Recipe by The View From the Great Island

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The world of fresh fruit and heavy cream is a wonderland.  The two come together in so many different ways to form some of the greatest, and simplest, desserts on the planet.  A fool is an old English treat that originally consisted of  stewed gooseberries folded into a custard.   This recipe is a simpler version, substituting sweetened whipped cream for the custard base, and a fresh blackberry puree for the stewed fruit.  I added a splash of Brandy, Blackberry Brand to be exact, for fun. Blackberries are naturally tart, so they play well with sweetened cream.  The texture is almost mouse like, and the whole thing is silky smooth and cool as a cucumber.  The perfect summer dessert. There are a couple of ways to go with this.  You can fold lots of fruit puree into the whipped cream and turn it completely purple, or you can swirl it in, like I did.  In that case, it’s nice to serve some extra puree on the side so people can add more if they like.  I layered whole blackberries into the serving dishes, too. Print Brandied Blackberry Fool Yield: serves 4 Ingredients 2 cups fresh blackberries 1 Tbsp blackberry Brandy 1 …

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Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 tbsp blackberry Brandy
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• for garnish
• mint leaves
• whole blackberries

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Method

1. In a food processor puree the berries, Brandy, and lemon juice until completely smooth. Push the puree through a fine mesh strainer, using the back of a spoon to get as much of the mixture through as possible. Discard the seeds.
2. Whip the cream until it starts to thicken, then add the sugar and vanilla. Whip until it forms stiff peaks. You want the cream to be whipped until firm so that it doesn't break down when you add the berry puree. But don't go too far or you will make butter!
3. Fold part of the berry puree into the whipped cream, using a silicone spatula. Just fold it in lightly so that you still have streaks of purple and white. You can serve it from one bowl, or spoon it into smaller serving bowls or glasses, layering with fresh berries and more puree, if you like.
4. The fool can be refrigerated for up to a few hours before serving.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island