Summer has rolled around once again. With that comes an explosion in the popularity of berries and fruit as the winter hibernation wears off and the warm weather leaves us craving more fresh fruits and veges.
However, with Cyclone Gabrielle causing relentless damage through the key growing regions of New Zealand earlier this year, the supply of fresh fruit and berries has become a lot more precarious.
Farmers across the country have warned that their harvests will be far less fruitful than in previous years. So if you’re struggling to find fresh produce, or you’ve been potentially stumped by their increased prices, you may opt to turn to those of the frozen or canned kind.
Frozen produce shouldn’t be avoided though; it is just as good for you and can even contain more nutrients than its freshly picked counterparts due to being frozen immediately following harvest.
With that said, we’ve compiled a list of recipes that you can use with frozen berries and fruit so you don’t have to worry about tracking down the cheapest punnets on the shelves.
Berry platter with sheep’s labneh and orange oil
Yotam Ottolenghi, a world-famous Israeli-British chef and writer, is well-known for his cookbooks that champion experimenting with unconventional flavours and food textures. This recipe, taken from his cookbook Flavour, uses a combination of berries, labneh (strained yoghurt), and orange-infused olive oil to create a multi-layered display of seasonal delights.
The dish can double up as a light dessert or as a brunch centrepiece. You can make your own labneh but it requires draining the yoghurt for a good 24 hours, or you can make everything easily on the day using shop bought labneh or some Greek-style yoghurt mixed with a little double cream. The berries you use are totally up to you; you can use whatever types and frozen ones are ideal, especially for the blitzing part of the recipe.
Get the berry platter with sheep’s labneh and orange oil recipe.
Frozen berries and croissant pudding
Bring out a warm and cosy dessert for your guests to enjoy as the finale. Using croissant in this pudding makes for a light texture and a unique flavour. If the croissants are large you may only need three. No buttering is needed, as it is in the traditional (and more frugal) bread and butter pudding, which evolved as a way of using up stale bread instead of throwing it out. This recipe is perfect for use with frozen berries as it goes straight in the oven to create a delightful combination of berries, croissant, and sugar.
Get the frozen berries and croissant pudding recipe.
Boysenberry oats by Two Raw Sisters
The Two Raw Sisters have done it again, bringing whole-food recipes on to the scene that are simple to follow yet taste like restaurant quality. Taken from their new cookbook Simple Fancy, blending everything from this recipe into a boysenberry milk means the berry flavour is much more bold, creating a delicious fruity breakfast or brunch. Feel free to serve at any time: breakfast, lunch, or even for dessert. And again, frozen boysenberries are ideal for this blended recipe.
Get the Two Raw Sisters boysenberry oats recipe.
All-American cherry pie
Summer is the perfect time for fresh cherries. However, with cherries being more difficult to source this season, it may not be the type of summer for such delicacies (unless you’re happy forking up extra for them). Luckily for this American-inspired cherry pie recipe, the test kitchen recommends using tinned cherries for a fuller flavour. Have a go!
Get the American cherry pie recipe.
Berry semifreddo
Mixing in the berries to this semifreddo gives it a vibrant colour. It’s a great dessert for the summer when berries are abundant, but it can be done with frozen ones just as well. This is a delicious favourite that will never go out of fashion. Angela Casley’s take is to add yoghurt, which gives a delightful, unexpected tang to the frozen treat. Semifreddo doesn’t need churning, so it’s a great alternative if you want to serve ice cream but don’t have a churner.
Get the berry semifreddo recipe.
Apricot tarte tatin
The story goes that this classic upside-down tart was created by accident by two French sisters named Tatin. Traditionally the recipe is made with apples, but apricots are just as good and have more of a ‘tart’ flavour. When using tinned apricots, make sure to drain them well and pat dry with paper towels to keep the puff pastry from going soggy.
Get the apricot tarte tatin recipe.
Canned fruit sorbet
When fresh fruit is in short supply for desserts, Warren Elwin takes on a can-do attitude. This tropical sorbet is made with canned mango and apricots. However, there is plenty of room for flexibility. You can use pears, plums, apples, cherries, or whatever your favourite canned fruits are and blitz them into a smooth sorbet. Use this recipe as a general guide so tin sizes will be determined by the amount you want to make. You may need more lemon juice/zest, depending upon the quantity made and according to taste.
