Strawberry Fool

I don’t know why a punnet of strawberries got stuck in the fridge. But they did.

Perhaps a lockdown takes fun out of a food that is readily associated with sharing – strawberries certainly add to the communal happiness of crowds at Wimbledon tennis, they can cap a perfect summer’s day at a garden party or on a picnic with family and friends – somehow, it might just be a little indulgent to enjoy strawberries on one’s own. So I decided to turn them into a pudding to eat without too much guilt in front of the telly. I made my own langues de chat, a biscuit we used to buy easily in the old days – but now seemingly only available from specialist suppliers.

NB: 1 sachet of gelatine sets 1 pint of liquid (about 500ml). Add 3/4 – 1 sachet depending on how set you like your fool.

1. Save a few strawberries for garnish, wash and shuck the remaining strawberries and whizz in a mini blender or similar. Sieve out the seeds. Take the apple or berry juice and heat it gently until hot but not boiling, add the geletine and stir until dissolved, add the sugar and stir until dissolved, then add the vanilla, cool and add to the strawberry puree.
2. Whip the cream until it has stiffened but is still soft.
3. Fold – or beat – the strawberry puree into the cream. Folding will give a ripple-like effect, whereas beating creates an even pink cream.
4. Chill in fridge for four hours and serve with fresh strawberries and biscuits.