Easy Strawberry Fool Recipe

A strawberry fool is a British dessert made chiefly from fresh strawberries and fresh cream. The British climate being what it is, of course, the dessert is most popular in the summer months - just as strawberries and cream are so associated with the Wimbledon tennis championships - but it is enjoyed all year round, with the availability of imported strawberries. Very often, strawberry fool is over-complicated, with far too many unnecessary ingredients added. This easy strawberry fool recipe, however, is about as basic as can be.

This easy strawberry fool recipe has but four basic ingredients. For four servings, you will need:

1/2 pound fresh strawberries

(2 extra strawberries for garnish)

1 tsp caster sugar

1/2 pint whipping cream

A little grated chocolate for garnish

The tools and appliances which you will need are a large bowl, a sharp knife, a medium sized pot, a whisk, a wooden spoon and four small glass serving bowls.

The first step in making this easy strawberry fool recipe is to wash the strawberries, de-husk them and slice them to about 1/8". They should then be added to a pot with the tsp of caster sugar and gently brought up to heat. Note that no water is required, as the natural juices of the strawberries will be sufficient.

The strawberries should be stirred regularly with a wooden spoon as they begin to break down and after around five minutes, should have pureed sufficiently. Note that some solid pieces remaining add a little bit of bite and character to the finished dish.

The pot should then be covered and set somewhere safe for the puree to cool. This will take at least half an hour. 

When the strawberry puree has cooled, the cream should be poured in to a large bowl and whisked until soft peaks begin to form. At this stage, the strawberry puree mixture should be folded in to the cream, not stirred in, or a lot of the trapped air will be lost from the cream. This will spoil the final effect of the dish.

The strawberry cream should then carefully be spooned in to the four serving glasses. A little chocolate should be grated over each before the two strawberries for garnishing are de-husked, halved down through the centre and placed as a finishing touch, as shown above. This easy strawberry fool recipe may then either be served immediately or refrigerated until required.