Raspberries

RECIPES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

A few years ago, a friend gave me some raspberry canes. Each year these canes multiply, popping up all through the garden. Much like mint in my garden, which grows rampant, I embrace this because unlike my strawberries that the birds and slugs get before I do, there are more than enough raspberries for all to enjoy. I get so many raspberries, most are frozen, giving me a steady supply all year round. RASPBERRY FRANGIPANE TART

I’m a sucker for frangipane! Wave an almond croissant in my direction and I will crumble. While frangipane goes beautifully with a buttery croissant, the addition of tart raspberries is a perfect complement. Other fruit like plums, apricots and blackberries will also work. You will have more pastry than you need, but it can be frozen for next time.

PASTRY

125g butter, soft ½ cup sugar 1 Otaika Valley Freerange egg 1 tsp vanilla paste (optional) 1¾ cups flour

RASPBERRY COULIS

1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen) ¼ cup sugar ½ tsp cornflour 1 tbsp lemon juice

FRANGIPANE

100g butter, softened 2/3 cup caster sugar 2 size 7 Otaika Valley Freerange eggs 1 cup ground almonds 250g (around 2 cups) fresh raspberries ½ cup flaked almonds

To make the pastry, place the soft butter in a food processor with the sugar and process until pale and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and process until well combined. Finally add the flour and process until it comes together in a ball.

Chill the pastry for at least an hour before rolling out. Preheat the oven to 180°C. On a well-floured bench, roll the pastry to approx. 1mm thickness and line a 26cm tart tin. Cover with paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and beans, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly then spread the coulis over the pastry base which you can make while the pastry is cooking by placing the raspberries and sugar in a small pot and simmering for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and pass through a sieve to remove the seeds. Dissolve the cornflour in the lemon juice and add this to the raspberry coulis. Heat gently and stir well until the mix thickens, then take off the heat and cool.

To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric beater until pale. Beat in the eggs then the ground almonds until well combined. Spread the almond mix over the pastry case. Dot the top with raspberries, then sprinkle over the flaked almonds.

Reduce the oven to 160°C and bake the tart for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown (cover with foil if it browns too quickly). Serve warm or cool with a big dollop of cream.

This delicate, just set panna cotta is the perfect dessert on a hot summer’s evening. Make them the day before and set them in some fancy glasses for a fuss free but impressive dessert. The rosewater adds an exotic touch, but be warned, go overboard and your dessert goes from intriguing to disgusting!

BERRY JELLY

250g raspberries (around 2–2½ cups) 1–2 tbsp lemon juice ¼ cup sugar 1 tsp gelatine 2 tbsp hot water

PANNA COTTA

300mls cream ¼ cup honey 2-3 tsp rosewater (available from Vetro or La Cave) 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp gelatine ¼ cup hot water 1 cup Greek yoghurt

Place the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes then take off the heat and pass through a sieve to remove all the raspberry seeds. You should get about 1 cup of coulis. Dissolve the 1 tsp of gelatine in 2 tbsp of hot water then mix in with the coulis. Heat gently, mixing well, then pour into 4–6 glasses and set in the fridge. To get the angled effect, place a milk bottle cap or something similar under each glass as the raspberry jelly sets. Once the jelly has set (approx. 2–3 hours), make the panna cotta, gently heating the cream with the honey in a small pot. Meanwhile, dissolve the gelatine in the hot water, stirring well to remove all the lumps. When the honey has dissolved in the cream, take off the heat and stir in the gelatine followed by the rosewater, vanilla and yoghurt. Whisk to combine, then pour into the glasses over the set jelly. Allow to set in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

Just before serving, garnish with either a few fresh raspberries or some rose petals. Note – For a simpler version, you can remove the gelatine from the raspberry mixture and simply use this as a topping for the panna cotta.