The Hungry MouseOrange Melba Sauce
This is my take on classic Melba sauce, that exquisite raspberry sauce that famed French chef Auguste Escoffier whipped up for his favorite opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba.
The original sauce is a heady mixture of raspberries, current jelly, sugar, and cornstarch. In this version, I’ve done away with the current jelly and the cornstarch (a generous amount of sugar helps thicken the sauce as it reduces), and added a little orange juice. It’s my favorite thing to drizzle over cheesecake. I’m also totally guilty of eating it straight, with a spoon.
If you can, make this sauce with fresh raspberries and freshly squeezed orange juice. The brightness and acidity of the orange juice will help to bring out that luscious raspberry flavor.
If you use frozen raspberries, you may need to tinker around with the timing. Frozen berries will have more water than fresh, so you may need to simmer it longer to get it to thicken up.
Orange Melba Sauce: A note on timing (a.k.a. make it ahead)
This sauce takes almost no time to put together. That said, make it a few hours before you want to serve it because it needs to cool completely to finish thickening up.
In a pinch, you could spread it in a shallow (heatproof & freezer safe) dish and stick it in the freezer to try to cool it faster…just keep an eye on it if you do this.
Other things to do with Orange Melba Sauce
- Drizzle it over vanilla ice cream
- Serve with a fat stack of fresh Belgium waffles or pancakes
- Pour it over thick slices of pound cake and finish with fresh whipped cream
- Shake a little up with a big hunk of ice, a few shots of vodka, and some fresh lime juice for a fabulous, juicy cocktail (or pour a little in the bottom of a flute and fill with your favorite champagne or prosecco)
This is good stuff. You get the idea.
Orange Melba Sauce
12 oz. fresh raspberries
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
Makes about 1 cup
Combine raspberries, orange juice, and sugar
Grab your raspberries. Sort through them and toss any that look suspect. Put them in a medium-sized pot.
Pour in the orange juice.
Add the sugar. Give the pot a stir.
Cook the melba sauce
Turn your stove on to medium-high heat and bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring occasionally.
When the mixture boils, stir it constantly. After a minute or two, start to smoosh the berries against the side of the pot to break them down.
Boil like this for a few more minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and syrupy. (It should coat the back of a spoon.)
Give the sauce a taste before you strain it. If it’s too sweet for you, add a little more orange juice (or even some lemon juice) and cook until thick again.
Strain and cool the orange melba sauce
When it’s nice and thick, pour the mixture through a strainer set over a bowl.
Stir the mixture in the strainer with a spoon to help push it through.
The sauce should be thick and glossy.
Let the sauce cool to room temperature, then pop it into the fridge to chill it completely. It will continue to thicken up as it cools.
Serve and enjoy!
(Click here to see the cheesecake.)
20 Comments on “Orange Melba Sauce”
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Ooooooooh. I am making this tomorrow night along with your French cheesecake for my Dad’s birthday. It looks good!
Oh yay! Let me know how they come out!
(Happy birthday, Dad!)
+Jessie
oh wow: that’s one amazing dessert!
Thank you, Olga!
+Jessie
OMG, you are killing me with the cheesecake-related photos and stuff. I haven’t had cheesecake in ages… and I think it’s time to end the drought! And this sauce looks like perfection. I think I’ll make it for our “welcome back to Switzerland” dinner!
Death by cheesecake! Mwaahahahahaha… Let me know how it goes if you give it a whirl!
+Jessie
This looks amazing!
Yes, there are 1000′s of applications for this sauce. Escoffier would be proud.
Regards,
CCR =:~)
Awwww, shucks.
Thanks, honey.
+Jessie
I’m loving the idea of putting it on waffles! so yummy
Wheeee! That’s two votes for waffles!
+Jessie
Oh my. That looks amazing. I have to agree, it would be bwicked good on waffles.
Thank you! Definitely give it a whirl!
+Jessie
I’ve never had orange melba sauce before, but it looks amazing! I’ll have to try this the next time I make cheesecake…or french toast
Thanks, Emily! OMG, this would be fabulous on French toast. I forgot all about French toast, in fact. (How in the world could that be?)
+Jessie
Hi Jessie! I’m back –
Gosh! That Escoffier had many dishes dedicated to that Dame! Even Toast Melba!
Lovely sauce, Mouse!
Gabi @ mamaliga
Thanks, Gabi!
+Jessie
HI jessie, instead of rasberries can we use blueberries with the orange juice? will that b ok?
Btw, i’ve tried this on waffles, it tastes great with it.
Keep it up
hi..this looks scrumptous.
Can i substitute the rasberries with another fruit like strawberries, cheeries, etc?
I made this last night and it was ZOMGood!
XD I made it for a chocolate pie topping, and I didn’t strain the seeds because I like them.
Man, it was so hard to stop myself from just eating it all with a spoon. (I was planning to coat my chocolate pie with raspberry jam before someone showed me this.)
Wonderful! *hophophop*