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Give Your Sweets A Fresh Spin This Monsoon

Written by Nazneen Joshi21st Jul 2014
GIVE YOUR SWEETS A FRESH SPIN THIS MONSOON
With cheesecake week behind us, we started thinking of fun new sweet treats we could indulge in this season and nothing inspired us as much as fresh fruity cups! Fresh fruit paired with a sweet accompaniment whether that’s whipped cream, frozen yogurt or custard, has always been a dessert that we’re partial to. Take a look at some of our mouth-watering fruity cups and tell us in the comment section below which one you favour.

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Blackberry, Strawberry and Orange Parfait with Whipped Sour Cream

This snazzy fruit cup is not only eye-catching, but delicious as well and the perfect way to dress up any dessert table. What we love about this dessert is that instead of using regular whipped cream; whipped sour cream is used, giving off a lovely tart flavour. All you need for whipped sour cream is:

  • ¾ cup of whipped cream
  • ½ cup of sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
Beat all the ingredients together until the mixture is lightly whipped and pourable. Layer the cream into a cup with fresh blackberries, strawberries and orange pulp and garnish with mint.

fruit cupcakes try this monsoon strawberry icecream 430x550

Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries

Berries and chocolate—there really isn’t a better marriage than this. Here are our three-steps to a fabulous chocolate mousse. You’ll need:

  • 300 grams of good quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup of caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, sifted
  • 300 ml of thickened cream
Step 1: Place the chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and make sure that the bowl does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and then set aside to cool.

Step 2: Mix the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until the mixture is thick and doubled in volume. Fold in the cool chocolate and cocoa powder until the entire mixture is combined.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it is thickened but make sure you don’t over-beat it. Carefully fold the cream into the chocolate mixture, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible. Spoon it into your serving cup and let it chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Remove 15 minutes before serving, top off with some fresh raspberries and garnish with a spring of mint.

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Dessert Biscuits with Apple and Cream

Sprinkle in some delicious cinnamon biscuit bites to your apple and cream cup to elevate the dessert on the flavour factor. You will need:

  • 2 cups of flour
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ cup of white sugar
  • ½ cup of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
Sift together the flour, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Add in the butter to the bowl so the mixture becomes nice and crumbly. Add in the sugar and vanilla extract so that the mixture is now a stiff paste. Mix in the egg and now knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Then grease cookie sheets and roll out the dough thinly and cut out 24 rounds. Bake for 12 minutes or until gold in colour and set aside to cool. Once the biscuits are cooled, beat them to a crumble consistency and mix in with fresh apples and cream into a dessert cup.

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Fresh and Sweet Dessert Cakes

Cook one cup of strawberries with one teaspoon of freshly grated ginger and one tablespoon of honey. Cook it on a low heat, just until the berries pop. Spoon a quarter cup of thick yogurt in your serving cup, sprinkle gently with orange blossom water and pour the warm strawberry-ginger compote on the top. Finish off with white chocolate and a fresh strawberry slice.

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Fresh Fruit with Jelly and Custard

Custard and jelly has got to be the quintessential childhood memory dessert. Add in some fresh fruits and you’ve got yourself a delicious, healthy and easy to make dessert. Base your cup with your favourite fresh fruit jelly and top it off with rich, delicious custard. Here is one of our favourite custard recipes:

  • 2 cups of milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 teaspoons of vanilla bean extract
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 tablespoon of corn flour
  • A pinch of nutmeg
Heat the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla and honey and bring it to an almost boiling point. Then remove it from the heat. Now, beat the eggs and corn flour in a stainless steel mixing bowl until combined. Pour the milk over the eggs and whisk well. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens. Once it has thickened, remove the mixture from the heat quickly and pour it back into the mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture well to cool and smoothen it down. If you see any lumps, strain the custard through a sieve. Top off your jelly cup with custard and garnish with fresh fruit and mint.

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Fresh Homemade Rice Pudding with Peach Compote

Follow this simple recipe to whip up a divine peach and rice pudding in a cup.

Peach compote:

  • 3 diced peaches
  • ¼ a cup of water
  • ¼ cup of sugar
In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine the water and sugar and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Then, lower the heat to low and add in the peaches. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. After this, you should have a thick peach sauce.

Rice pudding:
  • 2 cups of milk
  • 1 cup of heavy cream
  • 6 eggs
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • 2 peaches
  • 3 cups of freshly cooked rice
In a large pot, add in the milk, cream, eggs and sugar and mix well and turn the heat on high. Once the mixture starts to warm, lower the heat to medium. Simmer and stir constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. Lower the heat to low. Add in the rice and stir constantly over a low heat. When the mixture is creamy and thick remove it from the pan, and stir in the vanilla. Let it sit for five minutes. Then let it cool in the refrigerator for two hours.

Swirl in the rice pudding, layered with the peach compote into a cup and top off with fresh peaches.

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Fresh Yogurt with Fruits and Granola

You can never go wrong with delicious, thick yogurt, homemade granola and fresh fruits. Top off with a generous helping of organic honey to hit all the right buds while still remaining in the pink of health.

