Raspberry Fool is one of the easiest desserts to prepare. Essentially just raspberry purée folded into whipped cream, it will impress everyone far beyond the effort you put into making it. This recipe can also be used to make loganberry and tayberry fool: just substitute the raspberries with whichever berry you choose. Frozen berries will also yield a good result, though there is something quite special about eating a raspberry fool at the height of raspberry season with additional fresh raspberries layered through the fool and even more scattered over.
This recipe is from 'Ballymaloe Desserts' by JR Ryall, Head Pastry Chef at Ballymaloe House Hotel
Serves 8
For the purée
450g/1 lb fresh or frozen raspberries, plus extra to decorate.
170g/6 oz (¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar
For the fool
450–600ml/15–20 fl oz (1⅔–2½ cups) stiffly whipped cream
Shortbread Biscuits, to serve.
To make the purée: Place the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle over the sugar. If using frozen fruit, set the bowl aside for1 hour to defrost. Purée the fruit and sugar in a liquidizer or using a handheld blender. Pass the purée through a fine nylon sieve to remove the seeds. Press the seeds against the sieve with a rubber spatula or the back of a ladle to extract as much of the precious pulp as possible. The bit you work hardest for is worth the most, and it’s worth taking a minute to get every last bit. Discard the seeds.
To mix the fool: Gently fold up to an equal volume of whipped cream into the raspberry purée, to taste. I like to leave a slight swirl and ripple in this fool. Transfer to a serving bowl orindividual dishes. Sprinkle over extra raspberries to decorate. Serve with short bread biscuits.
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