Tired of all those sad winter and early spring berries? Roasting your berries quickly transforms them into juicy, sweet gems - you can enjoy summer's best all year.
While your grocery store might still be fully stocked with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries this time of year, you’re not alone in thinking the strawberries look a little anemic and generally lackluster and the blackberries are too firm and they all tend to be on the tart side of sweet and tart – they do and they are. So you’re missing the plump, sweet, juicy berries from summer? Roast those sad winter berries! If you haven’t been roasting your berries, you’re robbing them of their potential to be the best berries they can be. A quick toss with maple syrup and a short roast transforms your tart, thirsty, and uninspired winter berries into a sweet, juicy mix of yummy jewel-toned berries. Any combination of berries will work, so feel free to mix and match or stick with all strawberries – just don’t use raspberries alone, they don’t hold up to the heat well on their own and breakdown quickly, but when mixed with other berries, they add great flavor and texture and help thicken the juicy syrup the berries create while roasting. The added natural sugar from the maple syrup helps coax the berries into releasing their own juices; I’ve tried roasting strawberries naked, and the result is not great, they just never quite get there, tending to shrivel rather than release their juices. Your Roasted Berries are delicious warm or cold the next day, right out of the bowl or mixed in Greek yogurt or spooned over ice cream or topped with whipped cream – a sweet summer treat even at the end of winter. Recipe easily doubles, just be sure to increase roasting time as well.
Roasted Berries
Ingredients
16 oz berries (454 g)
1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
Optional Whipped Cream Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup plain, whole milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
How to make Roasted Berries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed quarter sheet tray with aluminum foil, top with a sheet of parchment.
In a medium bowl, toss berries with maple syrup until evenly coated and berries are starting to get a little juicy. Spread berries out on prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully, berries and their juices will be like molten lava, gather the four corners of the parchment to transfer the Roasted Berries and their juices back into the bowl to cool. The juices will thicken as it continues to cool. Enjoy warm or cold.
How to make Whipped Cream Topping
In a medium bowl, beat heavy whipping cream until it starts to thicken, add yogurt and continue to beat together until thickened (you won’t get to the classic stiff peak phase because of the heavy cream to yogurt ratio, but it will thicken nicely). Once thickened, beat in maple syrup until fully combined. Spoon on top of your Roasted Berries (also great atop Macerated Berries in the summer).
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