This quick and easy recipe is light and flavoursome, celebrating the gooseberry; tart and sweet. A perfectly topical pudding to welcome in spring.
Red Gooseberry Fool
Ingredients: serves 6
• 2 jars of ART’s Red Gooseberry jam
• 200g of double cream
• 100g Greek-style yoghurt or crème fraiche
• Small bar of quality milk chocolate.
Method
– Gently warm the jam in a pan over a low heat for 1-2 minutes, until softened (Do not allow to overheat or burn). Remove from the heat.
– Whisk the cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks. Fold in the yoghurt or crème fraiche and the jam, then divide between 6 glass tumblers.
– Leave the glasses in the fridge for at least 2 hours, to allow the fool to thicken.
– Garnish with some grated milk chocolate. Serve with your shortbread rounds.
Shortbread
Ingredients: serves 24
• 450g butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 450g plain flour
• 225g rice flour
• 1 tsp salt
• demerara sugar (for rolling)
• caster sugar (for dusting)
Method
– Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until light, pale and fluffy. Alternatively, process them in a food processor, then scrape the mixture into a bowl.
– Sift together the flour, rice flour and salt and stir into the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
– Working quickly, gather the dough together with your hands and put it on a clean work surface. Knead lightly together until it forms a ball, but take care not to over knead the shortbread otherwise it will be tough and greasy. Lightly roll into a sausage shape, about 7.5cm diameter. Wrap the roll of dough in clear film and chill in the fridge.
– Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
– Pour the demerara sugar on to a sheet of baking parchment. Unwrap the dough and roll the sausage-roll of dough in the sugar until evenly coated. Using a large, sharp knife, slice the roll into discs, about 1cm thick.
– Place the discs on to the baking sheets, spacing them out well apart. Bake for 20-25 minutes until very pale gold in colour.
– Remove from the oven and sprinkle with golden caster sugar. Leave to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