Get the canned fruit sorbet recipe.
Blueberry bakewell slice
A classic berry slice that balances the sweet and buttery pastry with a whole bunch of blueberries. If you find a few gaps in the slice once you have placed the topping, that is fine, it will spread as it cooks. While this recipe uses frozen blueberries, other berries are just as delicious. This is wonderfully moist, great with a morning coffee or as a wee treat for dessert.
Get the blueberry bakewell slice recipe.
Gluten-free apple and berry crumble
This simple gluten-free crumble recipe uses apples (can be fresh or canned) and your choice of frozen berries to create a celiac-friendly fruit crumble. Indulge in a pleasant and balanced mix of fruits, nuts, and coconut.
Get the gluten-free apple and berry crumble recipe.
Blueberries and cream trifle
Annabel Langbein whipped up this delicious blueberries and cream trifle using frozen blueberries and canned peaches as key ingredients. Keep a pre-cooked sponge and some berries in the freezer so you can put this together at the drop of a hat. With the other ingredients in the pantry, you just need custard and cream.
Get the blueberries and cream trifle recipe.
Apricot and blueberry tray bake
Sometimes a tray bake is just what you want and all you need. This apricot and blueberry tray bake is also a very flexible recipe that can be used with a variety of different fruits and berries; work the contents around your favourite tastes. The following recipe does not require any fresh fruit. Instead, canned apricots are more than apt and frozen blueberries are perfect. Try out Sally Wise’s recipe from her cookbook, The Comfort Bake, and see how easy it can be to bake a delicious sweet treat.
Get the apricot and blueberry tray bake recipe.
Berry walnut shortbread
This recipe is taken from Mike Van de Elzen’s The Good From Scratch Kids Cookbook, which is filled with family-friendly recipes for adults and kids to make. The recipes all stem from his Good From Scratch philosophy; there is nothing better than a meal where you know what the ingredients are. The recipes are healthy, quick to prepare and delicious. This shortbread is a great one to make ahead of time as you can put some in the freezer. The natural sweetness from the berries means less refined sugar — pop a square in lunchboxes or whip out a plate for a quick smoko.
Get the berry walnut shortbread recipe.
Raspberry ripple ambrosia
Raspberry ripple ambrosia is a simple yet effective dessert that is bound to be gobbled up quickly. Annabel Langbein has put forward an easy recipe that only requires a short amount of prep and 7 ingredients. Take a trip back down memory lane by putting together this ambrosia, which is reminiscent of your classic-style summer dessert scooped up by the kids yet loaded with nougat for a unique twist. Why not try it out?
Get the raspberry ripple ambrosia recipe.
Self-saucing chocolate and Black Doris plum pudding
Sometimes you need just a simple, flavourful pudding to satisfy those sweet cravings. This pudding has all the key components and does them well; the chocolate sponge is rich, the plums balance it out with tartness, and the decadent sauce helps to bring it all together. Using tinned plums is perfect as the syrup is preserved to make the chocolate-plum sauce. Serve it with some fresh pouring cream and you will be good to go.
Get the self-saucing chocolate and Black Doris plum pudding recipe.
Chocolate whip cheesecake cups with berries
These deconstructed cheesecake cups have it all - a crumbly cookie base, a creamy chocolate cheesecake centre and a tart berry sauce. They can be prepared the day before; top with defrosted berries just before you serve.
Get the chocolate whip cheesecake cups with berries recipe.
Easy apricot galette
This super-easy recipe can be whipped up after dinner if you suddenly feel like pudding. As long as you have sweet short pastry and a can of apricots, the rest of the ingredients can be easily found in the pantry. This galette is perfect for any time of the year, yet makes sense to create as a quick dessert that can be made with no fresh fruit in sight.
Get the easy apricot galette recipe.
