When you hear the word "topping" you might think of pizza toppings or products sold at the nearby ice cream shop which you love to pour over your favorite ice cream or ice cream dessert.
But a topping can serve to flavor not only pizzas, cakes, cheesecakes, pitas, rolls and other pastries but also some of the more exotic salads, appetizers and even meats.
Here's why it's always a superb idea to learn to make our own toppings, instead of immediately running to the store. Here are 4 variations that can suit all sorts of recipes:
Cold Strawberry Topping
Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups chopped strawberries, 4 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Preparation: Mix all the products in a bowl and leave the blend for 15 min. at room temperature. Then begin stirring until you get a thick syrup. If needed, add more sugar.
Orange Topping
Ingredients: 1 cup softened cream cheese or mascarpone, 2/5 cup liquid cream for cooking, 2/5 cup powdered sugar, 1 pinch cinnamon, 2 tbsp liqueur of choice, 3 tbsp orange zest.
Preparation: Mix the cream cheese and cream in a bowl and gradually add the powdered sugar, while carefully beating with a mixer. Once you get a homogenous mixture, add the orange zest and cinnamon and finally the liqueur. This topping is suitable not only for covering and decorating all kinds of pastries but for glazing appetizing chicken or turkey meat as well.
Chocolate Topping
Ingredients: 8 oz chocolate, 7 tbsp butter, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 4/5 cup cream, 2 tsp vanilla.
Preparation: Melt the butter and chocolate using water vapor. Beat the sugar, cream and vanilla with a mixer. Add the cream mixture to the chocolate one and leave on low heat for about 5 min. to thicken. If the topping ends up too thick you can add more cream.
Plain Chocolate Topping
Ingredients: 3.5 oz fine milk chocolate, 2 egg yolks, 1 1/2 cups milk.
Preparation: Combine the crumbled chocolate and preheated milk in a suitable casserole and while stirring on low heat wait until you get a homogenous mixture. Carefully add the egg yolks to it and stir for about 5 min. but on very low heat so that the egg yolks don't boil.
Other recipes to try: ice cream topping, chocolate cake with white glazing, biscuit cake with glazing, coconut bonbons with chocolate glazing, lemon cake with vanilla glazing.
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