Sugar-Free Raspberry Bliss
Plus Some Fun News!

For weeks now, I’ve been bursting to share some big news – and finally, today’s the day! Beginning today, I am writing a weekly column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch!

The column's very first recipe is for a fruity, creamy raspberry dessert, I think you'll love it! It’s made with just three ingredients. Splenda is the sweetener, so this dessert is extra special for those who limit their sugar, dieters and diabetics, say. But put it on the table and everyone, I promise, will 'oooh' and 'ahhh' over its tangy creaminess.

Sugar-Free Raspberry Bliss

Here in my home city St. Louis, the blood of hockey fans is said to ‘bleed blue’. If so, then Kellogg blood bleeds black, ink-black.

The ‘ink in my blood’ comes naturally: my parents published small-town newspapers; so did all the uncles and aunts on my father’s side; so did my grandparents; so did my great-aunt and great-uncle. Add it up: Kelloggs have been country newspaper people for four generations.

AND NOW THE NEWS! Beginning today, I am back in print again, this time with a weekly column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – that’s St. Louis’ big local newspaper, the one of Joseph Pulitzer and Pulitzer Prizes fame. (Will I continue to publish recipes here in Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture? Of course!)

The Post-Dispatch column is called ‘Special Request’ and is the newspaper's popular restaurant recipe request column, published in the Wednesday Food section. When someone writes the newspaper asking for a recipe from a St. Louis restaurant, my job is to ask the chef for the recipe, then to adapt the recipe for home kitchens. How fun is THAT??!!

The recipe for this light and fruity raspberry dessert is my very first published in the Post-Dispatch. From here on, Special Request recipes will only be published in the Post-Dispatch – and good thing, many of them are more complicated and calorie-rich than Kitchen Parade’s recipe collection. Still, it will be fun! I’ve written four columns so far and love having the excuse to visit and get to know local St. Louis restaurants.

For readers who are interested, here's my first column, the Post-Dispatch gave it this headline, Fluffy raspberry dessert is sugar-free. For St. Louisans, I'm developing an online list of all the recipes published in Special Request, see St. Louis Restaurant Recipes. I am so excited about this opportunity to write for a newspaper of such importance and history here in my adopted home city of St. Louis!

One thing I’m already learning about chefs: they have cool kitchen tools! Many are out of reach to most home cooks. Who has the room? the money? A year ago, I’d have scoffed at something called a ‘cream whipper’ – but now I’m lusting after one because it does more than just ‘whip’ cream. The chef who developed this raspberry cream dessert uses one, creating a special texture that’s cold and creamy and almost gelled. My friends at Kitchen Conservatory rave about their ISI Easy Whip cream whipper, asking, “Have you ever had chocolate whipped cream?” No, but I’d sure like to! Store owner Anne Cori calls a cream whipper My Favorite Party Toy.

SUGAR-FREE RASPBERRY BLISS

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time to table: 2 hours
Makes 2 cups
  • 12 ounces (340g) frozen raspberries, still frozen or thawed
  • 1/2 cup (15g) Splenda
  • About 2/3 – 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • Fresh raspberries for garnish

In a saucepan, bring the raspberries and Splenda to a slow simmer, let cook until the fruit is soft, about five minutes, stirring often.

Transfer to a wire-mesh strainer with a liquid measuring cup underneath. With the back of a spoon, press the raspberries through the strainer, collecting the juice. Discard the seeds and solids and let the juice cool (see TIPS).

Eyeball the juice to see how much there is, then measure the same amount of cream into a separate mixing bowl. (For example, if the berries produce 2/3 cup of juice, use 2/3 cup of cream.) Whip the cream until stiff peaks form, being careful not to go so far as to whip butter. Gently fold the raspberry juice into the whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

To serve, spoon into pretty glasses or bowls. (For a tall narrow glass like a champagne glass, use a ziplock bag with a corner snipped.) If you like, top with a fresh raspberry or two. Very pretty!

ALANNA’s TIPS Fresh raspberries work beautifully too. But frozen raspberries are quite inexpensive (check Trader Joe’s if there’s one nearby) and easy to keep on hand for a last-minute dessert ‘splurge’. For a more rustic raspberry dessert with its own appeal, skip straining the juice. Instead, just smash the cooked berries and fold them into whipped cream made from 3/4 cup cream. Or save the solids and seeds to stir into morning oatmeal. Very good! Be sure that the juice is cool, otherwise it will ‘break’ the whipped cream as it’s folded in. The raspberry cream will still taste good but the whipped cream texture will be lost.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Half Cup: 193 Calories; 14g Tot Fat; 9g Sat Fat; 54mg Cholesterol; 15mg Sodium; 15g Carb; 0g Fiber (6 with whole berries); 7g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers Old Points 5 (4 with whole berries), PointsPlus 5
Adapted from the recipe for Sugar-Free Raspberry Espuma from Chef Pierre Chambrin, executive chef at the Saint Louis Club, a private dining club, provided to Special Request, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s popular restaurant recipe request column written by, well, ME! Chef Chambrin developed the recipe for members who prefer sugar-free desserts. Sugar-free or not, people order their own Raspberry Espuma because it’s so good, they don’t want to share!
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a super-easy low-sugar favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

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© Copyright 2011 Kitchen Parade



Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. That's great news, congratulations! (And this looks like a heavenly dessert.)

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  2. That sounds like such a fun job! Congratulations to you and to the lucky readers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch!

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  3. How wonderful about your new column, Alanna! All the best, and have fun with it. And—that raspberry dessert does look and sound blissful.

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  4. kirsten2/23/2011

    Congrats on your new gig!
    The dessert looks fabulous, but, alas, I think we done did et up all the raspberries we'd put up last summer. Got lots of peaches still in the freezer, though, so I may try it with peaches, cooked with Splenda then blended before folding into the cream.

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  5. Patricia2/23/2011

    Go girl. So pleased to hear you will be writing for the Post Dispatch. What a feather in your cap and following in your Mom's footsteps. She would be proud! You have so much to share; recipes & tips.

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  6. Congratulations, Alanna, this is wonderful!!! They are lucky to have you.

    I LOVE copying restaurant recipes so maybe I'll have to write to the Post-Dispatch and put you to work finding a recipe for me :)

    About whipping cream, I read recently that a food processor is wonderful for whipping cream in seconds; I've been meaning to try that.

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  7. That sounds like a DREAM job!!! I would do that for free! :)

    Are chef's in restaurants open to sharing their recipes when you call them? I've always wondered how you go about asking.

    And the whipped creamer, I'm getting that!!

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  8. The dessert looks amazing. I am definitely going to try your recipes to help me on my Weight Watchers journey!

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  9. Alanna! Whooooopeeee!

    My very best to you in your new journey. I couldn't be prouder than if it was one of my own that got the job.

    Blessings to you, and above all, have fun.

    Huggs,

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  10. Congratulations, Alanna! And what a beautiful dessert!

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  11. Congratulations on the new column Alanna! It sounds like it will be really fun to write. : )

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Post a Comment

Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna