Who doesn’t love a cool chocolate or fruit mousse for dessert? Well, now that raspberries are in season (traditionally throughout July and August), what better dessert to make with those freshly picked, or freshly bought, pink, furry, juicy fruits than a delicious raspberry mousse? It makes a real summertime treat for adults and kids alike.
Everyone in my family loves it, and we can never get enough! The best thing about it is that it can be made all year round because frozen raspberries make for an equally great mousse.
Fun fact: I found out the other day that almost all the raspberries sold in the UK are grown in Scotland, and that their production forms an important part of the Scottish economy, particularly in the Tayside area where raspberry farmers earn about £12m a year!
I’d always thought mousses were hard to make, but it’s actually not that difficult, especially if you have an electric whisk! You just need to be very careful and slow when folding in the whipped cream and beaten eggwhites so as not to deflate the mixture, and it should be a success! (Also have a go at this white chocolate mousse.)
A delicious mousse made from freshly picked raspberries
Ingredients
300g raspberries
250ml double cream
80g white sugar
2 egg whites
4 gelatine leaves
A few raspberries for garnish
Instructions
Blend the raspberries in a blender to make a smooth purée.
Add 60g of sugar to the purée and mix in.
Add a couple of tablespoons of double cream to the purée and place over a low heat, without allowing to boil.
At the same time, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for about 5 minutes to soften them.
Remove the purée from the heat and leave to cool down.
While the purée is still warm, mix in the gelatine leaves until totally dissolved, then leave mixture to cool.
Whisk the rest of the double cream until soft peaks form. Add the raspberry purée little by little, folding it into the whipped cream slowly, letting air into the mixture.
Beat the egg whites. When peaks start to form, slowly add the rest of the sugar while whisking, until stiff peaks form.
Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture, as before, to complete the raspberry mousse.
Spoon the mousse into individual glasses, cups or bowls and leave to set in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.
Garnish each bowl with some fresh raspberries before serving.
I remember warm summers when I was a little girl, helping my grandmother make jams, cakes and pies with the gooseberries from her garden. I used to love their tangy taste, but was oblivious to the fact that they are a good source of fibre and vitamins A and C! (Also try these lemon blueberry muffins.)
We don’t have gooseberries in our garden, unfortunately. But when I saw them in a farm shop the other day, they brought back such nice memories that I had to buy some. They are in the peak of their season right now (June and July), so they may even be sweet enough to be eaten raw. However, I’ve baked some gooseberry and almond cupcakes, based on my grandmother’s “cherry financiers” recipe, changing some of the ingredients. I was quite chuffed with how they turned out actually!
8 eating apples, whatever you can find that is in season. Washed, peeled and cored. 4 cubed and 4 sliced into thin wedges.
25g unsalted butter
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g caster sugar, plus a sprinkle for caramelising the apples at the end
½ tbsp runny honey
Tub of double cream to serve
What to do:
First make the apple filling. Heat the butter slowly in a pan until it melts before adding the cubed apple pieces and coating them all in the butter. Cover the pan with its lid and cook the apples over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Stir in the honey and cook on for a further 5 minutes. Now stir in the sugar, and the cinnamon, puréeing the soft apple with the spoon as you do so. Leave the puréed apple mixture overnight to cool, or if you’re in more of a hurry, you can cool it in the fridge.
When you are ready to cook the tart, preheat the oven to 200ºC and line a circular, ceramic oven-proof dish with parchment paper.
Roll open the puff pastry and lay it over the baking dish, pressing it gently to the sides of the dish and cutting off any excess pastry around the top edge.
Spread the puréed apple into the pastry casing, using a spatula. Leave a 1.5cm gap of uncovered pastry all around the edge.
Place the apple wedges very gently over the apple purée filling, so that they are slightly overlapping, start at the outer edge and work your way into the centre in rings.
Bake the tart in the oven for around 15-20 minutes, until the apples turn golden brown in colour.
Remove the cooked tart from the oven, sprinkle over a little caster sugar and cinnamon, and under a very hot grill, caramelise the apples.
Serve hot with a generous dollop of double cream.
30 minutes to prepare (plus cooling time) 40 minutes to cook
Who doesn’t love a cool chocolate or fruit mousse for dessert? Well, now that raspberries are in season (traditionally throughout July and August), what better dessert to make with those freshly picked, or freshly bought, pink, furry, juicy fruits than a delicious raspberry mousse? It makes a real summertime treat for adults and kids alike.
I remember warm summers when I was a little girl, helping my grandmother make jams, cakes and pies with the gooseberries from her garden. I used to love their tangy taste, but was oblivious to the fact that they are a good source of fibre and vitamins A and C! (Also try these lemon blueberry muffins.)
Why not try this wonderful hot apple tart with cream as a great pudding to celebrate any occasion – perfect as apples are in season all year round.
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