Making Christmas Sauces for Dipping Fresh Fruit

Butterscotch Sauce, Autumn Raspberry Sauce, Hot Chocolate Sauce

Oct 31, 2008 Susan Morris

Preparing for Christmas can be left last minute with these uncomplicated dipping hot sauces for fresh fruit. There's a choice of three recipes for Christmas sauces.

Annual gatherings of family and friends at Christmas can spell the same old same old celebratory food. Christmas cooks often feel the rush of pulling everything together in the kitchen, keeping everyone’s hunger and food preferences sorted plus ensuring variety of foods over the Christmas vacation.

Depending on locale, fresh fruit in season at Christmas could be strawberries, mango and pineapple, figs, dates or clementines. Whatever the choice of fresh fruit for a simple cut into bits and dip Christmas holidays afternoon snack or perhaps at the end of a large meal, one or more of these sauces will be right for home cooking.

Butterscotch Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 45g muscovado sugar
• 6 teaspoons of caster sugar
• 150g golden syrup
• 30g butter
• 125ml double cream
• Good quality vanilla extract

The amounts above are for two portions so butterscotch sauce cooks should multiply for the portions they require.

Directions:

1. Melt the caster sugar with the golden syrup and butter in a saucepan.
2. Add the muscovado sugar to the saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Next add the vanilla extract and mix in well.
4. Stir in the double cream to the saucepan in small amounts and then remove from the heat.
5. The butterscotch sauce is ready to serve as a dip for fresh fruit.

Autumn Raspberry Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 200g Autumn raspberries
• 75g caster sugar
• ¼ pint still water

The amounts above are for six portions so autumn raspberry sauce cooks should multiply for the portions they require.

Directions:

1. Dissolve the caster sugar in the water in a saucepan on a high heat.
2. Add the raspberries and boil hard until the raspberries are stewed.
3. Remove the raspberries from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and set to one side.
4. Reduce the liquid to one third of its volume by boiling.
5. When syrupy, remove the saucepan from the heat.
6. Return the cooked autumn raspberries to the pan and spoon the sauce over the fruits to coat.
7. Autumn Raspberry Sauce is ready to serve.

Hot Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• 75g dark chocolate like Green and Black’s 70% cocoa solids
• 2 teaspoons of strong black coffee
• 125ml double cream
• 1 tablespoon of golden syrup
• 2 cardamom pods

The amounts above are for two portions so hot chocolate sauce cooks should multiply for the portions they require.

Directions:

1. Melt the dark chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan with boiling water.
2. Heat the golden syrup with the strong black coffee and the 2 cardamom pods in a saucepan over a very gentle heat.
3. The cardamom should be allowed to infuse for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the cardamom pods from the blend.
5. Add the double cream and the melted dark chocolate to the saucepan and turn over into the blend.
6. Take off the heat once everything is melted into a smooth balanced sauce.
7. The hot chocolate sauce is ready to serve as a dip for fresh fruit.

The copyright of the article Making Christmas Sauces for Dipping Fresh Fruit in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Susan Morris. Permission to republish Making Christmas Sauces for Dipping Fresh Fruit in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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