Dessert Fools have been around so long that it is difficult to pin down the origin date. Here is a recipe from 1658, straight from The Compleat Cook.
"Take your Gooseberries, and put them in a Silver or Earthen Pot, and set it in a Skillet of boyling Water, and when they are coddled enough strain them, then make them hot again, when they are scalding hot, beat them very well with a good piece of fresh butter, Rose-water and Sugar, and put in the yolke of two or three Eggs; you may put Rose-water into them, and so stir it altogether, and serve it to the Table when it is cold."
Over time, using any sweetened custard for this superb "pudding" has been omitted for the simpler whipped cream. In fact, most of today's Fool recipes are simply mashed berries that have been mixed with whipped cream. To me, that may make for a quick fix in the summer, but to truly enjoy this classic takes just a tad extra effort, especially during the Holidays when people put their best, and most creative, foot forward to please themselves and others around them.
I am giving you 3 distinctly different Fool recipes. Notice I refrain from using entirely whipped cream in these recipes. I opt, instead, to give it a little "kick in the pants". If desired, substitute more whipped cream to any of these recipes.
You are going to be very pleasantly surprised at the sweet tartness this Holiday dessert provides. All the flavors balance out perfectly and I have a funny feeling you will be doubling, tripling or even quadrupling this recipe to feed the masses this year as they gather around your table.
1(12-ounce)bag frozen raspberries(2 1/2 cups)
1 cup frozen, white grapefruit juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1(1-ounce)envelope unflavored gelatin
1(8-ounce)container plain yogurt, whisked and divided
3 cups whipped topping, divided
Combine raspberries, grapefruit juice concentrate and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bringing to a boil. Once boiling, and with a potato masher or sturdy fork, mash raspberries just a couple times, leaving them chunky. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and continue cooking without stirring for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and transfer to bowl to chill in refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
When ready, whisk half the yogurt with half the whipped topping until well combined in a large bowl. Fold in cooled(it will still be warm)raspberry mixture, folding until desired streaks are visible or fold in entirely.
Divide among 4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and chill at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, blend the remainder of yogurt with remainder of whipped topping and ladle over individual servings of Fool.
Mousse-like but much softer. An original recipe for this New England dessert goes all the way back to 15th century England, when it was made with crushed berries mixed with eggs and a sweetener, creating a berry-laden custard. It was made in this way even well into 19th century New England before being altered using whipped cream instead of custard. I think you will find this version less sweet and eggy, but "super delicious" as my kids say! Refer to note at the end for 2 other Fool recipes, one of which is the classic preparation.
1(12-ounce)bag frozen blueberries(2 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch dried ginger or allspice
1(1-ounce)envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2(8-ounce)container creme fraiche
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
Crushed gingersnaps or your favorite crisp Holiday cookies
Make blueberry filling by combining frozen blueberries, corn syrup, lemon juice and spices in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil until blueberries are thawed. Once boiling, and with a potato masher or sturdy fork, mash the blueberries just a couple times, leaving them very chunky. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and continue cooking without stirring for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and transfer to bowl to chill in refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
When ready, whisk creme fraiche and whipped topping until well combined in a large bowl. Fold in cooled(it will still be warm)blueberry mixture, folding until desired streaks are visible or fold in entirely.
Divide among 4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and chill at least 3 hours before serving with crushed cookies over the top.
NOTE: Follow this link for a great Raspberry Fool and to prepare this old time dessert the way it was intended, follow this link, English Cranberry Fool with Baked Meringue.
1(14-ounce)can whole-berry cranberry sauce *
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
1 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
Nonstick cooking spray
Empty cranberry sauce into a bowl and stir until it is well broken up. Strain any liquid from it and discard, set aside cranberry sauce. Place milk, egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and allspice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to scalding while almost continuously stirring with a rubber spatula to prevent scorching. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until it has thickened to the consistency of thin gravy.
Remove from heat and stir in bowl of cranberry sauce and vanilla until well incorporated. Evenly divide among 3-4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and set, about 3 hours. You can also simply pour into a large bowl to cool, scooping out portions when ready to serve.
Meanwhile, make meringue toppings. Beat egg whites using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining sugar while beating to stiff peaks.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray. Pipe chocolate kiss-like mounds(or rosettes) to desired sizes onto parchment paper, leaving an inch between mounds. (This amount of meringue will make about 14-15 good-sized meringues, so use only half the whites if desired.
Place in oven for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, leaving the meringues in oven for at least one hour to dry out.
When ready to serve, add as many meringues on top of each serving as desired.
* Want to make your own chunky cranberry sauce? You will need to give yourself some time. Simply place 1(12-ounce)bag fresh cranberries in a medium saucepan with 1 cup frozen orange juice concentrate(thawed)and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling for about 8 minutes, or until most, if not all, the cranberries have popped open. Remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl, cool to room temperature and cover with film wrap. Refrigerate until completely chilled. It will thicken substantially when cooling. Use in place of the canned cranberry sauce above.
