Berrylicious desserts

Indulge your sweet tooth with some very, berry tasty desserts this season. Fresh fruit not only fill you, it gives you your weekly dose of healthy food.

Fresh Fruit with Whipped Cream

Ingredients

Medium Fat Cream : 1 cup

Confectioner’s Sugar : 2 tablespoons

Almond Essence : ½ teaspoon

Assorted Fresh Fruit : 3 cups (chilled)

(use fresh strawberries, kiwi, oranges, black grapes and banana)

Method:

In a large flat bowl, pour 2 cups of ice cubes and ¼ cup of water.

Place a steel bowl over the ice cubes so that the bottom is touching.

Pour the cream into the steel bowl and with an electric beater, on medium speed keep beating the cream till soft peaks appear. Add the sugar and essence and beat some more.

To serve the dessert, line four serving bowls with the assorted fruit.

Add two large dollops of whipped cream on top, garnish with more fruit and serve chilled

Low fat Breakfast Oat Muffins

Ingredients

Oats : 11/2 cup (powdered)

Milk : ½ cup

Sugar : ¼ cup

Vegetable Oil : ¼ cup

Baking powder : ½ teaspoon

Baking Soda : a pinch

Salt : a pinch

Vanilla Essence : ½ teaspoon

Strawberries : 1 cup, hulled and chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C, butter a muffin pan and set aside.

Pulse in a mixer jar, the oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt till the sugar has become finely powdered.

Whisk together the milk, vanilla and oil till frothy.

Add the oats/ sugar mix to the liquid and mix gently with a spoon. When there are no dry spots, add the chopped strawberries and mix.

Spoon into the muffin pan, topped with some chopped strawberry and bake for 18 minutes till golden around the edges. Cool and serve / store.

These muffins are mildly sweet, increase the sugar by 2 tablespoons if you want them sweeter.

The batter can be used to make pancakes in the absence of an oven.

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

Fresh Cream : 200 ml

Milk : 1 cup

Banana : 1 cup (peeled and sliced)

Strawberries : 1 cup, hulled and sliced

Sugar : 2/3 cup (adjust according to sweet quotient)

Lemon Juice : 1 teaspoon

Strawberry Essence : ½ teaspoon

Pinch of salt

Method

In a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over the sliced banana and add the lemon juice and cook on high for 2 mins.

Add the strawberries, mix and cook for 1 min. Remove and cool.

In the blender jar of a mixie, add all the ingredients including the cooked fruit and whizz for 1 minute or till everything becomes like a really thick milkshake.

Pour it in a plastic jar with a wide mouth and tight fitting lid and set in the freezer. Check 4-5 times after every hour and whisk with a fork or an immersion blender to remove icicles. After the last time of whisking, leave to set about 1-2 hrs before serving.

Serve plain or with strawberry sauce

Strawberry Sauce:

Strawberries : 1/2 cup chopped

Sugar : 2-3 tbsp

Water : 2-3 tbsp

Mix everything together in a heavy bottom pan, bring to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes till it becomes thick. Cool and serve with icecream. Can store in the fridge for 3-4 days.