purple bubbles

I can't bake and am not a very sweet person. However desert is nice sometimes, this is a very easy recipe and looks very spectacular for not very much effort. As part of the preparation I'm describing below how to make a fruit coulis.

Materials:

* Blueberries frozen or fresh, quantities described below are based on about 300 gram of berries.
* Powdered sugar.
* Vanilla essence.
* A glass of ruby port. If you are using a different fruit you may want to vary the alcohol you use. I mostly use port or cognac, but for example whiskey is a good option too. If you can get hold of it, creme de cassis is a very useful alcohol for your kitchen cupboard.
* A tub of italian sorbet which should have a slightly tart taste to marry the sweet berry sauce. It can be blackberry/cassis sorbet, blueberry or raspberry or lemon for example. A red pink is better for looks than pale yellow lemon.
* A bottle of brut champagne or something similar, like Freixenet.
* A heavy bottomed saucepan.


How to prepare the fruit coulis:

* put the pan on the hob on a medium to low heat
* put the berries in
* put in a glass of port
* bring the berries plus port to a simmer
* add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
* add a teaspoon of vanilla essence
* leave on a low heat for a prolonged period of time (several hours) , adding extra liquid (port) as required
* allow the coulis to cool down

Put it all together:

* divvy the sorbet into tall wineglasses, 1 or 2 scoops each
* ladle over a spoonful of fruit coulis
* top the glass up with champagne

You are likely to have spare fruit coulis, it should keep easily for up to a week in the fridge and you can also freeze it.