"Take your Gooseberries, and put them in a Silver or Earthen Pot, and set it in a Skillet of boyling Water, and when they are coddled enough strain them, then make them hot again, when they are scalding hot, beat them very well with a good piece of fresh butter, Rose-water and Sugar, and put in the yolke of two or three Eggs; you may put Rose-water into them, and so stir it altogether, and serve it to the Table when it is cold."
Over time, using any sweetened custard for this superb "pudding" has been omitted for the simpler whipped cream. In fact, most of today's Fool recipes are simply mashed berries that have been mixed with whipped cream. To me, that may make for a quick fix in the summer, but to truly enjoy this classic takes just a tad extra effort, especially during the Holidays when people put their best, and most creative, foot forward to please themselves and others around them.
I am giving you 3 distinctly different Fool recipes. Notice I refrain from using entirely whipped cream in these recipes. I opt, instead, to give it a little "kick in the pants". If desired, substitute more whipped cream to any of these recipes.
Tart Raspberry Fool
1(12-ounce)bag frozen raspberries(2 1/2 cups)
1 cup frozen, white grapefruit juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1(1-ounce)envelope unflavored gelatin
1(8-ounce)container plain yogurt, whisked and divided
3 cups whipped topping, divided
Combine raspberries, grapefruit juice concentrate and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, bringing to a boil. Once boiling, and with a potato masher or sturdy fork, mash raspberries just a couple times, leaving them chunky. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and continue cooking without stirring for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and transfer to bowl to chill in refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
When ready, whisk half the yogurt with half the whipped topping until well combined in a large bowl. Fold in cooled(it will still be warm)raspberry mixture, folding until desired streaks are visible or fold in entirely.
Divide among 4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and chill at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, blend the remainder of yogurt with remainder of whipped topping and ladle over individual servings of Fool.
Sweet and Tangy Blueberry Fool
1(12-ounce)bag frozen blueberries(2 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch dried ginger or allspice
1(1-ounce)envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2(8-ounce)container creme fraiche
1 1/2 cups whipped topping
Crushed gingersnaps or your favorite crisp Holiday cookies
Make blueberry filling by combining frozen blueberries, corn syrup, lemon juice and spices in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil until blueberries are thawed. Once boiling, and with a potato masher or sturdy fork, mash the blueberries just a couple times, leaving them very chunky. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and continue cooking without stirring for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and transfer to bowl to chill in refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
When ready, whisk creme fraiche and whipped topping until well combined in a large bowl. Fold in cooled(it will still be warm)blueberry mixture, folding until desired streaks are visible or fold in entirely.
Divide among 4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and chill at least 3 hours before serving with crushed cookies over the top.
NOTE: Follow this link for a great Raspberry Fool and to prepare this old time dessert the way it was intended, follow this link, English Cranberry Fool with Baked Meringue.
Ye Olde Cranberry Fool
Here is a Fool recipe that is truly classic....well, for the most part. I use the classic preparation for the overall texture, but Yanked it using canned cranberry sauce. For those of you who wish to prepare it using fresh cranberries, simply see asterisk. Regardless of how you make it, it is delightfully different and perfect for your table this season.1(14-ounce)can whole-berry cranberry sauce *
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
1 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
Nonstick cooking spray
Empty cranberry sauce into a bowl and stir until it is well broken up. Strain any liquid from it and discard, set aside cranberry sauce. Place milk, egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and allspice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to scalding while almost continuously stirring with a rubber spatula to prevent scorching. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until it has thickened to the consistency of thin gravy.
Remove from heat and stir in bowl of cranberry sauce and vanilla until well incorporated. Evenly divide among 3-4 serving dishes, loosely cover with film wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled and set, about 3 hours. You can also simply pour into a large bowl to cool, scooping out portions when ready to serve.
Meanwhile, make meringue toppings. Beat egg whites using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining sugar while beating to stiff peaks.
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray. Pipe chocolate kiss-like mounds(or rosettes) to desired sizes onto parchment paper, leaving an inch between mounds. (This amount of meringue will make about 14-15 good-sized meringues, so use only half the whites if desired.
Place in oven for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, leaving the meringues in oven for at least one hour to dry out.
When ready to serve, add as many meringues on top of each serving as desired.
* Want to make your own chunky cranberry sauce? You will need to give yourself some time. Simply place 1(12-ounce)bag fresh cranberries in a medium saucepan with 1 cup frozen orange juice concentrate(thawed)and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue boiling for about 8 minutes, or until most, if not all, the cranberries have popped open. Remove from heat, transfer to a large bowl, cool to room temperature and cover with film wrap. Refrigerate until completely chilled. It will thicken substantially when cooling. Use in place of the canned cranberry sauce above.
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