Food / 12 June, 2017 / My Baba

Delicious Summer Berry Desserts

Check out our list of dessert recipes that make the most of the delicious summer berries currently in season. Any of these will go down a treat in this lovely hot weather!

Basil and Lemon Summer Berry Salad

Ingredients:

• finely pared zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 basil sprigs, plus a few extra leaves
• 110g granulated sugar
• 2 ripe peaches or nectarines, stoned
• 300g strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1 x 150g punnet redcurrants, stripped from the stems
• 300g raspberries
• 125g blueberries

Method:

• Put the pared lemon zest in a small pan with the basil, 150ml water and the sugar. Dissolve the sugar over a low heat, then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice. Set aside for about 20 minutes to cool slightly.
• Quarter each peach or nectarine, cut into slices and put in a pretty bowl. Mix in the strawberries, redcurrants, raspberries and blueberries. Pour the warm syrup through a sieve over the fruit; remove and discard the basil and save the lemon zest. Mix thoroughly; don’t chill as this reduces the fragrance of the basil.
• Finely slice some of the softened lemon zest into thin matchsticks. When you’re ready to serve, scatter the fruit with the zest and a few fresh basil leaves.

Gingered Blueberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

Raspberry-Mint Ice Pops

Ingredients:

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients:

Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the cheesecake:

• a little sunflower oil, for greasing
• 300g digestive biscuits
• 100g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 x 250g tubs mascarpone
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 tsp cornflour
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 x 300ml cartons soured cream
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

For the strawberry sauce:

• 1 x 300g punnet strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 11⁄2 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

For the strawberry topping:

• 1 x 300g punnet strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• a few shredded mint leaves, to serve

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Brush the base and sides of a 22cm diameter springform cake tin with sunflower oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Set aside.
• Place the biscuits in a food processor. Whiz until they form fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and whiz together. Tip into the cake tin and, using your knuckles or a spoon, firmly and evenly press them into the base. Chill while you prepare the filling.
• In a large bowl,beat together the mascarpone, sugar and cornflour. Gradually beat in the eggs, followed by the soured cream, lemon zest and juice.
• Bring a kettleful of water to the boil. Take a 80cm sheet length of 450mm-wide foil. Double it over so that it measures 40cm in length and make sure that there are no holes. Put the chilled tin in the centre of the foil and carefully wrap the foil around the outside (not over the top), so that the cake tin is in a double layer of foil to protect it from the water. Put the cake tin in a roasting tin and pour in the cheesecake mixture. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting tin to come halfway up the sides of the cake tin.
• Bake it for 50 minutes, then turn off the oven. Do not open the door for 1 hour. Then remove the tin from its water bath and remove the foil. Put the tin on a cooling rack; when it’s at room temperature, cover and chill overnight.
• To make the strawberry sauce, purée the strawberries with the sugar and season to taste with lemon juice. Strain through a fine sieve and adjust the sweetness and lemon juice to taste. Pour into a jug.
• Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and unclip and remove the ring. Peel off the paper from the sides. Gently run a palette knife between the base paper and the crumb base and slide the chilled cheesecake onto a serving plate. Toss the sliced strawberries in the icing sugar and pile onto the cheesecake, spooning over some of the sauce (serve the rest alongside). Decorate with a little shredded mint to serve.

Soft Meringue with Redcurrants and Raspberries 

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

• 6 medium egg whites
• 250g caster sugar
• 11⁄2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 11⁄2 tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting

For the fruit topping:

• 2 x 150g punnets redcurrants
• 40g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Cointreau
• zest of 1 large orange, coarsely grated
• 450g raspberries
• zest of 1 lemon, removed using a zester

For the cream:

• 300ml double cream
• 2 tbsp rum
• 2 tbsp kirsch (optional)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas 2. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until the mixture is thick and glossy. Using a large metal spoon, fold in the vinegar and cornflour. Spread the mixture evenly onto the lined baking sheet to form a 25cm square. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly coloured, soft and marshmallow-like.
• Leave to rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Liberally dust another large sheet of baking paper with the icing sugar. Carefully flip the meringue out onto the sugar-dusted paper. Remove the tin and peel away the base paper then flip the meringue onto its serving plate, so that the baked (coloured) side is uppermost. Leave to cool.
• Strip the redcurrants from their stems and place in a bowl with the sugar, the Cointreau and the orange zest. Mix, cover and chill for at least 15 minutes. Shortly before serving, carefully stir in the raspberries.
• Place the cream, rum and kirsch in a large bowl. Whisk until the cream forms very soft peaks (it will thicken slightly more as it chills). Chill, covered, until needed then, if necessary, lightly whisk to form soft, floppy peaks. Spoon over the meringue and liberally spoon on the fruit so that it spills over the cream and meringue. Decorate with curls of lemon zest and serve immediately.

