And here I am  again, to  give you  more recipes for  delectable desserts in the New Year. I hope your new year has been a good one thus far and you are now well established  in your routine for the year which hopefully will include trying your hand at making  some of the recipes featured in this column.  

The first one for the year is a quite  easy to put together, and has the distinction of being both creamy and tart  so those of you who love a touch of  both  – well this should be right up your street, especially since frozen berries are now freely available! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar                           

4 egg whites                                  

¾ cup whipping cream

500g of mixed frozen berries of your choice                           

1 teaspoon vanilla

I tsp gelatin powder dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water                 

A few strawberries to decorate

Method:

1.      Blend the frozen berries with ½ a cup of sugar until smooth. Pour into a shallow dish, cover  and freeze until firm

2.      Line a loaf pan with baking paper with about 2 inches overhang on the sides.

3.      Chop the frozen berry mixture and then blend  again until smooth and some what the  consistency of sorbet. Spread the berry (sorbet!) mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Cover and freeze till firm.

4.      Beat the egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar , beating until sugar is dissolved in between additions.

5.      Beat the cream and vanilla in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until firm peaks form.  Pour the egg white mixture and dissolved gelatin into the cream and gently fold. Pour this over the frozen berry mixture in the pan. Smooth the top, cover and freeze until firm.

6.       To serve simply invert on to  a serving platter and decorate with strawberries. Slice and serve immediately.

Footnote – If you are feeling particularly creative you may spoon in half the berry mixture into the loaf pan to start with and freeze it .

Then add the layer of cream and freeze. Lastly add the other half of the berries and freeze.

There is however no call to do this! It doesn’t make any difference to the refreshing taste, and  two layers look as pretty on the serving platter as three!