Since I decided to make fetuccini alfredo the other night I thought why not having some italian or italian like dessert. Ideally I would have made tiramisu, but it was a bit heavy for the night and besides I didn't have mascarpone and lady fingers.
I had to go with something else, most italian desserts either call for mascarpone or need to be kneaded and baked for quite a long time. The creamy pasta dish I was making already suggested that I needed something light, maybe with berries.
So I thought why not making kind of tiramisu but with berries and berry sauce instead of coffee.
So I came up with this recipe, quite simple and easy but so yummy and flavorful.
It is a layered dessert and as I kept in the fridge letting the cake soak in this fruity sauce it became even better and more moist.
I used whipping cream and homemade soft cheese, I believe cream cheese will work as well as a substitute.
Soft cheese has a slight tangy taste and mixed with a bit of sugar makes a pleasant addition to berries and cake.
I used a box mixture to make a cake base but you can use and experiment with any cake or recipe you have. What am I gonna do with the rest of the cake??? You might ask. I froze mine as I was making only 3 servings. You can either make this dessert for a big family or friends or make a couple of portions and freeze the rest till the next time you need some sponge in a recipe.
I will also experiment with different kinds and flavors of sponge to see how it works.
So far that's what I made.
Ingredients:
make 3 servings
1 box of cake mix + ingredients to make a sponge
for the berry coulis:
4 big strawberries (I used frozen ones they work well)
half a handful of raspberries (frozen or fresh will do)
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp of water
cream:
1/2 cup whipping cream, chilled
1/4 cup fine brown sugar
150 g soft cheese
berry salad:
6 strawberries
6 cherries
12 blueberries
Preparation:
I had to go with something else, most italian desserts either call for mascarpone or need to be kneaded and baked for quite a long time. The creamy pasta dish I was making already suggested that I needed something light, maybe with berries.
So I thought why not making kind of tiramisu but with berries and berry sauce instead of coffee.
So I came up with this recipe, quite simple and easy but so yummy and flavorful.
It is a layered dessert and as I kept in the fridge letting the cake soak in this fruity sauce it became even better and more moist.
I used whipping cream and homemade soft cheese, I believe cream cheese will work as well as a substitute.
Soft cheese has a slight tangy taste and mixed with a bit of sugar makes a pleasant addition to berries and cake.
I used a box mixture to make a cake base but you can use and experiment with any cake or recipe you have. What am I gonna do with the rest of the cake??? You might ask. I froze mine as I was making only 3 servings. You can either make this dessert for a big family or friends or make a couple of portions and freeze the rest till the next time you need some sponge in a recipe.
I will also experiment with different kinds and flavors of sponge to see how it works.
So far that's what I made.
Ingredients:
make 3 servings
1 box of cake mix + ingredients to make a sponge
for the berry coulis:
4 big strawberries (I used frozen ones they work well)
half a handful of raspberries (frozen or fresh will do)
3-4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp of water
cream:
1/2 cup whipping cream, chilled
1/4 cup fine brown sugar
150 g soft cheese
berry salad:
6 strawberries
6 cherries
12 blueberries
Preparation:
- ake the cake in a rectangular cookie sheet according to the instructions. You can use any recipe as I already mentioned, just make sure the cake is about an inch thick. Leave it to cool.
- While the cake is being cooked, prepare the coulis. Place strawberries, raspberries and water in a small pan bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes until strawberries are soft. Stir in the sugar and keep on stirring to dissolve it. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Once cooled mash slightly with a fork and then press through a sieve to remove all the seeds. I usually keep the cooled coulis in the fridge till I need ti use it.
- For the berry salad: chop strawberries and cherries finely, quarter the blueberries, mix all together.
- To prepare the cream beat the whipping cream until it starts to thicken, add the sugar and beat until soft peaks are formed. Do not over beat as it will get a very buttery taste. In another small bowl soften the cheese with a whisker and fold in the whipping cream with sugar. As you carefully mix the ingredients together you will notice that the cream becomes thicker. Set aside.
- To assemble the dessert take serving glasses. I used 3 normal drinking glasses with very little design on it. Using the rim of the glass cut circles out of the cake pressing gently but firmly. Cut as many circles as portions you are making. So I cut out 3. Now cut each circle in halves lengthwise, so that you will get 6 circles - 2 per glass.
- Place one cake circle per glass and cover with a tablespoon of berry coulis, spread slightly to cover the whole cake piece. Reserve a few pieces of cut berries for decoration. Roughly divide the rest of your berry salad into 6 parts and place 1 part over the each cake piece with coulis (about generous tablespoon per layer). Cover with some cream and repeat layering finishing with cream on top.
- To make it easier to spread and for a neater presentation I used a plastic bag with a large nozzle to pipe the cream in the shape of flower petals.
- Place a few pieces of reserved berries on top of each glass. Put in the fridge to chill till serving time.
Enjoy the scrumptious berry dessert that gets only better with every spoon you eat.
Let me know if you made it.
That's all for now...
take care there.
