Become a fruit freezing pro with these tips below and enjoy summer fruits all year round.
From bananas and tropical fruit to berries and more, prep your fruit for the freezer so you can enjoy summer’s bounty all year round.
Freezing 101
1. Wash, dry & slice
Wash and dry fruit thoroughly before cutting it up. Remove any stems, cores and bits you would not want to eat. Cut up the large fruit, but keep the berries whole.
2. Pre-freeze
Pre-freezing prevents the fruit from sticking together – that way you don’t end up with a solid chunk. This makes it easier to defrost or blitz, plus keeps the fruit’s pretty shape for bakes. Line a tray (that fits into your freezer) with baking paper and spread fruit in a single layer. Freeze for 2-3 hours (or until completely frozen).
3. Bag ’em up
Transfer your prefrozen fruit into resealable bags or freezer safe containers. If using bags, get out as much air as you can to avoid freezer burn.
4. Label and store
Label your fruit (using a food-safe marker) with the date and type of fruit before storing in the freezer for up to 6-9 months. When ready to use, simply thaw your fruit in the fridge overnight or place in a bowl of cold water. Be sure to only thaw as much as you need, you don’t want to re-freeze it!
Strawberry pop tart
MAKES 18
Make it boozy by adding 2 tots (50ml) vodka or gin to the jam after leaving it to infuse.
Ingredients
FOR THE JAM
1 packet (200g) frozen strawberries
½ cup (100g) sugar
¼ cup (60ml) boiling water
1 sprig fresh rosemary Squeeze orange juice
2 rolls (400g each) puff pastry, defrosted
Flour, for dusting
1 whisked egg, for brushing
1 cup (250ml) icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (80ml) water
Pink food colouring
Sprinkles, for decorating
Method
- Combine all the jam ingredients in a pot.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, until mixture is syrupy and the berries are limp.
- Turn off heat and allow to infuse for 5 minutes. Remove herbs.
- Set aside the jam to cool down completely.
- Preheat oven to 200°C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
- Roll pastry to 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut the pastry into 4cm x 8cm rectangles.
- Place tablespoons of the jam on half the rectangles, leaving a 1.5cm border clean.
- Brush the borders with the whisked egg, then lay remaining pastry rectangles on top to enclose.
- Run fingers around edges to secure, then crimp neatly with a fork.
- Place on the baking trays and chill in fridge for 15 minutes.
- Brush pastry with egg and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden.
- Mix the icing sugar and water, then add a few drops of food colouring.
- Decorate tarts with icing and top with sprinkles.
Pro tip
Before freezing your excess strawberries, be sure to cut to the green tops and halve or quarter them.
Mixed berry and choc chip nice-cream
MAKES ABOUT 1L
Get the most out of your overripe bananas. Simply peel, cut into rounds and freeze. Use them directly from frozen for this cooling dessert.
Ingredients
½ cup full-cream milk
6-8 frozen bananas, chopped
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
½ -1 cup beetroot juice (optional)
200g frozen raspberries + extra for serving
500g frozen strawberries
125g blueberries (blackberries work well too)
100g dark chocolate, chopped + extra for serving
Method
- Combine all ingredients in a blender, except for the chocolate.
- Blitz until smooth and fold through chocolate.
- Transfer the mixture to a 2L container
- Freeze for an hour if you prefer a so -serve texture, or freeze for 3-5 hours until fi rm and scoopable.
- Serve topped with chocolate and raspberries.
Pro tip
If using a resealable bag to freeze fruit, close it almost all the way, leaving a small slit to insert a straw. Suck the air out through the straw, quickly remove it and seal closed. This saves space in the freezer, plus avoids excess frost on fruit.
Spiced carrot cake with cottage cheese frosting
SERVES 6
Adding pineapple to the batter results in an utterly moist and flavourful cake!
Ingredients
3 chai tea bags
½ cup (125ml) hot milk
2 cups (300g) cake flour
1 packet (100g) peanuts, chopped (or mixed nuts) + extra for decorating
2 tsp (10ml) bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp (10ml) ground cinnamon
2 tsp (10ml) baking powder
½ tsp (3ml) fine salt
1½ cups (300g) brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup (250ml) sunflower oil
2 cups (160g) grated carrot
2 cups (420g) frozen pineapple, thawed
FOR THE FROSTING
1 tub (250g) smooth cottage cheese
½ tsp (3ml) ground cinnamon
4 cups (520g) icing sugar
Lemon juice, to taste
Method
- Steep tea bags in hot milk for 10 minutes, then discard bags.
- Preheat oven to 180°C and line two 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tins with baking paper.
- Combine dry ingredients, except sugar, in a bowl. 4. Cream together sugar and eggs in a separate bowl until pale and fluffy.
- Whisk in the oil, then fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the carrot and pineapple until it is only just combined.
- Spoon the batter into baking tins.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes in tins, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
- Cut the cakes in half horizontally to create 2 layers each.
- Whisk co age cheese until softened and smooth.
- Add the cinnamon and 1 cup icing sugar then whisk until smooth.
- Add remaining icing sugar in two parts, mixing in each one until smooth, then add a drop of lemon juice to taste.
- Pipe or spoon frosting between cake layers.
- Top cakes with frosting and nuts or decorate with spun sugar, if you like.
Pro tip
Cut o the top and bottom of your overripe pineapples. Peel o the sides and cut the flesh into smaller chunks. This works well with pre-cut pineapples too, which won’t last as long as whole pineapples, so the freezer really comes in handy for a no-waste solution.
Words by: Gail Damon
Photography: Fresh Living Magazine
