One of the simplest and most delicious of desserts, this classic gooseberry fool recipe is easy to make and guaranteed to impress your guests.
Gooseberry fool recipe
A fruit fool is one of the best ways to enjoy tart fruit and the gooseberry fool is surely the ultimate classic. Crushed berries, sugar, cream and yogurt create beautiful balance in this unctuous traditional dessert.
See also
- Full of natural pectin, gooseberries are perfect for preserving in gooseberry jam
- Gooseberry compote is delicious alone or in your favourite desserts
Handed down from mediaeval times, this is one of those recipes that demonstrate the truth that simplicity is best. It is delicious just as it comes.
Mrs Beeton rather puzzlingly saw gooseberry fool as a nursery dish, and describing her recipe as enough to serve 5 or 6 children. With some shortbread on the side, however, it makes the most elegant dinner party dessert.
While the earliest recipes used simple cream or custard with crushed gooseberries, my version makes use of some thick Greek yogurt for a balanced flavour and great texture.
If you don’t have a thick, luxurious yogurt to use, don’t worry. I’ve got a trick to make the most of regular yogurt.
Though thinking more about this recipe has made me realise just how good whipped Greek yogurt can be. Hello, luxury breakfasts!
Why make gooseberry fool
- a delicious way to use a gooseberry glut
- adaptable, forgiving recipe
- simple elegance
- everyone loves a fool!
Gooseberry fool ingredients
- Gooseberries – topped, tailed and washed. If you use red dessert gooseberries, you will need less sugar.
- Icing sugar – also known as powdered or confectioner’s sugar
- Yogurt – thick Greek for preference but regular is OK too
- Sugar – I used golden caster sugar for the compote but you can use regular white caster or granulated if you prefer.
- Double (heavy) cream – you don’t need the pricy extra thick variety – regular is just fine
More about gooseberries
Gooseberries are a traditional garden and allotment fruit in the UK, relatively easy to grow, long-lived and tolerant of weather that can limit other crops.
The green berries tend to be tart and suited to cooking, though some green varieties are sweeter. Red gooseberries are generally dessert varieties, developed to sweet enough to eat raw.
A great favourite of the Victorians, who formed gooseberry growing clubs, here in the UK they are a great option for nutritious, locally produced fruit with minimal food miles.
It can come as quite a shock to Europeans to realise that in the US, gooseberry cultivation was banned for about half of the 20th Century. Happily, though, the gooseberry is back in most parts of North America, so we can all enjoy this gooseberry fool recipe!
How to make gooseberry fool – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – First, make a gooseberry compote. Top, tail and wash the gooseberries and put them in a pan with a splash of water and the caster/granulated sugar
Cook gently until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit is tender, lightly crushing any gooseberries that remain unbroken to release the juice. Then transfer the fruit to a bowl and leave to cool.
Step Two – Put the icing sugar, cream and yogurt in a large bowl.
Helen’s Fuss Free Tip
You do need fairly thick yogurt, so if you have regular rather than Greek yogurt, just strain it.
You will need to put the yogurt in a nut milk bag, cheesecloth or jelly bag to do this. Either hang the bag over a bowl or set it in a sieve over a bowl. Follow the process in my post on How to make labneh, but leave out the salt!
Strain for about 15 minutes.
Step Three – Slowly whisk with a hand mixer, until the mixture thickens.
This really will not take long. You want a soft mix that will dollop. Taste and add a little more icing sugar if necessary.
Whisk slowly and do not over do it.
Step Four – Now add about three quarters of the gooseberry compote to the fool mixture, reserving some to top the dish at the end. Don’t include too much of the juice/syrup, as this will spoil the texture of the fool.
Step Five – Fold the fruit into the cream mixture so that it is evenly distributed.
Step Six – Transfer the gooseberry fool to your serving dish or individual glasses/dishes. I like to fill individual glasses using a jam funnel to avoid mess for a stylish result.
Step Seven – Top with the remaining compote and chill before serving.
Serving suggestion
This gooseberry fool recipe makes 4 sensible or 2 very generous portions as shown!
Serve with shortbread fingers or homemade lemon biscuits for a smart dinner party dessert.
Variations
- Add a touch of elderflower cordial to either the compote or the cream mixture. Use sparingly and taste as you go. You can add more but you can’t remove it.
- Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Storage
This gooseberry fool recipe is best made and served the same day. You can keep it overnight in the fridge but the texture may suffer and it may start to separate.
Fridge – Keep in the fridge for a few hours.
Freezer – Gooseberry fool is not suitable for freezing. You can make the compote in advance and freeze it, making up the fool when gooseberries are not in season.
Hints and tips
- If you use red dessert gooseberries you will need less sugar. Reduce the sugar in both the cream mixture and the compote rather than reducing one or the other too drastically. You need some sugar to form a syrup in the compote and stabilise the cream mix.
- Using a jam funnel to fill your serving glasses makes a real difference, giving a professional finish.
- This recipe is very adaptable. You can add more or leave out up to 20% of any of the ingredients, adjusting to taste. You can also use all cream rather than a cream and yogurt mix for a richer, more traditional fool.
FAQs
A fool is a dish of sweetened whipped cream or custard or a mixture of these, with stewed or crushed tart fruit such as gooseberries, blackcurrants or raspberries. The name comes from the French fouler, meaning to mash or crush.
Older recipes sometimes added milk to the cream while modern versions like this gooseberry fool recipe add yogurt to the mix.
The first reference to foole as a dish comes from the end of the 16th century but the dish is older, with recipes from the 1400s.
Freezing is not recommended. Gooseberry fool is best eaten the day it is made, though you can freeze the fruit to make it later.
More recipes to try
- Lemon posset – a luscious, creamy traditional dessert
- Pimms syllabub – the classic summer fruit cup in a light and airy dessert
- White chocolate pots – an easy and luxurious pudding
- Explore more delicious desserts
Gooseberry Fool
Ingredients
For the compote
- 200 g gooseberries
- 30 g sugar (caster or granulated, white or golden)
For the fool
- 150 g double (heavy) cream
- 150 g Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp icing (powdered) sugar
Instructions
- Top, tail and wash the gooseberries. Heat gently in a saucepan with the sugar and a splash of water until the sugar has dissolved formed a syrup and the fruit is tender.
- Remove the compote from the heat and allow to cool.
- Put the cream, yogurt and icing sugar in a bowl. Gently whip together. The mixture should remain soft.
- Add ¾ of the cooled compote to the the fool mixture, leaving out most of the juice. Fold in gently until well combined.
- Transfer to serving glasses using a jam funnel for a neat finish. Top with the remaining compote and chill before serving.
Notes
Storage
This gooseberry fool recipe is best made and served the same day. You can keep it overnight in the fridge but the texture may suffer and it may start to separate. Fridge – Keep in the fridge for a few hours. Freezer – Gooseberry fool is not suitable for freezing. You can make the compote in advance and freeze it, making up the fool when gooseberries are not in season.Hints and tips
- If you use red dessert gooseberries you will need less sugar. Reduce the sugar in both the cream mixture and the compote rather than reducing one or the other too drastically. You need some sugar to form a syrup in the compote and stabilise the cream mix.
- Using a jam funnel to fill your serving glasses makes a real difference, giving a professional finish.
- This recipe is very adaptable. You can add more or leave out up to 20% of any of the ingredients, adjusting to taste. For a very rich and traditional fool use all cream instead of a cream and yogurt mix.
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