We’ve got a crush on nature’s sweetest little treats – plump and juicy raspberries. With their jewel-bright hue and delicious, delicate sweetness offset by just a hint of tartness, raspberries evoke a heady sense of summer.
Berry good
It is always a pleasure when something so delicious is also really good for you. Raspberries are packed with healthy nutrients – including vitamins C, E and K, copper, magnesium, potassium, folate, omega-three fatty acids, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, not to mention fibre.
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TOP TIPS Handle with care Temperature tip Nice ice |
SUMMER BOUNTY
In South Africa, raspberry season starts in November and runs right through summer to February. However, some farmers use polytunnels to grow them year-round so you can treat yourself to delicious raspberry recipes whatever the season.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT!
Raspberries belong to the
rose (Rosaceae) family – as do strawberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, apricots, loquats, peaches, pears, plums and almonds.
DELICIOUS, DECADENT, RASPBERRY RECIPES
Raspberries taste as luscious as they look. While there is something extra special about biting into the plump and juicy berries straight from the bush, they are also wonderful to cook with. Use them in cheesecakes and tarts, cocktails and smoothies, dessert sauces and summer puddings, or wherever your imagination takes you.
Raspberry and Hazelnut Phyllo Tartlets
A scattering of fresh raspberries gives you a delicious fresh and tangy contrast to the creamy sweetness of the rich vanilla-custard filling of these bite-sized morsels. The casings are crispy and super-simple – just press buttered phyllo squares into a 12-cup Muffin Tray – while roasted hazelnuts add texture and another delicious flavour contrast.
Raspberry Mousse
Served in our colourful Espresso Mugs, this fluffy, exuberant dessert looks as sweet as it tastes. Lemon-flavoured boiled-sweet ‘biscuits’ make for a truly unusual but thoroughly festive accompaniment.
Pink Lemonade
While this recipe for Pink Lemonade calls for fresh raspberries, it is also a great way to use frozen berries or any that have become slightly bruised in the fridge. It is very easy to make: simply boil up raspberries with water and sugar to form a syrup, add lemon juice freshly squeezed with a Citrus Juicer, and serve in a jug topped up with chilled sparkling water.
Chocolate Tart
Raspberries and dark chocolate form a classic culinary combination. The flavours are sophisticated and decadent, with a pleasing contrast of texture and taste. Bake the shortcrust pastry blind in a Fluted Flan Dish before adding the rich chocolate filling. The finishing touch for sophisticated presentation is to arrange the raspberries artfully to show off their beautiful colour and form – don’t just pile them on randomly.
Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache
Chocaholics will delight in these doubly decadent cupcakes: bake the chocolatey batter in a 12-cup Muffin Tray while you whip up the glossy dark chocolate ganache. When the cupcakes are cool, top each with a generous swirl of ganache frosting, add a perfect jewel-bright raspberry and show off the fruits of your labour on a perfectly pretty Cake Stand.
Two-Tier Vanilla Cake
Present this wonderfully pretty cake on a Footed Cake Stand for a fabulous teatime centrepiece. The key to its dramatic impact is to create the impression of a cake tower by using Springform Cake Tins in two different sizes to bake each cake layer. Spread them with lashings of vanilla-butter icing and top with a generous tumble of bright and juicy raspberries.
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