Raspberry Sauce--A Festive, Fun, and Versatile Topping

We are celebrating the season with Holiday Goodies at I Heart Cooking Clubs. I was thinking I was on a bit of "goodie" overload with all of the treats that abound this time of year and was going to make something savory, when I found a recipe for Raspberry Syrup in Apples for Jam. The fact that it takes minutes to make, only uses three ingredients (four if you count water), and I had a bag of organic raspberries in the freezer sealed the deal.


This sauce is brilliantly, festively red and perfect to toss together when you need a special topping or sauce for a variety of desserts. It would be great on cheesecake, custards, or a flourless chocolate torte to name just a few. Or use it to liven up a bowl of plain vanilla ice-cream and turn it into a holiday dessert. It was the perfect topping for yesterday's delicious Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes--can't beat that dark chocolate raspberry combination. Feeling the need to be a little healthier? It would be wonderful on Greek yogurt or stirred into oatmeal, and (although it's pretty hard to improve on a mango), it is sublime drizzled on slices of fresh sweet mango. Add a couple of small scoops of mango sorbet to the plate and you can pretend you are having a light dessert at a luxury spa. You could even give it as a holiday gift in little jars. Yep, it's very versatile. I think it may end up in my smoothie tomorrow morning...


Tessa Kiros says, "This is perfect for making sundaes, and it's also lovely drizzled over a dollop of Greek-style yogurt or a bowl of apricot ice cream. Spoon some into a glass before pouring in your milkshakes or smoothies, or serve it with cream over crepes, pancakes, and waffles. Or you could use about 1/2 cup of sugar and only 4 tablespoons of water and add the berries to the pan at the start to make a fruit syrup. Pour a little into a glass and top it up with sparkling or still water. You can use any berries you like--blueberries, cherries, cranberries..."


Raspberry Sauce
From Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros
(Makes about 3/4 cup)

2 1/2 Tbsp superfine sugar
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Put the sugar and lemon juice in a sauce pan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Put the raspberries in a processor or blender , pour the hot syrup over the top, and puree until smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve.


Notes/Results: A tasty combination of sweet and slightly tangy. Opening the jar of this sauce reminds me of a summer day in a berry field--it just makes me happy. As much as I enjoyed Tessa's Cranberry Syrup that I made a few weeks ago, I liked this one even more. An easy and delicious keeper recipe.

You can check out the Holiday Goodies that the other IHCC participants made by going to the post and following the links.