Beautiful Berry Fool

Have you ever felt like a fool on Valentines day? Why not ensure that this time will be better? If you create this Beautiful Berry Fool for a special someone or for yourself on Valentines, you’ll be the smart one, trust me! This British dessert is a timeless classic and as soon as you taste it, you’ll know why. No one really remembers why exactly it’s called a Berry Fool. There are many theories, but I prefer to concentrate on how lovely and beautiful this dessert really is.

This dessert treat is created with a strained puree of raspberries and strawberries, but it can be made with just about any juicy berries. Gelatin is added to give the puree a firmer consistency so it will hold it’s own when swirled with the billowy mounds of whip cream. No, this is not Jell-O mixed with cool whip! That my friends, is a sad nock-off of the true greatness of Berry Fool.

This dessert is easy to assemble, and does require a food processor or blender. I also found my stand mixer handy for this recipe, but it’s definitely not necessary. The fruit puree can be made ahead of time, and I would recommend you do this. Make the puree, set it in the fridge, and move on to cooking dinner or other fun things on your to do list while it sets up. It needs at least two hours in the fridge to thicken up.

There are other components to building a classically beautiful Berry Fool. Fruit that is not pureed but instead chopped, is tossed with sugar to sweeten and become juicy. This fruit is place in the bottom of your parfait glass, under the whip cream/puree mixture. Then another layer of chopped fruit is added on top. Then a nice big dollop of whip cream sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs tops the whole thing off. My favorite garnish is the mint sprig. It makes this dessert look like a classy indulgence. So pretty!

You may notice in my photographs there is no graham cracker crumbs. That’s because I flat out forgot them! Am I going to re-shoot? Nah. It’s delicious either way, but I did sprinkle some graham cracker crumbs on a ‘bed-time’ snack portion I had, and it was very satisfying. Mmmm. Hmmm! I really liked the little bit of crunch that contrasts with the rich smoothness of whip cream. What a special treat this is and I hope you try it and leave a comment below about your experience :0) Enjoy!

Emily

Yields 6

Berry fool

Billowing clouds of whipped cream swirling with a sweet berry reduction, topped off with a sprinkle of salty crunch that will please any palette.

2 hr, 20 Prep Time

2 hr, 20 Total Time

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Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled
• 2 cups fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Instructions

1. In a food processor, add half the strawberries and half the raspberries. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar in and process for one minute. Strain mixture into a medium mixing bowl or 4 cup measuring cup. Discard solids.
2. Measure out 1/2 cup liquid puree and stir in the powdered gelatin. In a medium saucepan add 2 cups puree and heat on medium until it begins to boil, then remove from heat and add in the reserved gelatin mixture. Stir until dissolved. Transfer to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
3. Chop the remaining strawberries into quarters. Combine chopped strawberries with the remaining raspberries and mix in 2 tablespoons sugar. Let the berries sit for at least 1 hour.
4. With a hand-held or stand mixer, whip the heavy cream, sour cream, vanilla and 2 tablespoons sugar on low for about 30 seconds. increase the speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer about 1/3 a cup of the whip cream mixture to a container and set aside for a garnish.
5. Remove the berry puree from the fridge and give it a few turns with a whisk to smooth. Set your mixer to medium speed and add two thirds of the puree to the whip cream and whip until fully incorporated. Turn your machine off and remove the whisk. With a spatula, fold in the remaining fruit puree, leaving lots of streaks. Now we're ready to assemble the dessert, so set out your glasses.
6. Place the sugared berries that have been sitting out on the counter into a fine mesh strainer to remove the liquids. Gently shake if needed. Place a heaping spoonful (about two tablespoons) into the bottom of each glass. Be sure to save some for a garnish. Fill each glass with the streaked berry mixture leaving some space at the top for the garnish. Top each one off with the remaining sugared berries, a dollop of the plain whip cream mixture you set aside earlier, and a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs. For a lovely display, you can add a sprig of mint inside the rim of each glass. Serve and enjoy!

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