Whipped yoghurt with roasted strawberries and peanut fudge sauce
Her mother’s from Brazil, she grew up in Italy and her grandfather lived in Mexico – Ottolenghi protégé Ixta Belfrage fuses her background into her food in her cookbook Mezcla: Recipes to Excite, which celebrates everyday eating with built-in wow factor. Like this scrumptious dessert. Frozen strawberries are the choice over fresh ones, where they’re roasted in the oven with notes of lime and cinnamon. “The lime-roasted strawberries and peanut fudge sauce are essentially a refined combination of peanut butter and jelly, and boy do they sing together!” Belfrage shares.
Get Ixta Belfrage’s whipped yoghurt with roasted strawberries and peanut fudge sauce recipe.
Gluten-free tropical fruit and almond cake
It can be hard to find a sweet treat that isn’t loaded with copious amounts of refined sugar. Nadia Lim has come to the rescue with this delicious cake; instead of being sweetened with sugar, it is filled with fruits fresh, dried, and canned. Lim’s cake is full of rich flavours reminiscent of the flavours enjoyed by a tropical beach. It is also a gluten-free recipe which makes it easier on the stomach. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients and tailor the recipe to your pantry.
Get the gluten-free tropical fruit and almond cake recipe.
Ambrosia parfait
Another recipe designed specifically for when fresh fruit is in short supply, Warren Elwin takes on a can-do attitude for creating tasty desserts without needing fresh produce. Tin sizes and the number of biscuits used here will depend upon how large your serving glasses are and how sweet you like things! This recipe is a general guide so use whatever fruits you have at hand; mandarins, blackberries, and cherries were used here.
Get the ambrosia parfait recipe.
Plant-based iced raspberry chocolate log
Here’s a decadent plant-based dessert, ideal for impressing dairy-free guests. It’s based on coconut ice cream (available at the supermarket), jazzed up with berries and cocoa. There’s a bit of fiddling to assemble it but you can do this a week ahead of time so it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice.
A few tricks make a difference in this recipe. The frozen raspberries have maple syrup and vanilla essence added, both of which help keep the berries softer when frozen — sugar and alcohol (in the vanilla essence) both lower the freezing point. While it is recommended to be served frozen with fresh strawberries on top, this is not essential; you are just as fine to use frozen strawberries (or whatever berry you enjoy).
Get the plant-based iced raspberry chocolate log recipe.
Raspberry and lemon tarts
Raspberry and lemon tarts are an all-time hit as they require very few ingredients. Even better, they make use of frozen raspberries. Of course, like all the recipes included in this collection, you can replace these with other berries of your choice. If it’s easier or more convenient for you, you can make one large tart using the same ingredients and serve with a bowl of whipped cream.
Get the raspberry and lemon tart recipe.
Berry merry Christmas cake
Warren Elwin bakes a fresh, zingy, summery Christmas cake for those not so keen on the heavy-on-the-dried-fruit-and-nuts variety. This bright and delicate cake is a great alternative. He partners the berry, lemon, and coconut cake with his special Christmas cream; macerated berries mixed with cream, creme fraiche, and orange juice. As followed, use frozen blackcurrants and cranberries within the cake batter.
Get the berry merry Christmas cake recipe.
Banana ice cream
Since finding out this magical way of making a quick dessert, Karena and Kasey Bird have experimented with several different flavours. They’ve added frozen berries, passionfruit, peanut butter, coconut, honey and nutella (not so healthy but really good). Experiment with some of your favourite flavours.
Get the banana ice cream recipe.
Warm blueberry miso breakfast bowl
This breakfast was created by Aaron Brunet on a cool, spring day when a warm, healthy breakfast was required. It sounds a little weird but tastes great.
He especially likes the sweet raisins and the way the berries on top get thawed just enough to be soft but still stay cool and fresh. And the miso? Not as mad as you might think - it works just like salt does in porridge but it adds a little more richness and depth, too.
Brunet grinds his seeds in a coffee grinder but you can just as easily use a bought mix like LSA (linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds).
Get the warm blueberry miso breakfast bowl recipe.
Canned fruit compote
When fresh produce is in short supply for winter desserts, Warren Elwin takes on a can-do attitude. Serve this baked fruit compote warm or cold with icecream or yoghurt.
Get the canned fruit compote recipe.