Tuesday 2 August 2011

Strawberry Verrine

Got a lot of strawberries left over from your stash and stuck for ideas on how to use them? Well, you could rustle up a Strawberry, Basil and Lime Smoothie, or if you are looking for a different dessert, how about a Strawberry Verrine?
That's right! It's all about the layers dahling! A verrine, hailing from France, is a series of layers (sweet or savoury) held in a glass. My inspiration for this recipe, was from 
Summer Dessert: Strawberry Verrine
Timing:
Preparation: 10 minutes
*Additional time is required for refrigeration of strawberries with sugar and for setting the verrine*
Cooking: 12 minutes


Portion Control:
Serves 2


Ingredients:
200g of strawberries, with each strawberry cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp of granulated white sugar
1.5 tbsp of crushed hazelnuts
6 sponge fingers, with each finger cut into 3 parts

For the Custard (Crème Anglaise)
1.25 cups of  whole (full-fat) milk
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp of cornflour
1 tbsp of granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean (split open with seeds scraped out/removed)

Directions:.
  • In a large bowl, combine the strawberries with 1tbsp of hazelnuts and the sugar. Mix together gently. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.This will produce a wonderful strawberry syrup.
  • To make the custard, put the milk in a saucepan with the vanilla seeds and bean. Heat gently until it just reaches boiling point. While the milk is heating, put the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour the hot milk in a thin stream over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Give the saucepan a quick rinse out then pour the egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook very gently over a low heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take the pan off the heat and transfer to a clean bowl. Let the custard cool completely, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
  • Prepare two cup size glasses. In each glass, arrange a layer of sponge fingers (3 fingers per glass) and a layer of strawberries (reserve some strawberries for the last layer). Add a layer of custard and finish with the remaining fruit. Cover each verrine with cellophane. Refrigerate for several hours, or even, overnight.
  • Before serving, garnish each verrine with the remaining 0.5 tbsp of hazelnuts.
Garnish with crushed hazelnuts before serving

This is a good choice for Summer dinner parties as you can prepare everything in advance without neglecting your guests! Raspberries and blueberries can also be used.

5 comments:

  1. This looks gorgeous. I really like anything with custard! I'd have to make twice as much so I could eat some of it hot!

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  2. Corina - Thank you. Hot custard with fruit crumbles is always a safe bet, isn't it?

    Thanks Janice - You should try it. Just what we need to cool down in this weather ;-)

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  3. How gorgeous! Strawberry and basil are a match made in heaven...

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  4. Thanks. Yes they complement each other rather well even if I do say so myself ;-)

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