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Gooseberry and Elderflower Fool
You can make a fool with all kinds of wild berries (see also our Blackberry Fool recipe) but the original and, for some, the best is the tart, juicy gooseberry. Here we combine it with its natural partner, elderflower, and a little Greek yoghurt, to give a light, fragrant rendition of this classic British teatime treat.
Serves : 4
Prep : 10 minutes, plus cooling
Cook : 5 minutes
- 250g gooseberries
- 85g caster sugar
- 1 small elderflower head (if available)
- 200ml double cream
- 2 heaped tablespoons Greek-style yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial
Method
- Top and tail the gooseberries, rinse them and leave them to drain in a colander.
- Put the sugar into a small pan with 100ml water and set over a medium heat. Stir gently until the sugar has dissolved and bring up to a gentle simmer. Add the gooseberries and elderflower head and cook for 3–5 minutes, or until just tender. Using a slotted spoon, lift the gooseberries out of their poaching liquid and put them into a small shallow bowl to cool. Put the poaching liquid back over the heat and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until syrupy. Draw off the heat, discard the elderflower head, and leave the syrup to cool.
- When the berries and syrup are fully cooled, pour the cream into a medium bowl and beat with a balloon whisk until just starting to thicken. Add the yoghurt, elderflower cordial and 1 tablespoon of the gooseberry syrup and whip again, going gently until you get soft, floppy peaks. Stop whisking immediately when you reach this stage – if you over-whisk, your fool will have a grainy texture.
- Put a couple of spoonfuls of poached gooseberries in the bottom of each of four glass tumbers. Spoon over a thick layer of the elderflower cream, then layer in the remaining gooseberries. Top with the remaining cream and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Credits
Recipe and photos by Otherwise for Wild Food UK
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