Gooseberries and elderflower are good companions, not least because they are out in the world at the same time. We have had a bumper crop of berries this year, slightly over 12kg so far, from 4 well established bushes and finding things to do with the berries other than freezing them has become the challenge of the month. I’ve posted before about using natures bounty to make delicious elderflower cordial around May/June time and now it is time to put it to some culinary use rather than just quaffing it in fizzy water.
Ingredients:
450g Gooseberries
175g Sugar
2tbs Elderflower cordial
Zest of 1 lemon
175ml Double cream (whipping will do as well)
100ml Custard, thick rather than runny
Method:
Put gooseberries, elderflower cordial and sugar in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer gently until the gooseberries start losing their shape and become soft and oozy.
Whip the cream to soft peak stage, pour in the custard and add the gooseberry puree and lemon zest, slowly swirl together.
Pour into individual glasses, I used red wine glasses, and chill for at least two hours.
Serve with a sweet biscuit, a shortbread (Paul Hollywood’s How to Bake
After a couple of hours in the fridge the fool is set and read for eating.
We had a very informal affair so no fancy toppings and they didn’t last long either. Luckily there are a few more raw materials waiting in the wings.