No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake with Mixed Berries 

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces chocolate wafers (such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 10 ounce 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, quartered
• 1 cup blueberries

Method:

• Place chocolate wafers in a food processor; process until finely ground. Place ground wafers in a bowl; stir in honey and butter. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm. Wipe food processor with a paper towel.
• Combine milk and gelatin in a microwave-safe bowl; let stand 3 minutes. Microwave at HIGH 15 seconds; stir until gelatin dissolves. Cool slightly.
• Combine cream cheese and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla) in food processor; process until smooth. Add milk mixture and cooled melted chocolate; process until smooth. Place whipping cream in a clean bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold one-fourth of chocolate mixture into whipped cream. Fold whipped cream mixture into remaining chocolate mixture. Spoon chocolate mixture into prepared crust. Chill 6 hours or until set.
• Combine berries in a bowl. Top cheesecake with berry mixture.

Raspberry Sherbet

Ingredients:

• 450g raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 500ml whole milk
• 200g sugar
• 1½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:

• Put the raspberries in a blender or food processor, along with the milk and sugar. Puree until smooth, then strain the mixture to remove the seeds. Stir in the lemon juice.
• Freeze the mixture in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a shallow freezer-proof dish, cover with clingfilm and freeze until firm.
• Once firm, break the frozen mixture down in a food processor to obtain a puree, then pour back into the freezer-proof dish and refreeze until firm.

Raspberry White Chocolate Eclairs

Ingredients:

For the Eclairs:

• 50g unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
• 75g plain flou
• 2 medium eggs, beaten

For the filling:

• 300ml double cream
• 225g raspberries
• 3 tbsp icing sugar

For the icing:

• 200g cook’s white chocolate (we like Green & Black’s)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas 7. Grease a baking sheet with a little butter. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
• Put the butter and 150ml water into a small saucepan. Bring to a brisk boil and, as soon as the butter has melted, take off the heat and tip in the flour. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and glossy and leaves the side of the saucepan.
• Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time. The choux paste should be smooth and shiny, and firm enough to hold its shape when piped. Spoon into a piping bag with a 1.5cm diameter round nozzle. Pipe 12 lengths of choux paste, each 9cm long, onto the baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Using a small knife, make a small slit in the side of each Eclair to let the steam escape. Turn off the oven and leave in the oven for 5 minutes to dry out the pastry. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
• Once the Eclairs are completely cold, cut open one side of each Eclair, leaving them hinged on the opposite long side. Whip the cream into firm peaks. Set 12 raspberries aside and place the remaining raspberries (about 150g) in a small bowl with the icing sugar. Roughly crush them with a fork and fold into the cream. Spoon the raspberry cream into a piping bag with a 1.5cm round nozzle. Carefully pipe the filling into each Eclair.
• To ice the Eclairs, break the white chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (taking care it does not touch the water). Stir occasionally until it has melted, then carefully dip the filled Eclairs in one at a time to coat the tops, and return them to the wire rack. Once iced, decorate each Eclair with a raspberry. Transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 45 minutes, or until ready to eat. This will set the chocolate and also keep the cream fresh.

Chocolate Berry Pancakes with Yogurt Recipe

Ingredients

• 100g plain flour
• 15g cocoa
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for frying
• 250ml semi skimmed milk

For the filling

• 170g carton fat free Greek yogurt
• 142g (4½oz) small carton readymade longlife custard
• 4tbsp fresh chopped mint
• 175g (6oz) raspberries
• 225g (8oz) strawberries, sliced
• 50g dark chocolate

Method

• To make the pancakes, sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl, add the egg and egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of the oil then gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
• For the filling, mix the yogurt, custard and chopped mint together. Mix the berries together in a separate bowl. Melt the chocolate if using to decorate, in a bowl set over a small saucepan of gently simmering water.
• To cook the pancakes, heat a little oil in the base of an 18 cm (7 inch), pour the excess out of the pan into a bowl then add 2-3 tablespoons of the pancake batter to the pan, tilt pan to swirl the batter over the base in a thin layer then cook until browned on the underside. Turn the pancake over and cook the second side then slide out of pan and keep hot on a plate while you cook the remaining mixture until you have 8 pancakes.
• Fold the pancakes into quarters, spoon in the yogurt mix and berries, arrange in pairs on serving plates and drizzle with melted chocolate, if using. Serve immediately.