{"id":16559,"date":"2014-08-01T22:12:24","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T20:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=16559"},"modified":"2014-08-01T22:14:22","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T20:14:22","slug":"light-almond-cream-with-plums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/?p=16559","title":{"rendered":"Light Almond Cream with Plums"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"almondcreamp\"If your only\u00a0idea of a perfect sweet treat\u00a0is a thick slice of a rich, frosted cake, then you might not appreciate this post. If, however, like me, you avoid (or at least you try…) doubling the meal’s calorie\u00a0intake\u00a0in its last course or\/and\u00a0if you\u00a0are thrilled at the idea of guiltless,\u00a0but luscious\u00a0refreshing desserts, this almond cream is definitely worth your attention.<\/p>\n

Some of you might remember my custardy creams\/custards set with agar, a gelling agent made from seaweed. Agar, or\u00a0agar-agar (\u201ckanten\u201d in Japanese) is usually sold in a form of powder or in long sticks, but\u00a0I always use the powdered form which seems easier to handle. Agar contains water soluble agents, which help digestion and are considered excellent in slimming diets.\u00a0<\/span>As I have mentioned in my previous posts, contrary to most agar users,\u00a0I am not fond of thick standard jellies, so I simply use less agar. Thus, it barely sets liquids, resulting in something similar to a custard or a cream.<\/p>\n

Until now most\u00a0of my agar experiments featured coconut milk mixed with cow milk as the basic ingredient (see below).\u00a0This one\u00a0follows exactly the same method, but I use here\u00a0almond milk instead and am\u00a0more than satisfied with the results. I\u00a0will soon test\u00a0almond milk with other fruits, but at least I know that together with plums\u00a0it creates a fantastic cooling dessert or snack. I am planning also to\u00a0test\u00a0almond cream since I’m sure it can be substituted with a similar albeit slightly richer result.<\/p>\n

If you are not fond of almond milk, you might like some of these:<\/p>\n

\"Coconut<\/a>
Coconut and Strawberry Wobbly Cream with Agar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wobbly<\/a>
Wobbly Cream with Pear and Lime Zest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Coffee<\/a>
Coffee and Coconut Wobbly Cream with Agar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Matcha<\/a>
Matcha and Coconut Wobbly Cream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wobbly<\/a>
Wobbly Rhubarb Delight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chocolate<\/a>
Chocolate and Coconut Cream with Agar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Light<\/a>
Light Coconut Cream with Canned Peaches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

TIPS: I find agar even easier to use than gelatin (though it is not a gelatin replacement since it sets liquids in a slightly different way and cannot be used in every recipe). I use powdered pure agar and it is very easy to dissolve in liquids. There are however different agar powders on the market (some contain sugar for example or other additives), so check the ingredients list and look closely at your agar package instructions. On mine 1\/2 teaspoon is supposed to set 500 ml\/2 cups liquid to a jelly. I use only 1\/3 teaspoon and obtain a wobbly, \u201cfalling off the spoon\u201d, custardy consistency. If you prefer a well-set jelly, use the amount advised on the package, but make sure you don’t use too much agar (it’s easy to overdose!) because you might end up not only with a standard jelly, but with something practically inedible.<\/p>\n

Do not wait until the cream becomes cold before pouring it into the bowls because agar sets at room temperature and, once disturbed, it will not reset properly! On the other hand do not pour the very hot cream because it will \u201cboil\u201d the fruit. Leave the mixture until it is still a bit hot, but not room temperature.<\/p>\n

These creams will keep in the fridge for several days, so you can make a whole batch only for yourself!<\/p>\n

You can make these creams for example in small jars with lids and take with you to work, on a trip or for a picnic.<\/p>\n

Preparation: 15 minutes + 2-3 hours in the fridge<\/em><\/p>\n

Ingredients (serves 4 – 5):<\/em><\/p>\n

500\u00a0ml\/about 2\u00a0cups\u00a0almond milk<\/em><\/p>\n

4 flat tablespoons sugar (or more if you prefer very sweet desserts or if the plums are very tangy)<\/em><\/p>\n

1\/3 flat teaspoon<\/em>\u00a0pore agar agar in powder (if your agar powder contains other ingredients too, check the TIPS above)<\/em><\/p>\n

about 1\/2 kg (about 1 lb) plums cut into bite-sized pieces + some more for decoration
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

(toasted almond slivers)<\/i><\/p>\n

Dissolve the sugar and agar-agar in the almond milk.<\/p>\n

Bring to boil and, constantly stirring, let it simmer for about a minute.<\/p>\n

Put aside.<\/p>\n

Prepare four individual bowls or low glasses.<\/p>\n

(Do not wait until the cream becomes cold because agar sets at room temperature and once disturbed, it will not reset properly!).<\/p>\n

Distribute the plum pieces\u00a0evenly among the bowls.<\/p>\n

Pour the slightly\u00a0hot\u00a0(not room temperature yet!) almond milk\u00a0over the fruit pieces and refrigerate for at least two hours.<\/p>\n

Serve very cold decorated with fresh plums and, if you want, toasted almond slivers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If your only\u00a0idea of a perfect sweet treat\u00a0is a thick slice of a rich, frosted cake, then you might not appreciate this post. If, however,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[203,55,23,164,6,205,18,167],"tags":[197,45,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16559"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16559"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16579,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16559\/revisions\/16579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}