I was looking for a quick and easy dessert that had no baking involved and ran across something that was completely new to me (in the cooking world anyways), a fool. A fool is an English dessert that was originally made by with whipped cream and gooseberries and looks similar to a parfait.
But since I don’t have gooseberries and the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market sent me over an email flyer that said “Rhubarb is Hot This Week”, I needed it to revolve around fresh rhubarb and found a great recipe in Cooks Illustrated.
This recipe is also great to make ahead of time since you have to refrigerate it for 1-24 hours before serving and serves 8.
Rhubarb Blueberry Fool
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh rhubarb , trimmed of ends and cut into 6-inch lengths
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp fresh ginger , grated
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch table salt
- 2 cups heavy cream (cold)
2.) Bring orange juice, ginger, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt to boil in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rhubarb and return to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes. Gently stir in the blueberries and continue to simmer, stirring only 2 or 3 times (frequent stirring causes rhubarb to become mushy), until rhubarb begins to break down and is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer rhubarb and blueberries to nonreactive bowl, cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 24.
3.) Beat cream and remaining sugar in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 45 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 45 seconds longer. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 30 seconds.
4.) To assemble fool, spoon about 1/4 cup rhubarb and blueberries into each of eight 8-ounce glasses, then spoon in a layer of about 1/4 cup whipped cream. Repeat, ending with dollop of cream; serve. Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 6 hours. (To make one large fool, double the recipe and layer rhubarb, blueberries, and whipped cream in a 12-cup glass bowl.)
And enjoy!!
Leave a comment