Fast and Easy Fruit Desserts
Fruit and Store Cupboard Items Make a Stress-free Dinner Finale
Sep 3, 2008
Whether entertaining or just feeding the family, most cooks work under pressure of time, budget and equipment. These simple recipe ideas make minimal demands on all three.
You can make a dessert more sophisticated and flavorsome with just a small amount of your favorite liqueur. The alcohol cooks off, leaving only the flavor, so it's suitable for all the family as well as parties or romantic dinners for two. For those who don't care to have intoxicants in the house, fruit juice makes a good substitute.
Boozy Fruits with Yoghourt or Ice Cream
Take berries in season and your favorite liqueur. I use Amaretto di Saronno with blueberries, pears or peaches, kirsch with cherries or redcurrants, and Cointreau with orange or mandarin segments.
You'll need about 75 grams of berries/fruit per person, and a small sherry glass or shot glass of liqueur for every two people.
Wash your fruit, peel and segment larger fruits like peaches or oranges. Put into a pan with a little water and the liqueur, and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for no more than 1-2 minutes to burn off the alcohol content, then turn the heat right down and simmer very gently for about another two minutes, so the fruit is soft and starts to release its juices. A delicious sauce will form from the juices and the liqueur - how much depends on how juicy the fruit is. Taste for tartness, and if it's too tart for you, add a very little sugar or honey.
You can either serve hot over vanilla ice-cream, or allow to cool and serve with thick Greek yoghourt. A biscuit curl or a few toasted almond slivers make a nice decoration. To dress it up for dinner parties just put the ice-cream into a waffle basket or meringue shell and spoon the fruit over, or put the fruit in and add yoghourt on top.
Store Cupboard Substitutes
No fresh fruit, no time to shop? Use dried pears, mangoes, or prunes, and extend the simmer time by a few minutes to allow them to soften. I cut dried pears into strips and mango strips into smaller pieces, so that each will fit nicely onto a dessert spoon and be easy to eat. Dried pears go particularly well with Amaretto - my favorite version of this dessert.
If you're using dried fruit, it's best to make this dish first, then set it aside while you make the main course, so that the fruit has as much time as possible to soften and absorb the flavor of the liqueur.
Adapting to Each New Season
Choosing fruit in season lets you give your family and guests the most delicious, healthy treat, and save money. In autumn, use plums, dessert apples and pears. Try adding a few chestnuts, which will also soften and absorb the taste of the liqueur. For a delicious winter variation, serve with canned or home-made chestnut puree instead of yoghourt or ice-cream. In spring look out for early peaches and cherries to augment dried fruits, and in summer give your family a different seasonal fruit every day.
