Lifestyle

Wine and Dessert!

You will often find meal plans to help you decide which wines to pair with what meals. Red wine with steak and a chilled Sauvignon Blanc with fish, for example. But what about the all-important dessert course?

Wines pair very well with desserts if you have the right combination. A perfect pairing will enhance the flavours of both the wine and the dessert, when done properly. As a rule of thumb, you want to be pairing wines and desserts with similar flavours.

In this blog post you will find inspiration for different desserts to try that will ‘wow’ guests or make your midweek meal a bit more exciting. As well as which wines to pair them with, of course. Read on for your wine and dessert inspiration…

Apple Pie, Ice Cream and Prosecco
Prosecco pairs well with an apple pie because of it’s high acidity, which goes well with the acidity of the apples.

Here’s the method for apple pie:
• Heat oven to 200C /gas 6. Sift 225g of plain flour into a mixing bowl and add 140g of butter. Using your fingers, mix together until the mixture resembles
breadcrumbs.
• Add 3tbsp of cold water to bind the mixture into a ball. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Whilst the pastry is chilling, cut three large cooking apples into even-sized chunks. Put the apples in a pie dish, drizzle over some honey and a pinch of
cinnamon, mixed spice and 2tbsp of water.
• Roll out the pastry until it covers a pie dish. Using your rolling pin, carefully lift the pastry and lay over the top of the pie mixture.
• Make a small cut on the lid of the pastry to allow hot air to escape during cooking and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes.
• Serve with ice cream and a chilled glass of Freixenet Prosecco. Lovely!

Lemon Meringue Pie and Freixenet Ice Wine
Ice wines are deliciously sweet, so they are paired with lemon as they balance theacidity of the lemon desserts. There is a wealth of decent lemon meringue pie recipes out there, most take around two hours of prep, cooking and cooling time. But if you need something quick and easy towhip out for a weekend treat or perhaps you are hosting a dinner party, shop bought ones do the job just as well.

Add Freixenet Ice poured into a large glass with chunks of ice in it – the best way to enjoy this semi seco Cava.

“A perfect pairing will enhance the flavours of both the wine and the dessert”

Blackberry Orange Cake and Rosado
These two pair well as the berries in the dessert will complement the fruity berry taste of Freixenet’s still Spanish rosé wine.

Here’s how to make blackberry orange cake in a few simple steps:
• Heat the oven to 180 degrees and grease a nine-inch pan.
• In a large bowl, cream 100g of butter and 100g of sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in an egg and orange zest.
• In a separate bowl, whisk baking soda, salt and 130g of self-raising flour. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with 100g of sour cream. Beat well after each addition. Transfer to the prepared tin.
• Toss blackberries with remaining flour and arrange over the cake mix. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake in the over for 40-45 minutes.

Serve with a chilled glass of Rosado.

White chocolate and Sauvignon Blanc
The rich, fruity aromas of a glass of Sauvignon Blanc take the balance of white chocolate and adds a layer of fruit that doesn’t overpower. Try some of these desserts that use white chocolate, paired with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc straight from the fridge.

• White chocolate cake.
• White chocolate and ricotta cheesecake.
• Cookies and white chocolate.
• White chocolate truffles.
• Berry and white chocolate cheesecake.

Rich Chocolate Brownies and Freixenet Spanish Rioja
Time to introduce a rich, chocolatey dessert to go with a bottle of red that offers dark fruit flavours with a hint of oak.

Here is an easy recipe to make your brownies:
• Heat the oven to 190 degrees. Line a 20x30cm/8x12in baking tin with baking paper.
• Gently melt 225g of butter and 450g of caster sugar together in a large pan. Once melted, take off the heat and add 140g of dark chocolate. Stir until it has all
melted.
• Beat in 5 medium eggs, then stir in 110g of plain flour and 55g of cocoa powder.
• Pour the brownie batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. The top of the brownie should be just firm with a gentle wobble in the middle.
• Leave to cool before cutting the brownie in 5cm squares.
• Serve with a scoop of ice cream and a glass of Rioja.

Now you have all the dessert and wine inspiration you could need, time to start preparing some delicious puddings and stocking up the wine rack. Enjoy!