A New Fruit + Cream

I’ve never been a huge fruit eater. I used to think that if I was going to indulge in something sweet I’d rather go for chocolate or ice cream or a slice of cake. But in the last 12 months I’ve developed a new appreciation for fruit. It all stems from trying to entice a toddler to eat fresh food. While Fergal still won’t touch most green veg (apart from edamame and peas), he just adores fruit. Especially blueberries.

The other surprise is that most fruit is low GI. So not likely to spike your blood sugar. The exceptions tend to be the tropical fruit like mango (pictured above), pineapple and bananas so if you want a healthier dessert choose fruit that grows in cooler climates like berries, stone fruit, apples or pears.

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A New Fruit + Cream

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 2 serves fruit
• fresh cream preferably double cream!

Instructions

• Wash and dry fruit. Slice or peel if needed and arrange in a pretty bowl. Serve with cream passed separately for everyone to add their own.

Variations

pantry-friendly – dark chocolate.

dairy-free – serve with coconut cream, cashew cream (soak cashews in water for 6 hours, drain and whizz in a high powered blender until smooth), coconut yoghurt or a dollop of almond butter.

more decadent – serve with vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of honey or some grated dark chocolate.

crunchy – serve with toasted nuts such as sliced almonds or chopped pistachios or cashews.

wintery – warm your fruit in the oven or a frying pan before serving. About 20 minutes at 180C (350F) will do for most fruit that is in bite sized pieces.

other flavours – try a sprinkle of cinnamon, some ground cardamom (a little goes a long way), or a splash of vanilla extract.

paleo (grain, legume & dairy-free) – use coconut cream, coconut yoghurt or sorbet.

low carb – choose low carb fruit like berries or stone fruit.

keto / ultra low carb – serve berries or dark chocolate instead of fruit + cream.

Problem Solving Guide

bland – add a little sugar, maple syrup or honey. I also find some almond butter or peanut butter can really turn simple fruit into a treat.

too hard – sounds like your fruit wasn’t super ripe – warming it in a pan with a little unsalted butter can help soften and enhance sweetness.

Waste Avoidance Strategy

fruit – most can be peels, chopped and frozen.

cream – unopened cartons will generally keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. If you need to store for longer, just pop in the freezer in a sealed container.