And since then, I have been reading up on how to freeze berries during season.

Buying fruits in bulk during season and preserving them is not only a great way of saving money but allows you to enjoy your favourite fruits all year-long. Honestly, with whatever I have read, it is a simple process with no fancy equipment.

Pretty pleased with the way my cupcakes turned out I made 2 more desserts and I thought they looked spectacular and tasted just as good. I can’t wait to post them all. The cupcakes by themselves were great but I wanted to turn it into a raspberry celebration so I made a white chocolate ganache frosting and drizzled some home-made raspberry sauce. So, there you go..my raspberry celebration cupcakes!

Sorbets, mousse, smoothies, jams, sauces, fillings for cookies and cupcakes there is so much that can be done with frozen berries. There is a lot of information available on the net on freezing fruits too. The forthcoming summer, I am looking forward to freezing and stocking up my berries and using them in every possible way. How about you?

I also wanted to give you a little heads up on some progress I have made with the software part on my blog. I have finally manged to import my Tastespotting, Foodgawker badges. Also, subscriptions are available through Feedburner now. For existing subscribers, I have already moved it manually. Let me know if you are facing any issues. My Recipe Index page is updated too. I cannot tell you how relieved I am at the moment. Now, all I need is to bite into my little red cupcakes.

And Celebrate…

Raspberry Celebration Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting
The recipe can be totally adapted to use fresh raspberries

Raspberry Cupcakes (cupcakes adapted from Coles recipes)
Serves 10

100 g Butter, at room temperature, chopped
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Eggs
1 cup Self-raising Flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp baking powder)
1/3 cup Milk
1 cup Frozen Raspberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 170°C or 150°C fan forced and line 10 medium muffin tins with paper cases. Using electric beaters, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in half the flour, then all the milk, then remaining flour, until just combined. Fold through raspberries. Spoon into prepared cases. Bake for 20 mins, or until the cakes are springy to a light touch. Leave in tin for 5 mins, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool.

To serve, pipe swirls with white chocolate frosting (recipe below) or spoon frosting over cupcakes. drizzle with raspberry sauce (recipe below)

White Chocolate Ganache Frosting

200 g white chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup thickened cream
100 g butter, chopped

Place white chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high, stirring every minute, until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Add butter and stir until it melts and the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the mixture is thick and spreadable. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

Raspberry Sauce
Makes about 3/4 cup

250 g frozen Raspberries
2 tbsp Castor sugar
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Place frozen Raspberries and sugar into a large non-stick frying pan. Stir to combine. Heat over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or it takes a thick syrupy consistency. Using a metal spoon, crush Raspberries until pureed.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool. (If you do not like the seeds, strain the mixture once pureed)