Ambrosia
A Southern US salad served since the 19th century at Christmas and Thanksgiving. At first it was just oranges with grated coconut — a luxury when both came from far away. Modern ambrosia is pineapple, mandarins, coconut and mini marshmallows in a sour cream dressing, with red cherries for colour. What matters most is time in the fridge: over two hours the marshmallows soften and soak up the cream, and the coconut swells.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Fruit 10 min
- Combining 5 min
- Chilling 120 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneDrain the pineapple thoroughly
Tip the pineapple into a sieve and drain 10 minutes, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Syrup is ambrosia's enemy — it thins the cream and turns the salad into sweet soup.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Ten minutes in a sieve — syrup thins the cream.Peel the mandarins, remove the pith
Peel the mandarins and separate the segments, removing the white threads. If tinned — drain like the pineapple. Fresh mandarins make the salad less sweet and more refreshing.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Halve cherries, chop nuts
Halve the cherries and pat them dry so they do not turn the cream pink. Chop the pecans roughly and toast 3 minutes in a dry pan — toasted, they stay crisp longer.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Whip the cream
Whip the cold cream with the icing and vanilla sugar to soft peaks. Not stiff — the cream should be fluffy but easy to combine with the sour cream.
Ingredients: 200 g thick sour cream · 150 ml whipping cream · 2 tbsp icing sugar · 1 tsp vanilla sugar
Fold sour cream into whipped cream
Fold the sour cream into the whipped cream gently with a spatula. The sour cream brings a light tang that balances the sweet marshmallows and pineapple — whipped cream alone would be cloying.
Ingredients: 200 g thick sour cream · 150 ml whipping cream · 2 tbsp icing sugar · 1 tsp vanilla sugar
Sour cream into whipped — tang against sweetness.Fold in fruit, coconut and marshmallows
Add the pineapple, mandarins, coconut and marshmallows and fold gently, without crushing the mandarin segments. Save the cherries and nuts for the top.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Gently — the mandarins should stay whole.Chill for two hours
Cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. This is essential: the marshmallows soften and partly melt into the cream, the coconut swells and the flavours marry. Straight after mixing ambrosia is dry and disjointed.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Garnish and serve
Before serving stir, then top with the cherries and toasted pecans. Serve in a glass bowl — in the American South ambrosia sits on the table beside the turkey, as a sweet side or a dessert.
Ingredients: 1 pcs pineapple chunks · 4 pcs mandarins · 12 pcs maraschino cherries · 60 g shredded coconut · 100 g mini marshmallows · 50 g pecans
Before you start
The original version
The oldest 19th-century ambrosia is layers of orange slices sprinkled with sugar and freshly grated coconut. Without cream and marshmallows it is light and elegant — worth trying both.
Yoghurt instead of cream
For a lighter version use thick Greek yoghurt in place of the cream and sour cream. Yoghurt is tangier, so add a spoon of honey.
A day in the fridge
Ambrosia can be made a day ahead — it even improves. After two days the fruit weeps and the cream thins. Always add the nuts just before serving.
