Berry Sauce and Mugolio: Dessert Toppings

What to top your cheesecake with? Here are two splendid options – berry sauce or Mugolio, also known as Italian Pine Cone Bud Syrup.

The beauty of berry sauce is that it’s quick, easy and versatile. Once you’ve made one a few times you probably won’t even need to refer to a recipe. Fresh and individually quick frozen (IQF) berries work equally well and you can always have a bag of frozen berries on hand. Berry sauce can be made either as a smooth puree or left chunky. The fancy term for a pureed sauce is a coulis (pronounced koo-lee).

Terrific over cheesecake, pound cake and ice cream, berry sauces also work wonderfully over pancakes and waffles for a weekend treat. When making it for dessert I will sometimes add a splash of either Chambord or Gran Marnier for added dimension. For breakfast I prefer the chunky sauce and eliminate the liqueur. No more berry pancake syrup from a bottle!

If pureeing for the smooth version, I discovered a trick long ago for removing the seeds easily and quickly. Once faced with 16 pounds of blackberries to make a coulis for a large dinner event, I kept trying different kitchen tools to push the berries through a round sieve. Once I hit upon using a large stainless steel ladle things went quickly. Place pureed berries in a fine sieve over a bowl and with the ladle remove the seeds by pushing or grinding around the inside of the sieve with the ladle.

Berry Sauce and Mugolio: Dessert Toppings

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With frozen berries in the freezer, you can always make this quick sauce for dessert with cheesecake, poundcake, or ice cream. It works equally as well for breakfast with pancakes and waffles.

Smooth Berry Sauce

Yield: about 1 ½ cups

Ingredients

16 ounces frozen berries of choice (mixed, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry), thawed
Juice from half a small lemon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or more, to taste
2 tablespoons liqueur such as Chambord or Grand Marnier, optional

Directions

1) Puree thawed berries in a food processor or blender.

2) Place pureed berries in a fine sieve over a bowl and push berries through with a ladle.

3) Season to taste with lemon juice and sugar, then mix in the liqueur if using. Taste, and if you prefer the sauce a little more sweet add a little more sugar.

Chunky Berry Sauce

Yield: about 2 cups

Use the same ingredients above with frozen berries. Place berries in a small saucepan on low heat to thaw and cook down. I like mixed berries for this sauce. If you are using large whole frozen strawberries, crush them with a fork or hand potato masher as they thaw. Mix in the lemon juice and sugar to taste.  You can also use orange zest and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg for a nice touch.

Mugolio – Italian Pine Cone Bud Syrup

Here’s a delightful and different option. I recently discovered Italian Pine Cone Bud Syrup also called Mugolio. Mugolio comes from the Dolomites in Northern Italy and is made from the Mugo pine tree. It’s a sweet, dark golden brown piney-honey flavored syrup. This might sound strange, but it’s absolutely delicious, with a unique flavor. It works beautifully over cheesecake and with cheese as an appetizer or dessert course. It can be ordered from Market Hall Foods in Northern California at http://markethallfoods.com. At $24 for a small bottle it’s expensive, but when you want to wow your guests and do something really special try Mugolio. The folks at Market Hall Foods also have more suggestions on their website for what to do with Mugolio.

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