Blackcurrant and amaretti mess

Dessert; Serves 4; Total time: 15 minutes plus cooling

Annie Bell
Friday 17 August 2001 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Blackcurrants and amaretti are always an excellent match for one another. This pudding pays homage to Eton Mess – the schoolboy's concoction of meringue, raspberries and whipped cream that always earns top marks.

The combination is open to interpretation without coming unstuck, though I personally prefer to temper the whipped cream with some fromage frais. I also generally like to ensure that the proportion of fruit is hefty, so that it offsets the rich sweetness of the other ingredients.

The fruit here leans heavily towards raspberries, but should you be so privileged to have access to loganberries and wild strawberries, then so much the better. In fact, the fruit alone makes a lovely summer compote, delicious when served with crème fraiche, and it takes all of five minutes to prepare. You may like to tart it up with a drop of raspberry eau-de-vie.

250g blackcurrants, strung using a fork
50g caster sugar
200g raspberries
150ml whipping cream, whipped
150g fromage frais
90g amaretti

Place the blackcurrants and sugar in a small saucepan and heat gently for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted and the currants are almost submerged in juice. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool, then stir in the raspberri

Select a deep 18cm bowl, such as you might make a trifle in. Combine the cream and the fromage frais. Break up the amaretti, and make two layers each of amaretti, cream and fruit, ending with fruit. Chill before serving; the amaretti will lose their crispness after a while, but it's still good to eat.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in