At Verandah Magazine we consider ourselves extremely fortunate that we have the wonderful Belinda Jeffery supplying us with her delicious recipes, and never more so than when she has a new book out to savour and enjoy. This month her recipe for blueberry fool is from her new book: Belinda Jeffery’s Utterly Delicious Simple Food.
Living as we do slap-bang in the middle of one of Australia’s biggest blueberry-growing regions, we’re blessed with an abundance of them, so much so that at our local farmers market we buy them by the bucketful rather than in punnets. It’s such a treat to be able to fling handfuls willy-nilly into cakes, muffins, puddings, ice cream, tarts…you name it, and I’ve quite likely tried it!
This classic fool, which is made in no-time, is probably one of the simplest but most sublime ways to eat them, as it’s nothing more than blueberries gently heated in a fragrant crème de cassis syrup then cooled and partly folded into rich whipped cream. The only addition I’d think about serving with it is a few crisp little biscuits to add a welcome crunch (homemade would be lovely, but good bought ones are fine too) – or, if you’re anything like me, for scooping up little morsels of fool.
By the way, if you would like to make a somewhat less rich version, you can replace some of the whipped cream with thick Greek-style yoghurt – it won’t be quite as light and airy, but it’s still very good.
Serves 4-6
1½ tablespoons cool water
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) crème de cassis
450g blueberries
400ml rich (or thickened) cream
¼ cup pure icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Almond thins or shortbread fingers, for serving, optional
I nearly always keep a bottle of this intensely berry-ish blackcurrant liqueur on hand as it’s amazing what a little splash of it can do to pick up the flavour of all sorts of berries – and, I have to admit, it’s also not half-bad trickled into a glass of white wine as an aperitif!
Put the water, lemon zest, lemon juice and caster sugar into a large-ish heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved , then stop stirring and bring the syrup to the boil; as soon as it boils, reduce the heat to low, and pour in the crème de cassis and blueberries. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles very, very gently, and leave if for 5 minutes, giving it a slow stir now and then, being careful not to break up the berries.
Remove the pan from the heat and leave the berry mixture to cool, then carefully pour it into a container (watch out as it’s very splashy and the colour is lethal if it gets on your clothes). Seal it tightly, and pop it in the fridge to chill (you can make this 4 or 5 days ahead if you like).
Just before serving the fool, pour the cream into a chilled mixing bowl, sift in the icing sugar, then add the vanilla. Using an electric beater (or balloon whisk if you’re arm and wrist muscles are strong!) beat the mixture on medium speed until it forms lovely, billowy soft peaks, just be careful not to let it become grainy as this spoils its texture.
Mash about 1 cup of the chilled blueberry mixture to form a chunky puree, then partially fold it into the cream – the mixture will be a glorious streaky magenta colour. Spoon this into serving goblets or glasses (glass isn’t essential, but the jewel-like colour looks particularly gorgeous through it), spoon some of the reserved blueberry mixture over the top, and serve immediately with biscuits on the side.
Belinda Jeffery’s Utterly Delicious Simple Food is published by Lantern: https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781921383359/utterly-delicious-simple-food
You can find out more about Belinda on her website https://www.belindajeffery.com.au/home.html
