Never mind how to pronounce 'Rødgrød med Fløde', we'll get to that later. For now, just grab a spoon and enjoy this traditional, and simple, Danish berry dessert!
🇩🇰 Rødgrød med Fløde ….. and here we are again with difficult to pronounce foods! This traditional Danish dessert, which translates as Red Porridge with Cream, is one that I dug out from my childhood years in Denmark. I didn’t actually get very excited about this dish at the time, it was always a kind of whomp-whomp reveal. Just because, when you’re 10 and someone shouts, “Who’s ready for dessert?!” and you get a bowl of Red Porridge with Cream, you’re a little disappointed that it’s not something extravagant with sprinkles or doused in chocolate. Ammiright? Anyhow, over the (many) years, my tastes and outlook on desserts have matured significantly and I have been craving this Danish classic for the past few weeks, so I set about making it myself.
During winter months I rarely buy fresh berries as they are disappointing in flavor and over-priced, so I have bags of frozen organic berries in the freezer at all times for smoothies, and now, Rødgrød med Fløde. This is a simple, hands-off dessert that is also really delicious on yogurt or ice cream, as we’ve discovered this week. But the nostalgia of a pool of berry-red sauce with a drop of cream in it (or a generous pour for some!) remains for me, so I’m eating it as it was originally intended. What can I say, I’m a sucker for tradition!
How to pronounce Rødgrød med Fløde? Well, the Danish “d” is like a loose “l” in English, so try saying “Rewl grewl mel Flewle” fast 10 times and you might get close! xoxo Kirsty
Ingredients for 4 servings
2 lbs. (900g) frozen mixed berries or 6 cups fresh mixed berries
1/2 cup (120ml) water
1/2 cup (50g) sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons (30ml) water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add the frozen berries and water to a large pot. Cook over low-medium heat until the mixture starts to boil softly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. If you're using fresh berries then it will probably only need 5 minutes.
Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for another 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a metal sieve, pressing into the sieve with a spoon to push as much of the berry mixture through as possible. Keep the leftover fruit fibers for another use, such as adding them to your next muffin or pancake recipe!
You’re left with the berry ‘juice’ which should be a little thicker than a fruit juice. Return this to the pan over low heat.
Make a slurry with the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Add this to the pan, bit by bit, and whisk it in. The mixture should thicken to an applesauce consistency. Leave to cool, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serve cold with heavy cream drizzled over the top.
