This week’s it’s blueberries.
They are the princess of summer fruits and very different but no less flavoursome than the king and queen of Summer fruits – strawberries and raspberries and the crown prince, black cherries!
Give this recipe a try. You’ll be in berry paradise!
Individual Blueberry Trifles
Ingredients:
For the Purée
250g of blueberries
500ml of stock Syrup
For the Sponge
4 egg yolks
2oz of sugar
2oz of flour
2 egg whites
For the Anglaise
1 pint of milk
2 pints of double cream
1 vanilla pod/1 cap of vanilla essence
8oz of sugar
12 egg yolks
200g of white chocolate
Blueberry purée
Garnish
50g of blueberries, dried
To Make The Purée:
1 Place the blueberries in a saucepan and cover with stock syrup.
2 Bring the pan to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
3 When the berries soften, strain off the liquid and save for later.
4 Blend the berries and gradually add the liquid until it has a smooth and slightly thick consistency.
5 Pass through a fine sieve into a mixing bowl and add a little bit more liquid if it is too thick.
6 Pour into a squeezy bottle and refrigerate until later on.
To Make the Sponge:
1 In a mixer, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and place in fridge until required.
2 In a fresh bowl, cream together the egg yolks and sugar.
3 When incorporated, fold in the flour, then the egg whites, making sure they are fully incorporated, but not knocking down the mix.
4 Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and pour in sponge mix. Spread evenly with spatula.
5 Cook in an oven at 165˚c
6 When cooked, remove from oven and place on cooling rack.
7 When sponge has fully cooled, cut it into circles using round cutters. The size will be dependant on the size of the glass you serve your individual trifles in. Two circles per portion will be ideal.
To Make the Anglaise:
1 In a saucepan, pour the milk and 1 pint of cream.
2 Add the vanilla pod seeds or the essence and place on a medium heat. DO NOT BOIL.
3 While the liquids are coming to a simmer, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl.
4 When the liquid has reached a simmer, pass it through a fine sieve onto the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated.
5 In a second bowl, put the white chocolate, place the liquid back into a pan and place on a low heat, whisking continually until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6 Separate into two halves and add half to the chocolate and whisk in. Place in fridge and save until later.
7 With the other half of the Anglaise, add half of the blueberry purée to it and whisk it all together. Pour into small saucepan and refrigerate until later.
To Construct the Trifle:
1 Whisk the remaining pint of cream to soft peaks and fold in the white chocolate Anglaise until a smooth, thick mousse consistency is achieved.
2 Transfer to a piping bag.
3 In the base of a glass, put a small dot of the purée, then a layer of the mousse about 1cm thick.
4 Put 1 disc of sponge on top of the mousse and using the squeezy bottle, round the edge of the glass, pour a ring of blueberry purée.
5 Sprinkle half of dried Blueberries on the top.
6 Repeat the process one more time and finish.
7 With one more layer of mousse and a few more dried blueberries on the top, refrigerate before serving.
To Serve:
1 Heat the blueberry Anglaise on the stove until it is hot.
2 Using a hand-held blender, foam the Anglaise and spoon onto the trifles until it is just coming to the top of the glass.
3 Serve immediately before foam falls.
Blueberries are a fantastic healthy treat but did you know that in the berries are also a favourite with animals? Bears love them and so do raccoons and cows.
Here are 10 more fascinating facts that you might not know about blueberries.
1 During the American Civil War, blueberries were collected, packaged and sent to Union troops for use as a food staple.
2 The pale, powder like protective coating on the skin of a blueberry is called ‘bloom’.
3 Blueberries contain more antioxidants than most other fruits or vegetables.
4 Blueberries are one of the only natural foods that are truly blue in colour.
5 Native Americans used blueberry juice to treat persistent coughs and other illnesses.
6 One cup of blueberries contains 80 calories.
7 Blueberries are native to North America.
8 Blueberries won’t ripen once they are picked.
9 They are related to azaleas, camellias, heathers and rhododendrons.
10 One serving of blueberries contains 14mg of vitamin C, almost a quarter of your daily requirement.
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