Edd Kimber’s Alpine Strawberry Fool
A simple yet delicious traditional English dessert with a mixture of fruit and Jordans Country Crisp Strawberries for a beautiful summery treat made using foraged alpine strawberries.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Custard
250ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
100g caster sugar
15g cornflour
Strawberry Compote
400g alpine strawberries, hulled and diced
85g caster sugar
To finish
300ml double cream
Crystallised rose petals (optional)
70g Jordans Country Crisp Strawberries
Method
1. For the custard, place the milk and vanilla bean paste into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Whilst coming to temperature, place the egg and yolks into a large bowl along with the caster sugar and the cornflour, whisking together until smooth. Pour the hot milk onto the eggs, whisking constantly.
2. Pour this custard back into the pan and over medium heat, stir constantly until the custard has thickened (it should have the texture of custard made with powder, thicker than a creme anglaise but still pourable). Pour back into the bowl and press a sheet of cling film onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate until cold.
3. For the strawberry compote, place the strawberries and sugar into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the fruit has released lots of juice. Continue to cook until the juice has reduced to a syrup and the strawberries have just started to break down. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until chilled.
4. To assemble the fools, divide half of the compote between six glasses and top with the custard. Sprinkle the Jordans Country Crisp Strawberries onto the custard and then set the glasses aside for the moment.
5. In a large bowl whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks, add most of the remaining compote (reserving a little to decorate the desserts) and gently fold together, leaving it partially swirled in. Spoon the cream mixture into the glasses.
6. To finish the fool, spoon the remaining compote on top of the cream and sprinkle a little extra Jordans Country Crisp Strawberries. If you want to make the decoration of the dessert extra special, add one or two crystallised rose petals to each glass.
7. To make these, paint rose petals with a thin layer of egg white and dip into sugar, making sure everything is covered. Set the petals onto a parchment lined baking tray and allow to dry out for at least two hours, but preferably overnight.
Cook’s Tips:
- When folding in the compote, use a very light hand to ensure a pretty rippling effect
- Be sure to stop whipping the cream as soon it holds soft peaks as, if you are refrigerating, it will keep the mixture silky smooth
Foraging recipes inspired by the Jordans Wildlife Garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
Tagged in Recipes