Lychees are tropical fruits that grow rampant in South Asian countries. While the fruit has a rough, inedible pink skin outside and a toxic brown seed inside, the fruit’s pulp is extremely juicy and flavourful. The fruit is consumed in various preparations such as lemonades, cocktails, ice creams, and various other desserts. Hence, they are an ideal option to make dishes that require the sweet and smooth fruit pulp. According to the Godrej Food Trends Report 2021, Indian dessert chefs are kept on their toes, innovating constantly to hit that sweet spot! As rightly pointed out in the Report, desserts with healthier claims (like no added sugar, naturally sweetened, fruit-based desserts) will be among the top trends.

So go ahead and try these delicious, fruity desserts from the juiciest lychees this summer.

Lychee kheer

Kheer is one of the crowd-pleasing desserts in India. To give it a lychee twist, take some milk and a pinch of green cardamom powder in a saucepan. Add sugar and a few saffron strands to it and heat it, stirring it slowly. Turn off the heat when it reduces to half its quantity. Put in pieces of lychee. Let it cook until all the pieces are soaked and the kheer has achieved the desired consistency. Transfer it to a bowl, pop it into the refrigerator for a few hours and serve the chilled lychee kheer.

Lychee cheesecake

Like other cheesecakes, this one consists of a base of cookies crumbled and pressed down with some melted butter. Press down the crumbly mixture within a cake tin and put it in the refrigerator to chill. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lychee puree until the mixture is smooth and thick. Spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base and smooth the surface.

Chill for a few hours until the cheesecake is solid, and remove the side walls of the cake tin. Top the cheesecake with some lychee pieces and serve it chilled.

Lychee sorbet

Sorbets and summers always make a merry combination. To prepare delicious lychee sorbet, take a few peeled and deseeded lychees, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and a very small amount of ginger gratings. Mix all these ingredients together in a blender and put the mixture into a tray or bowl to freeze for five to six hours. Then take the frozen mixture and blend it again. Pop this into the freezer for nine to ten hours and then serve it in a bowl. This frozen dessert is perfect if you’re looking for a chilled dessert but something lighter than ice creams or custards.

Lychee and coconut milk panna cotta

Blend the lychees and strain them into a saucepan with some coconut milk. Soak the gelatine leaves to soften them. Add sugar, cream and cook the mixture on low heat. Squeeze out the excess water and add the gelatine leaves into the saucepan. Keep stirring the mixture on low heat until the gelatin leaves dissolve into it. Pour the mixture into moulds and refrigerate it for at least four hours or until it sets well. Serve the jiggly lychee and coconut milk panna cotta with a garnish of lychee puree.

Do you have any other favourite lychee dessert recipes? Tell us in the comments.