To make your own granola, you’ll need:

  • 3 cups of oats
  • 1 ½ cups of nuts (almonds, pistachios or walnuts or all)
  • ¾ cup of honey
  • ½ cup of oil
  • ¾ teaspoon of salt
  • 2 cups of sesame seeds
  • 1 cup of shredded coconut
  • 1 cup of dried fruit of your choice (raisins, dried apricot, mango, apples, etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1 egg white
Measure the grains, nuts, seeds, salt and spices into a large bowl. Add in the sweetners, oil and egg whites. Stir the mixture. Spread out onto a large baking sheet, under parchment paper to prevent sticking. Bake at 300° for 45 minutes, giving it a stir after 30 minutes. Stop when the granola looks toasty, brown and smells delicious. Let the granola completely cool, it will only harden and get crunchy once it cools.

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Frozen Berry Yogurt

Three ingredients and two minutes is all you need to whip up this low-fat, low-calorie yogurt, which is ideal for snacking post a work-out.

  • 250 grams of frozen mixed berries
  • 250 grams of yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
Blend the berries, yogurt and honey in a food processor for 20 seconds, until it comes together to a smooth ice-cream texture. Scoop into a cup, topped off with fresh berries and mint and serve.

fruit cupcakes try this monsoon strawberry icecream 430x550

Frozen Strawberry Dessert

  • 2 cups of strawberries (about 24 strawberries) 
  • ½ cup of crushed ice
  • ½ cup of lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • ¾ cups of water
  • 1 tablespoon of ginger
Although you can use fresh strawberries, the best slushie effect is achieved by blending frozen strawberries with crushed ice. If you use frozen strawberries, let them thaw a tiny bit before blending them so that they are easier to crush in your blender. Also, it's best to use pre-crushed ice in order to avoid harming the blades of your blender. The length of time you blend the drink will determine its thickness. More blending time equals more liquid. Less time gives you a drink you can eat with a spoon!

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Grape Dessert with Amaretti Biscuits

Perfect for any occasion is this easy-to-prepare, refreshing indulgence. It takes only 15 minutes to prepare.

  • 500 grams of mixed grapes
  • 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2/3 cup of mascarpone
  • 4 roughly crumbled Amaretti biscuits
Halve the grapes, combine the sugar with the Grand Marnier and refrigerate for an hour. Layer your cups with the mascarpone and top off with the grape mixture. Top off with sprinkled Amaretti biscuits.

fruit cupcakes try this monsoon strawberry icecream 430x550

Passion Fruit and Mango

Substitute the grapes with a passion fruit and mango mousse for a seasonal twist on the aforementioned grape dessert. For the mousse you will need:

  • 75 grams of passion fruit purée
  • 75 grams of fresh mango
  • 30 grams of granulated sugar
  • 3 ½  gram sheet of gelatine
  • 120 grams of whipping cream
Warm half the purée with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat. In the meantime, soak the sheet gelatine in ice water. Remove the saucepan from the heat once the sugar is completely dissolved. Squeeze off excess water and add the softened gelatine to the warm purée and stir until the mixture is completely dissolved. Add in the rest of the purée; stir in to combine it and then let it cool down to room temperature. In a mixing bowl, whisk the heavy cream until you get soft peaks and then using a rubber spatula fold the whipped cream into the purée base until it is fully incorporated. Swirl in some left over purée along with the mousse into a cup and get ready to serve.

fruit cupcakes try this monsoon strawberry icecream 430x550

Raspberry Panna Cotta

  • 1 ounce of unflavoured gelatine
  • 2 cups of cold milk
  • 2 pints of fresh raspberries
  • 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of cardamom
  • 1/3 cups of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon of table salt
Sprinkle the gelatine over the milk in a saucepan and let it stand for five minutes. Meanwhile, place three raspberries in each of the eight parfait glasses or jars. Mash together the sugar, lemon juice, remaining raspberries, and cardamom in a bowl. Spoon a tablespoon of the mashed raspberry mixture into each parfait glass. Reserve the remaining berry mixture. Stir the sugar, vanilla, and salt into the milk mixture in saucepan, and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly for three minutes or until the sugar dissolves and milk begins to steam. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cream. Pour the milk mixture over raspberries in parfait glasses (about 1/2 cup per glass). Chill for two hours or until firm. Top the parfaits with the reserved mashed raspberry mixture just before serving.

fruit cupcakes try this monsoon strawberry icecream 430x550

Strawberry Ice Cream with Fresh Strawberries

And, we end on a classic note! Sometimes nothing beats the ever so comforting rich strawberry ice cream garnished with fresh fruit! Order up from your favourite ice-cream parlour, scoop up into a pretty glass cup, folding in the fresh fruit and enjoy!

Nazneen Joshi

Written by

As the esteemed Dorothy Parker once said "living well is the best revenge" and I take that piece of advice to heart. A babe in the woods for all things theatrical--I like to see drama in the mundane. Fresh off the yacht into this editorial world, I look forward to bringing in a fresh, beautiful perspective.
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