Over the summer, my family visited my folks down in Maryland to celebrate my dad’s 85th birthday. Food has always been central to our family gatherings and this was no different. We ate our hearts out and were treated to a few special desserts served with this Berry Sauce that my brother-in-law made. My brother-in-law is not only French, but he’s also a chef – my sister is so lucky ;).
My kids absolutely loved this Berry Sauce, which was served with my dad’s birthday cake. It is so versatile that it can be served with yogurt, pancakes, French toast and of course, birthday cake. When I asked my brother-in-law how to make it, he said it was simply berries with some sugar. No thickeners at all. After further prodding, I got the proportions he used to make this Berry Sauce – 1 kilo berries + 200 grams of sugar. Since I don’t use kilos and grams when I cook, I weighed everything out the first time and converted it to cups for the recipe.
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Chocolate Marble Cake with Raspberry Sauce
This recipe is the perfect way to use less than perfect berries or over-ripe berries. I used half fresh strawberries and half frozen blueberries the first time I made it and frozen raspberries the following time, but any combination of fresh or frozen berries would work.
This berry sauce has become one of my youngest sons’ favorite toppings for French toast and pancakes in place of honey or maple syrup.
In fact, we’ve been putting it on just about everything to add a little some special, including this Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread and Chocolate Coffee Marble Cake I made recently.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Banana Bread with Blueberry Sauce (in the front)
This week, a group of bloggers is featuring Berries as a Power Food. This weekly food blogging group features a different Power Food each week based on the book Power Foods: 150 delicious recipes with 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of Martha Stewart’s Whole Living Magazine. Power Foods are foods that are outstanding in the amounts of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, fiber and more, that help fight disease and promote good health.
So what makes Berries a Power Food? Their deep jewel colors are an indication that these little fruits are packed with flavonoids, a group of phytochemicals that can counter cell damage and potentially reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries also contain potent antioxidants that help reduce inflammation and may slow the growth of cancer. All berries are high in fiber (especially raspberries and blackberries), manganese and vitamin C (strawberries are exceptionally high), and also contain vitamins K (blueberries and blackberries are highest) and E, folate and potassium. It’s best to eat a mixture of berries to get the greatest benefit since their nutrition profiles compliment each other.
Easy Berry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups berries strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- 1/4 cup organic sugar
Instructions
-
Place berries and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook 5 minutes until syrupy and berries soften and break down. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Pour through a sieve if you like a silky smooth sauce.
Check out what these other bloggers have cooked up for this week’s Power Foods post: (If you’re interested in joining our group, contact Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits.)
Alyce –Â More Time at the Table
Ansh –Â Spice Roots,
Chaya – My Sweet and Savory
Martha –Â Simple-Nourished-Living
Mireya –Â My Healthy Eating Habits
Sarah –Â Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Minnie – The Lady 8 Home
Sources:
Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients
Easy College Dinner Recipes with Printable Weekly Meal Plan and Shopping List
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A beautiful texture that sauce has and such a great consistency too. I am so sad the berry season is over .
I love putting this over pancakes or waffles!
Gorgeous color, Jeanette. Glad I’ve frozen some berries!
Love those berries, this is my kind of sauce!
Looks great. Does it have to use sugar, or can you use something like Agave Nectar?
You should be able to use another sweetener – I just haven’t tried it yet.
I absolutely love how versatile this sauce is! I’m pretty sure you could top any dessert with it and it would make it that much more delicious.
Berry sauce is one of my favorite ways of eating cake… it’s also great on vanilla ice cream.
Jeanette,
This is such a fantastic sauce. It has just enough sugar to highlight the natural flavor of the fruit. Most fruit sauces go way overboard on the sugar. Thanks for this post!
Glad you all are liking this berry sauce – it is so versatile and not overly sweet. There are so many ways to use this.
As much as I adore Fall, Oh how I’m going to miss my fresh berries.
looks so easy! I must try this
I can just imagine this over ice cream!
I love that you didn’t add a ton of sugar to this–so many berry sauces and syrups have WAY too much sugar! This would be so perfect to serve with breakfast foods like pancakes or waffles.
This would be fabulous on so many dishes! thanks for sharing Jeanette!
Thanks Cheryl – we have been making this sauce with all different fruits, not just berries – peaches – and it is so good!
The color of this sauce is so vibrant it looks like it’s ready to jump off the page. Gorgeous and a perfect way to add amazing flavor to just about anything.
What a simple, colorful, versatile sauce. I think it would work with frozen berries too.
this doesn’t need any water or juice? how do you keep it from burning when you are boiling the fruit/sugar?
Beth – I did not use any water. As the berries cook down and you mash them, they release their natural juices. Cook on low to medium low and stir a lot.