Berry Kefir Dessert Cups

Submitted by duonyte

"A while ago I made a dessert we really liked, except that it relied on commercial gelatin dessert and was too sweet for us. So I played around, and came up with this dessert, which I think is a great way to use fresh, ripe fruit (although I imagine canned would also work). I had strawberries around, but I think this would work with any berries, ripe peaches, mangoes, canned pineapple. You can customize it to fit your personal sweet tooth! I also like that is uses kefir with all of its wonderful probiotic qualities."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1⁄2 - 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (one envelope holds 1 tbl)
• 1⁄4 cup cold water
• 1 cup pureed strawberry (about 10 ounces fresh)
• sugar (optional)
• lemon juice (optional)
• 1 cup plain kefir

directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the cold water and gelatin. Let it stand for about 15 minutes.(I think I like the smaller quantity of gelatin better, the larger makes a firmer dessert - possibly something you could unmold).
2. In the meantime, puree your fruit. I used my stick blender, and it wasn't completely smooth, but that was ok with me. Taste the puree - you might want to add a little sugar or lemon juice to sweeten or perk up the flavor.
3. Pour about half of the puree into the saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until the gelatin is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour into a medium bowl and combine with the remaining puree and the kefir.
5. Pour into individual serving dishes and refrigerate until it's jellied - about three hours should do it.
6. Garnish with some fresh strawberry slices or whipped cream would be nice, if you desire. Also good just as it is.