Silky Raspberry Coulis

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The pourable, jewel-red sauce that turns a plain slice of cheesecake into a plated dessert. Raspberries are warmed just long enough to release their juice — never boiled to jam — then pressed through a fine sieve for a seedless, glossy coulis with a bright lemon edge. It sets up thick enough to pool on a plate and drape over ice cream, and it keeps for a week in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb fresh or frozen raspberries (about 6 cups)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more to taste
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 strips lemon zest, removed with a peeler
• 1 tbsp framboise or kirsch (optional, adults only)

Instructions

1. Combine the raspberries, sugar, and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan (stainless steel or enameled — avoid bare aluminum, which dulls the color). Add the lemon zest strips now if using. Stir to coat the berries in the sugar and let them sit off the heat for 5 minutes so the sugar starts drawing out juice.
2. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring gently with a silicone spatula, until the berries slump and release their juice and the mixture is steaming with just a few lazy bubbles at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. The liquid should read about 180°F on an instant-read thermometer. Do not let it reach a hard rolling boil — that cooks out the fresh flavor and turns the color brick-brown.
3. Take the pan off the heat and let it stand 3 minutes. Fish out and discard the lemon zest strips.
4. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Working in two batches, pour in the hot berries and press the pulp through with a flexible spatula or the back of a ladle, scraping in circles until only a dry mound of seeds is left, about 2 minutes per batch. Scrape the underside of the sieve into the bowl — that clinging purée is the thickest part of the sauce. Discard the seeds.
5. Whisk in the lemon juice and salt. Taste: it should be tart-forward but clearly sweet. Add sugar 1 teaspoon at a time if your berries were sharp, whisking until dissolved. Stir in the vanilla or liqueur now, if using, so no alcohol or aroma is cooked off.
6. Check the consistency while still warm by dragging a spoon through it: the coulis should coat the back of the spoon and pour in a slow ribbon. If it feels thin, return it to the pan and simmer gently 2 to 4 minutes more, then re-taste. If it's too thick, whisk in water 1 teaspoon at a time.
7. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate uncovered until cold, at least 1 hour. It thickens noticeably as it chills. Transfer to a jar or squeeze bottle and use within 7 days; whisk or shake before serving to restore the gloss.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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