Inspired by Italy: Baked Ricotta Cakes and Berry Sauce

Here comes the final dish from this week’s Monday Menu; Baked Ricotta Cakes with Berry Sauce

This dessert is a really quick elegant dish to serve. If you want to prepare ahead, it can also be served cool, however with the nights drawing in, I’m looking for all the warmth and comfort I can get, so fresh from the oven is best for me.
The choice of fruits for the sauce is a personal preference. I always have bags of frozen berries stashed away, so my choice is driven by ease, but you can vary this however you wish. A warm cherry compote would be a really nice accompaniment.

I think this follows the pasta dish nicely, because it’s not too heavy or too creamy. Follow with a cup of good coffee and you’re done!

NB - I cooked these for a little too long and they have not photographed amazingly well (sad Helen!)

Enjoy cooking,
Helen x

Baked Ricotta Cakes and Berry Sauce

Ingredients

• 250g ricotta
• 2 egg whites (beaten)
• 4 tbsp honey
• 450g berries (defrosted if frozen)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c/GM 4 and grease 4 ramekins

Step 2: Mix ricotta with beaten egg whites and 3 tbsp honey until smooth and combined

Step 3: Spoon ricotta mix into small ramekins and level tops. Bake for 20 mins or until golden

Step 4: Heat ¾ of the fruit in a saucepan until softened, press through a sieve and add 1 tbsp honey to sweeten

Step 5: Serve ricotta cakes with berry sauce and a scattering of remaining berries

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Berry Nice Low Fat Vanilla Panna Cotta

There are times with puddings when you throw any attempts at low-fat out of the window and revel in the sheer naughtiness of what you're eating (my Chocolate Pavlova Supernova is a case in point). Any attempt to swap devilish ingredients for those slightly less hip-scaringly bad would ruin the whole essence of what these dishes are about.

However, there are also times when calorie-consciousness creeps through and, as much as you may want a creamy dessert or sweet, soft cake the guilt factor is too high and they are resisted.

This dessert is perfect for those times (also good for dinner parties which may have featured a heavy main course or a hot summers day). It's light, creamy, fruity and refreshing all at once. Additionally, it's easy to make and low-fat, substituting double cream (a usual feature in a panna cotta recipe), for the far more angelic natural yoghurt. How many reasons do you need to try it out?!

I don't think you need to advertise this as low-fat, because it still manages to taste like a treat and therefore passes the man test where other low-fat, tasteless dishes may give rise to scorn and disdain.

You could easily adjust the compote too to reflect seasonal fruit. A spiced plum compote would be great for Autumn and a cranberry compote super for Christmas.

Berry Nice Vanilla Panna Cotta

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 vanilla pod
• 2 sheets gelatine
• 420g low-fat natural yoghurt
• 300g frozen berries
• 40g icing sugar

Step 1: Place the sheets of gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften


Step 2: Combine water, gelatine and honey in a heatproof jug. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add both to the jug.

Step 3: Stand jug in a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until gelatine dissolves. Remove jug from water and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Discarding pod when cool.

Step 4: Combine honey mixture and yoghurt in a bowl and then pour into 4 125ml moulds (I used ramekins). Cover and place in fridge for 3 hours/overnight

                                                   

                                                    

Step 5: Combine berries and icing sugar in a saucepan and heat on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Only stir occasionally to ensure fruit keeps its shape. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until required.

Step 6: Remove from mould (see top tips) and serve with berry compote

Top Tips

• To easily remove the panna cotta from the mould either wipe round the outside of the mould with a very hot cloth (if using metal moulds). Or, if using porcelain moulds, stand briefly in a bowl of hot water to loosen the panna cotta from the sides
• When it’s loosened, place your serving plate on top and flip over so the panna cotta drops out in the centre of your dish
• Don’t rush the removing part or you hard work will be ruined!

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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