Sweet talk: The best summer desserts
TRIED-and-tested tips from Saturday magazine’s celebrity chef.
HI AND welcome to the weekend. I hope that you are all inspired to do some cooking, even if it’s just a simple barbecue. I’ve just built mine at home and today is the day I am going to get it started!
I’ve bought some organic free range chicken, a few small legs of lamb which I will be dicing, skewering and marinating with lots of herbs and white wine, a few sausages and most importantly my vegetables – aubergines, courgettes and red peppers, all to be grilled and dressed with mint, olive oil and vinegar.
But now to this week’s book, Get Set For Summer by Nicola Graimes.
It’s a fantastic selection of more than 100 recipes to enjoy with friends at weekends. These lovely summer desserts would be perfect to serve alfresco after a barbecue.
Buon appetito and see you next week.
Blueberry cheescake brûlées
French
Dessert
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ●1 tsp cornflour
- ●150g blueberries
- ●2 tbsp caster sugar
- ●125g low fat soft cheese
- ●150g 0% fat Greek yoghurt
- ●1 tsp vanilla extract
- ● Grated zest of 1 lemon
- ●½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ●4 light digestive biscuits, crumbled
- ●4 tsp demerara sugar
Mix the cornflour to a paste with 1 teaspoon of water. Put the blueberries in a pan with 1 tablespoon of the caster sugar and 1 tablespoon of water.
Cook over a medium-low heat, covered, for 4 minutes until the berries are soft and juicy. Stir in the cornflour paste and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes until thickened. Leave to cool.
Meanwhile, mix together the soft cheese, yoghurt, vanilla, lemon zest and cinnamon with the remaining caster sugar.
Divide the crumbled digestives between four large ramekins and top with the blueberries then the cheese mixture. Smooth the top then chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the grill to high. Place the ramekins on a baking tray and sprinkle the tops with the demerara sugar. Put some water in a spray bottle and then mist the tops of the ramekins with a spray of water to help the sugar to caramelise.
Place the ramekins under the grill for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has melted, taking care with them as they can burn. Return the ramekins to the fridge and chill for another 30 minutes before serving.
Pear and berry pudding
British
Dessert
Ingredients
Preparation:
- ●3 pears, peeled, cored and chopped
- ●500g frozen fruits of the forest
- ●250ml fresh orange juice
- ●90g caster sugar
- ●1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ●½ tsp allspice
- ●450g day-old sliced white bread, crusts removed
- ● Serve with 30g Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Thick Cream per person
PREPARATION: 15 MINUTES + OVERNIGHT for CHILLING
Put the pears, frozen fruit, orange juice, sugar and spices in a lidded saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, part cover, and simmer for about 8 minutes. Strain the juice into a large jug.
Arrange half of the sliced bread in a 25 x 20cm dish. Top with the cooked fruit and pour on enough of the juice to lightly soak the bread.
Place a second layer of bread on top of the fruit and pour some more of the juice over the top until the bread is ruby red (don’t allow it to get too soggy) and you should have some juice left over.
Press a sheet of baking parchment over the top of the bread and then weigh it down with some food cans or the weights from scales. Chill overnight.
To serve, divide into nine portions (three rows of three) and pour some of the reserved fruit juice over each serving.
