Desserts bursting with goodness
By Xu Wei |
April 5, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Late spring and early summer is the local strawberry season. Fresh strawberries with their tempting looks have a naturally sweet taste -- and only around 50 calories each.
Strawberries are also highly nutritious. Eight medium-sized fresh berries contain about 150 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C and 20 percent of the recommended folate intake. They are also high in potassium and a good source of dietary fiber.
The versatile berry is a source for antioxidants and has been proved to have rich health benefits for eye care, brain function and relief from high blood pressure, gout and heart disease. Experts have also found that strawberries may also help fight against skin cancer, as well as help with constipation and rheumatism.
An additional health benefit of strawberries, unknown to most people, is that the acid found in them is very effective at removing tartar from teeth.
Today, gourmets are not satisfied with eating strawberries as a simple berry. Instead, they are used as the core ingredient in many easy and yummy recipes.
Chefs note that strawberries - with their bright colors, faint scent and good taste - are a particularly good choice for dessert. Regardless of what they are added to, strawberries retain their distinctive characteristics.
For the strawberry season, veteran chefs from two city hotels offer food lovers a mouth-watering collection of strawberry desserts. Strawberry cakes
Every March and April, an extraordinary strawberry festival is held in Baihe Town in suburban Qingpu District -- "the home of strawberry" - only 20 minutes' drive from the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake.
During this year's festival, the hotel located by the beautiful and tranquil Xiayang Lake will present diners with an exquisite selection of homemade strawberry desserts.
Pastry chef Noel Xue says that the strawberry is "the queen of fruit."
"Strawberries' bright colors and attractive appearance give you an appetite," he says. "Desserts made from strawberries can satisfy both people's taste buds and their health demands."
Xue strongly recommends two of the hotel's flavored desserts - strawberry Napoleon cake and strawberry cheesecake.
As the strawberry version of the traditional Napoleon cake, this stunning dessert tastes as good as it looks. And all it takes is puff pastry plus the perfect combination of fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
The strawberry cheesecake is also full of flavor and a perfect way to highlight the lusciousness of strawberries. The cheesecake itself is moist, rich and melts in the mouth.
The hotel is offering many other strawberry-themed desserts, such as the sweet-and-sour strawberry tiramisu, and strawberry tart - a delicious and simple barbecue or picnic dessert that kids and adults alike will love.
Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake
Address: 303 Qingzhou Rd, Qingpu District
Tel: 2213-0000 ext 6121Strawberry desserts
Specially created strawberry desserts are now on offer at the lobby lounge of DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai - Pudong.
Jackson Qian, executive chef of the hotel's Western Kitchen, says he likes strawberries because not only do they look good, they also contain vitamins and natural fruit acid which keeps skin moisturized and smooth.
"People always compare beautiful girls to a strawberry - both are good looking and delicious," Qian says. "So when we chose a strawberry theme, it was to create desserts that are 'good looking and delicious'."
The strawberry dessert that Qian highly recommends is a sweet-and-sour flavored traditional strawberry milkshake, which contains diced strawberry stirred together with fresh milk. This dessert also aids digestion, he says.
"It seems easy to make, but in fact there's a lot to consider - for example, the percentages of strawberry and milk and how to blend these together," adds Qian.
Pastry chef Jenny Wang loves strawberry mousse cake best, describing it as a perfect combination of visual impact and taste.
"And it's delicious while also being healthy," Wang says. "It's the kind of dessert that can keep you fit."
DoubleTree chefs are also offering strawberry yogurt shakes and fresh strawberry salad with Grand Marnier and whipped cream for the season.
Strawberries are also highly nutritious. Eight medium-sized fresh berries contain about 150 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C and 20 percent of the recommended folate intake. They are also high in potassium and a good source of dietary fiber.
The versatile berry is a source for antioxidants and has been proved to have rich health benefits for eye care, brain function and relief from high blood pressure, gout and heart disease. Experts have also found that strawberries may also help fight against skin cancer, as well as help with constipation and rheumatism.
An additional health benefit of strawberries, unknown to most people, is that the acid found in them is very effective at removing tartar from teeth.
Today, gourmets are not satisfied with eating strawberries as a simple berry. Instead, they are used as the core ingredient in many easy and yummy recipes.
Chefs note that strawberries - with their bright colors, faint scent and good taste - are a particularly good choice for dessert. Regardless of what they are added to, strawberries retain their distinctive characteristics.
For the strawberry season, veteran chefs from two city hotels offer food lovers a mouth-watering collection of strawberry desserts. Strawberry cakes
Every March and April, an extraordinary strawberry festival is held in Baihe Town in suburban Qingpu District -- "the home of strawberry" - only 20 minutes' drive from the Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake.
During this year's festival, the hotel located by the beautiful and tranquil Xiayang Lake will present diners with an exquisite selection of homemade strawberry desserts.
Pastry chef Noel Xue says that the strawberry is "the queen of fruit."
"Strawberries' bright colors and attractive appearance give you an appetite," he says. "Desserts made from strawberries can satisfy both people's taste buds and their health demands."
Xue strongly recommends two of the hotel's flavored desserts - strawberry Napoleon cake and strawberry cheesecake.
As the strawberry version of the traditional Napoleon cake, this stunning dessert tastes as good as it looks. And all it takes is puff pastry plus the perfect combination of fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
The strawberry cheesecake is also full of flavor and a perfect way to highlight the lusciousness of strawberries. The cheesecake itself is moist, rich and melts in the mouth.
The hotel is offering many other strawberry-themed desserts, such as the sweet-and-sour strawberry tiramisu, and strawberry tart - a delicious and simple barbecue or picnic dessert that kids and adults alike will love.
Crowne Plaza Shanghai Xiayang Lake
Address: 303 Qingzhou Rd, Qingpu District
Tel: 2213-0000 ext 6121Strawberry desserts
Specially created strawberry desserts are now on offer at the lobby lounge of DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai - Pudong.
Jackson Qian, executive chef of the hotel's Western Kitchen, says he likes strawberries because not only do they look good, they also contain vitamins and natural fruit acid which keeps skin moisturized and smooth.
"People always compare beautiful girls to a strawberry - both are good looking and delicious," Qian says. "So when we chose a strawberry theme, it was to create desserts that are 'good looking and delicious'."
The strawberry dessert that Qian highly recommends is a sweet-and-sour flavored traditional strawberry milkshake, which contains diced strawberry stirred together with fresh milk. This dessert also aids digestion, he says.
"It seems easy to make, but in fact there's a lot to consider - for example, the percentages of strawberry and milk and how to blend these together," adds Qian.
Pastry chef Jenny Wang loves strawberry mousse cake best, describing it as a perfect combination of visual impact and taste.
"And it's delicious while also being healthy," Wang says. "It's the kind of dessert that can keep you fit."
DoubleTree chefs are also offering strawberry yogurt shakes and fresh strawberry salad with Grand Marnier and whipped cream for the season.
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