Sweet and refreshing

DELIGHTFUL, refreshing and delicious desserts need not always be creamy, cakey and rich.

Fruity and icy desserts are just as successful in quelling your after dinner sweet tooth, and they are super delicious and satisfying too.

Pink grapefruit strawberry granita

20 ozs pink grapefruit juice

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 cups frozen strawberries

1 tbs fresh lime juice

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until all the sugar is melted, about 5 minutes.

Add sugar mixture to grapefruit juice.

Chop strawberries finely and stir into juice mixture along with lime juice.

Pour into a 9-inch by 13-inch baking tin and place in the freezer.

Leave for about two hours, remove and break up the mixture into fine pieces, use a wooden or plastic spoon for this.

Return to freezer and repeat the process once more. The mixture should be almost like granular ice.

Spoon into bowls and serve. Freeze the balance in a freezer proof bowl.

Serves 10 to 12.

Pina colada sorbet

14 ozs pineapple chunks

1/2 cup coconut milk, fresh

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

1 tbs lime juice

1/4 cup dark rum

Place sugar and water into a small saucepan, stir to dissolve and bring to a boil just until sugar melts, one minute, remove and cool, refrigerate until cold.

Place pineapple and coconut milk into the bowl of a food processor, process just until pineapple has been crushed into small pieces, remove and refrigerate.

Combine pineapple and coconut mixture with cold sugar syrup; stir in rum and lime juice.

Pour mixture into a 9-inch x 5-inch baking tin, freeze until firm about 4-6 hours.

Remove from freezer and process in a blender or food processor until smooth but not thawed.

Place in a covered container and freeze.

Makes about 4 1/2 cups or serves 8-9 persons.

Caribbean lime mousse

Fast, fresh and definitely refreshingly light, a true taste of the Caribbean

1 2/3 cups water

1/3 cup cornstarch

pinch salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbs lime zest, chopped

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup evaporated milk or pourable cream

Heat water in a saucepan, whisk in sugar, cornstarch and salt, stir until mixture thickens.

In a bowl beat egg yolks with vanilla, add a spoonful of the hot liquid to the eggs then add the egg mixture to the hot liquid in the pan, stir constantly over a slow heat for 2 minutes, add the lime juice and milk.

Cool mixture and fold egg whites into lime custard, spoon into glass stemmed glasses, garnish with chopped zest and top with a dash of aromatic bitters.

Serves 4

A lighter side: use low fat milk and or cream

Mango mousse

1 tbs gelatin

1/4 cup rum

2 cups whipping cream

1/2 tsp lime zest, minced

1 cup mango pulp

Heat rum gently remove from heat and dissolve gelatin into rum, set aside. And cool.

Puree mango in a food processor and add to gelatin mixture with lime zest. Stir well and refrigerate to cool.

Beat whipping cream to stiff peaks and gently fold into mango puree.

Pipe into stemmed glasses, cover and refrigerate until ready for serving.

Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and chopped fresh mango.

Mango cardamon sorbet

2 cups mango pulp

2 cups water

cup sugar

1/4 tsp crushed cardamon pods

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Boil water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Cool and stir in lime juice, cardamon and mango pulp.

Pour into an ice cream freezer and process according to manufacturers directions.

Makes about 3 cups