berry coulis and strawberry shortcake tips

strawberry coulis, strawberry whooo-whee! don't worry kids, coulis is just a fancy french word for sauce made from pureed fruits or veg. this sauce is so simple and so good. i love it for shortcake! cheesecake! or ice cream sundaes! i have used this recipe to make raspberry, strawberry and mixed berry sauces, using berries in all forms- fresh and frozen.
i make two versions of strawberry shortcake- one with an angel food cake/white cake, and one with a shortcake/biscuit. both heavenly and oh-so-summery. my tips & ideas for shortcake:

• make a sauce. strawberry shortcakes can be waaay too dry!
• make a white cake, shortcake, angel food cake or sponge cake. or buy one.
• layer shortcakes with real sweetened whipped cream (cool whip in a pinch, like today for me,) sauce and sliced strawberries.
• try a shortcake with fresh raspberries, blackberries or blueberries instead of strawberries.
• try cupcake shortcakes: a white (or strawberry!) cupcake cut in half horizontally and layered with berries, sauce and cream, with a dollop of whipped cream and sliced berries on top. it is the perfect serving size and absolutely a-dorable. (i will post a picture next time i make my cupcake shortcake.)

set this sauce recipe aside to use for your cheesecakes, shortcakes and ice cream sundaes: with berries and sugar (and cream!) you can do no wrong.

berry coulis

an original recipe by rachelle

2 cups (1 pint) berries, cleaned, stemmed or frozen
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
(1 Tablespoon water, use only with frozen berries)
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

in a saucepan over medium high heat, combine berries, sugar, lemon juice, salt (and water if using frozen berries.) cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. remove from heat and stir in vanilla. in a blender, puree about 1/2 of sauce, then mix back into remainder. store in refrigerator.

*if you want to blend it all, go ahead. it's also nice to mix your fresh berries into the prepared sauce. delicious without lemon juice too. use any leftover sauce for breakfast: over belgian waffles, pancakes, or with crepes and cream.