Vanilla almond cream

Post by Jo @ including Cake

To help summer along its way I have been eating lots of berries!  I love summer fruit.... whether it be on top of my morning porridge or cooked up in a fruity dessert. When it comes to dessert I love to drizzle my fruit with cream, leaving behind the hot custards for the winter months.

It's so easy to make your own non-dairy cream with a simple dollop of almond paste, you can whip it up to any thickness you choose to serve with anything from a cream scone to a light summer fruit salad.

Pure ground vanilla bean gives that extra special edge, but you could add maple syrup for a touch of sweetness or cinnamon for the perfect apple pairing. I added vanilla and the slightest touch of maple syrup and cinnamon here, whipping it up to a mid thickness to spoon over a fruit crumble. It thickens uo slightly in the fridge so I would advise making a slightly thinner cream than you want to end up with unless serving immediately.  The cream will keep in the fridges for a few days, just give it a stir before serving.

For a chocolate 'cream' all you'd need to do would be to add more liquid and a little extra sweetness to this 'nutella' concoction...another perfect partner for fresh berries!

Recipe: Vanilla almond cream

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond paste

1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean and a pinch of cinnamon to taste

1 tsp maple syrup (or syrup of choice)

2/3 cup water (or modify to reach desired consistency)

Method:

Blend all ingredients together until very well mixed. Serve immediatelty or store in the fridge until ready to serve. The mixture will thocken up in thr fridge to bare this in mind when adding the water.

Note: this is easier with a smaller blender as i found my larger blender bowl flung the mixture to the egdes and needed scraping down quite a few times to ensure properly mixed.