Creamy Fruit Soup

Fruit soup sounds unusual until you taste it. Then it just sounds like a great idea.

Berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or a mix) get simmered with their syrup, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves until the kitchen smells like a holiday candle. A cornstarch slurry thickens the base, lemon juice brightens it, and then the whole thing cools down before sour cream and milk get stirred in.

The result is something between a chilled soup and a drinkable dessert: fruity, spiced, tangy, and impossibly smooth. Serve it in bowls with a curl of lemon peel on top.

Kitchen Tips

• Cool the spiced syrup completely before stirring in the sour cream. Hot liquid will curdle the cream and give you a lumpy, broken soup.
• Remove the cinnamon sticks before blending in the dairy. They’ve done their job.
• Chill for at least 2 hours so the flavors meld and the soup thickens. It tastes better cold than it does at room temperature.

Variations

• Use fresh summer berries instead of frozen when they’re in season for a brighter, fresher flavor.
• Swap sour cream for Greek yogurt for a tangier, slightly lighter version.
• Add a splash of white wine to the spiced syrup for a grown-up twist at a dinner party.