In TCB the recipe for fruit cloud cream indicates using cooked fruit puree (raspberry and strawberry)...but in the recipes for those purees, Rose indicates leaving the purees fresh and only cooking the syrup.  What have you done regarding this?

Hi, hope you’re pairing one of these with genoise!  It’s one of my favorite combinations.

I have used the purees as written, with thawed frozen fruit and boiled/reduced juices, and they have been wonderful.  Gives the flavor of beautiful fresh fruit.  If you want more of a cooked fruit flavor, use the raspberry/strawberry conserve to make jam cream.

I’m actually attempting the Strawberry Maria…so it is with the Genoise au Chocolat.  I’m still a bit confused though, because the recipes for the puree in TCB are for puree and sauce.  The puree makes less than the sauce.  So what do I add to the Whipped Cream, the puree and reduced juices or just the puree with no juices?  I just find the recipe for the cloud cream to be a bit unclear as it states to add 1 cup cooked fruit puree….so I assume that means the puree without the juices (wouldn’t it be called a sauce if the juices were added??).  But if so, how much/how should it be cooked?  I was thinking I’d just add the uncooked puree (no juices).  Or does it really not matter that much?

I love the strawberry maria, it’s one of my favorites!

The strawberry puree is the drained, uncooked fruit with the reduced juices added back to it, and then pureed.  The sauce is just the puree that has been sweetened, nothing more.  The additional sugar accounts for the larger yield of the sauce.  But you’re not making the sauce, so skip that part. 

The puree is meant to be a building block for other recipes, so it is unsweetened, allowing you to tailor the sweetness to whatever you’re going to add it to.  You are making the cloud cream, so you follow the recipe, adding 7T of sugar plus one cup of the unsweetened puree (meaning fruit plus reduced juices).  You can freeze the rest of the puree, it’s great sweetened and served over berries/cake, or over berries/ice cream, or saved for another cloud cream, or added to a buttercream. 

I know it says “cooked” puree, and I’ve also wondered about that from time to time, but I’ve made this puree several times without cooking the finished puree and it’s fabulous, very fresh tasting (the juices get cooked, of course, but not the fruit). 

Good Luck, and enjoy!

Perfect.  After reading the recipe again, I wondered if Rose stated cooked, because part of the puree is heated with the gelatin.  I was worried that if it wasn’t cooked that it may (not sure why) cause the cream to curdle.  Anyway, I will be making this tonight and will let you know how it turns out.

Sherrie

I’m a huge fan of both the strawberry and raspberry purees.  I try to keep both in the freezer at all times… great, great, great stuff!