Sweet Summer Berries + Cardamon Coconut Cream Whip
Most of you know this but for those who don’t Paul (my better half, my love, my "hubby", together for 8 years I think I can call him that) is half East Indian. His Dad is Indian and his Mom is Caucasian and they have both taught me a ton about the Indian culture and most importantly about the food; the spices, the robust distinct flavours, the masalas, the curries, the sweets, the breads; roti or naan anyone? My love of Indian food is endless, I could eat it everyday and be one happy girl. Although Indian food is probably my most favourite with close seconds being Mexican and Italian I have yet to fine tune my Indian cooking skills. When I cook Indian I never quite get it as vibrantly flavourful as either of Paul's parents or our favourite take out Indian food market, which I think I might have to order from this weekend with all this Indian food talk. I am working in it though and when I come up with some goodies I will share (like today's sweet treat with a hint of Indian flair).
Last year Paul and I actually went to India with his Dad for four weeks, travelling around the country and visiting his family. It was the best trip of my life thus far. I left a huge piece of my heart in India, the landscape, architecture, people, food, colours, music, fabrics everything was just so magical and breathtaking, I have never been in such awe of a country.
Our trip is something I have yet to write about because I have always felt it so hard to get the words out on just the impact this trip made on my life and Paul’s. I promise it will happen, it is actually my summer mission, I will write and share stories (we have some pretty funny ones) and pictures, oh the pictures we have are stunning, its coming.
We both have a huge desire to go back, I know we will and when we do no if and or but I am booking us a cooking class...
I don’t know why we didn’t take one while we were there, it is the one thing I kick myself for not doing. It was hard though, there was so much to see and do and being our first time there I think we were pretty overwhelmed with it all and just took each day as we went never really planning too much, letting the roads and winds guide us and it turned out exactly, perfectly the way it should have. Plus it gives us and excuse to go back, not that our family there isn’t a big enough excuse.
The other night I was watching Master Chef (guilty pleasure) and one of the contestants made cardamom spiced whipped cream and I thought genius, I bet that is fantastic, I must try!
Not really know how to go about making it, I played around in the kitchen and came up with something that just happened to work. I used coconut cream because I have a slight obsession with it right now over regular whipped cream. The two (coconut and cardamon) worked magically together. I paired it with some summer berries I picked up at the farmers market and dessert was served. It is light and refreshing, airy and smooth, sweet and spicy, it is perfection in a summer bowl....
sweet summer berries + cardamon coconut cream whip
ingredients
4 cups of berries (I used a mixture of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, but pick your favourite)
1 can of coconut cream (chilled overnight in the fridge)
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 tsp of cardamon
1 tsp of vanilla
directions
Throw a mixture of berries into a bowl (leave blackberries, blueberries and raspberries whole and cut the strawberries if using) and drizzle with maple syrup. Place in the fridge.
Take the chilled can of coconut cream out of the fridge and empty the cream portion into a standing mixer (leaving out the watery bit), add the cardamon and vanilla and whip on high for 2-3 minutes. Add the bowl to the fridge. You could add some more maple syrup to the coconut whip as well if you want it sweeter.
Let the bowl of cream sit in the fridge with the berries for at least 20 minutes.
Dish the berries into a bowl and top with cardamon cream and serve.