One sweet weekend morning, I decided the baguette from our local artisan baker deserved something special to accompany it — something equally fresh. That was the beginning of berry compote at our house, which immediately became a fixture on our weekend breakfast table. Since then, we’ve found how incredibly versatile it is — far beyond breakfast.
Fresh berries blended into warm cooked berries take this mixed berry compote to a whole other level above preserves. Our favorite is a mix of raspberries and blackberries. To say it’s a hit at our house is an understatement. I had to write it down for you to enjoy when you find yourself in possession of some fresh plump berries. I’m going to say it’s bound to be a favorite at your house too.
For the laziest of weekend mornings, I also jotted down our no-cook berry spread for you below the compote recipe.
Berry Compote Ingredients
Fresh berries, sugar, starch and vanilla and lemon juice are the main ingredients, plus a little cognac is highly recommended.
- Berries – Fresh plump raspberries and blackberries are ideal, and what we are using here. Substitutions? Since we are leaving half of the fresh berries uncooked, you could get a similar delicious result using blueberries, cherries or strawberries.
- Vanilla extract – Only the genuine deal will do.
- Cognac – This is entirely optional, but recommended because it adds a nice depth. You can, of course, use another brandy if you don’t have cognac.
- Lemon – Stirring in a squeeze of lemon juice at the end is magic.
Raspberries & Blackberries: Did you Know?
Did you know there are around 100 fruits in one Raspberry? Each is a mini drupe, like a cluster of tiny cherries or olives. Blackberries too. Both belong to the rose family, and like roses, are both prickly and beautiful.
Raspberries – Raspberries have a long history in the Mediterranean. Evidence from Modern-day Israel suggests raspberries being eaten at least as far back as 20,000 years ago, late paleolithic era. Their scientific name, Rubus idaeus, is said to have come from Greece’s Mount Ida, where the fruit was cultivated in ancient times according to Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder. Hints that the Roman empire continued to cultivate raspberries is found in raspberry seeds of Roman archeological sites far and wide. (From The Story of Food)
Blackberries – As a rubus and part of the rose family, blackberries are related to raspberries. A little pricklier than their cousin, blackberries are often grown in the Mediterranean and throughout Europe as fences to mark off boundaries. Although edible, much lusher blackberries can be found at the market, or easily cultivated in our backyards.
One of the noticeable differences between raspberries and blackberries is that when picked, blackberries retain their stem, leaving a solid core, while raspberries lose theirs, and thus have a hollow core.
Overview: Making Berry Compote
Here is a quick rundown on how to make berry compote. (See the full recipe below for the details.) You’ll start out by putting half of the fresh berries in your serving dish, voilà! Then you make a quick sugar and water syrup. While waiting for it to color, you can take a second to whisk up a thickener with starch and water for later. Then add the berries to the caramelized sugar syrup, cook a few minutes, then stir them in with the fresh berries. Now it’s time for the thickener: whisk it into the syrup, cook until thick, then stir it in with the fruit. Finish it off with a squeeze of lemon. And it’s ready to enjoy.
Tips
- Tip – In my experience, making half of the recipe doesn’t work that well. It just isn’t enough sugar and water to work with. Better to make the whole recipe, which is about 4 servings, and refrigerate any leftover to eat the next day or so.
If Making for Breakfast
- Tip – this is the kind of thing you want to make, say, if you get up early, before anyone else is up, and before starting to make breakfast — not while you are actually in the middle of making a big weekend breakfast sprawl. And although this only takes about 20 minutes to make, since I can be pretty slow in the morning, I like to get the bowls and pans out and the sugar and starch measured the night before.
- Tip – For those laziest of weekend mornings when you really don’t want to cook breakfast:
- Make and refrigerate your berry compote the night before breakfast. Just remember to take it out of the fridge as soon as you get up, so that it has time to come to room temperature.
- I also have a lazy morning no-cook raspberry spread that I’ve jotted down for you after the recipe card.
Enjoying Berry Compote
To be eaten today, maybe tomorrow, and then it’s gone. My favorite way to enjoy berry compote is with some great fresh baked bread and butter. But it can be enjoyed in so many wonderful ways:
- as a topping for pancakes, waffles, french toast, ice cream, mascarpone cream, frozen or fresh yogurt
- in a parfait with alternating layers of compote and yogurt or whipped cream
- as a topping for cakes like pound cake or cheesecake
- as a filling for crepes, or tarts (great tart crust recipe, great pastry cream recipe), or other pastries and desserts.
Tip – If eating for breakfast with bread and butter, be good to yourself and procure an excellent fresh artisan baguette or country bread—unless you have homemade!—along with some great butter to accompany this delicious compote.
Needed Equipment
You’ll need a slotted spoon, skimmer, or similar, to carefully lift and strain the hot syrupy fruit from the sauce pan.
Recipe for Berry Compote
Tools
- Slotted Spoon or skimmer, to carefully lift and strain the hot syrupy fruit from the sauce pan.
Ingredients
- 6 oz fresh blackberries, washed
- 6 oz fresh raspberries, washed
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 scant tsp starch (corn or potato starch)
- 1 tbsp cognac (optional), or other brandy
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 wedge of lemon
Instructions
- Prep: Have the starch, vanilla, cognac and lemon wedge ready at quick reach.
- Start out by putting a little less than half the fresh berries in your serving dish.
- Make the syrup: In a medium sauce pan, bring the sugar and 2 tablespoons water to a boil over medium heat, without stirring. Cook about 10 minutes more, occasionally tilting or gently swirling the pan, until a caramel color appears.
- Meanwhile, in a tiny bowl, stir 1 tablespoon water with the starch and set aside.
- Add fruit to the syrup: When the sugar has reached a caramel color, add the rest of the berries and the liquor to the pan. This will turn the sugar syrup rock hard. No worries, continue to cook the berries without stirring* until they release their juices and dissolve the sugar, about 3 minutes. (* If needed, turn the blackberries one at a time with tongs, so as not to break up the raspberries.)
- With a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove the cooked berries, leaving their syrup behind in the saucepan, and add them to the fresh berries in the serving bowl. (Attention here: make sure not to touch the hot fruit or syrup—they get really hot!) Add the vanilla and gently stir with a wooden spoon to mix.
- Now for the thickener: Return the saucepan of syrup back to the stove, whisk in the starch water, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the syrup thickens into a sauce consistency.
- Stir the thickened syrup in with the berries, then finish it off with a squeeze of lemon juice and gently stir.
Ways to Enjoy
-
- With a fresh baguette or country bread and butter
- Filling for crepes
- Topping for pancakes, waffles or French toast
- Topping or parfait with yogurt or whipped cream
- Topping for ice cream or frozen yogurt
- Topping for cake or other desserts. On pound cake, on cheesecake …
Storing your Compote
This berry compote is intended to be enjoyed fresh, and eaten within a few days if kept covered in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen and then thawed in the fridge. Long-term storage outside the freezer would require boiling jars and all the proper procedures that go along with making preserves.Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
Now My Lazy Quick Version
Some weekend mornings are ultra lazy. That’s when we make this:
No-cook Raspberry Spread
This is really just an idea rather than a recipe — something you can enjoy at the breakfast table within minutes.
Raspberries, by themselves, work best for a quick berry spread, unless the blackberries are super ripe and crushable.
Take butter out of fridge to soften for at least 10 minutes.
- Put a great piece of fresh bread in the oven, such as a baguette or your favorite artisan country bread.
- When warm and toasty, take out and spread with butter.
- Top with whole raspberries, and spread with a knife, smushing the berries into the butter.
- Drizzle with honey and enjoy.
