Berry Martini
I told friends of mine that I made a Berry Martini and they were very disappointed that they had not been invited over. Then I explained that it was a dessert of berries and cream in a giant martini glass and they were bummed. I think what they were really expecting was the drink to go with their dessert, when in fact they were being offered neither on that particular day!
Because of my love of martinis, I bought a giant martini glass at a craft store that holds about 4½ liquid cups. When I entertain, I will often times fill it with candies or nuts.
The other day, Samuel helped me make a Berry Martini that was child friendly. The raspberries, blackberries and blueberries have been so gorgeous that I wanted to present them just as they were.
Whipped cream is always a great topping, but I sometimes enjoy adding mascarpone to the whipped cream. It makes for a denser topping so it holds its shape better when serving.
Our dessert looks like a parfait in a cool glass. Samuel layered all of the fruit and I piled on the cream. Soft amaretti cookies were crumbled over the top for flavor and appearance.
I am not sure which I loved more, watching Samuel dig into this gigantic martini glass or eating the dessert myself. Ok, we both know seeing Samuel’s face trumps just about anything else.
Actually, the very best part of this dessert was listening to Samuel rate it. As we were putting the layers together, Samuel said that he would be the ‘judge’ using a scale of 1 to 10. When Samuel took his first bite he said, “THIS IS PI”!!! How in the world a second grader knows about pi is beyond me, but I wanted to eat him up with that delicious comment.
I do have a suggestion for those of you who may be disappointed that this Berry Martini is not an alcoholic drink. Make a pitcher of Chocolate Martinis ahead of time. When you are ready to dig into your Berry Martini, your Chocolate Martini will be nice and cold so you may sit down and enjoy both at the same time.
| Berry Martini | | Print |
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces raspberries, washed and dried
- 12 ounces blackberries, washed and dried
- 1 pint blueberries, washed and dried
- 4-6 amaretti cookies
- For the berry martini:
- Combine the mascarpone, cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk on medium speed until stiff peaks form.
- In a 4½ cup martini glass, place a layer of berries, using a mixture of all kinds. Add a layer of whipped cream. Continue doing this until you have three layers of berries and three layers of whipped cream.
- Crumble the amaretti cookies over the top.
- Serve immediately.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are my favorite combination. However, feel free to substitute whatever fruits you love.
- Amaretti cookies come soft and hard. I found the soft ones and happily used them, but either will work just fine.
- Berry Martini may be made a few hours in advance. I prefer it freshly made.
- If you do not have a large martini glass, any 4½ cup bowl may be used to prepare this dessert.
