We consider ourselves hearty dessert eaters. We rarely say, "Oh, I just want a bite of something sweet." We get seconds.
But this dessert from Martha Stewart, which we featured on April Fool's Day, was so rich we almost had to lie down and unbutton our pants...
And oh how silky and delicious it was.
Like our popular recipe for Coffee Fluff, this Rhubarb Fool is basically a serving of heavy whipped cream — with a ribbon of sweet, puréed rhubarb running through it.
The photo that runs with Martha's recipe looks vaguely beige, maybe peachy. Ours was bright, hot pink, which we loved if only because we don't eat fuchsia desserts very often.
It's so easy to fold anything — stewed fruit, crumbled cookies, even a homemade jam (maybe thinned with a bit of water) — into whipped cream. We're not sure where the line of fool authenticity is drawn. But we'll be experimenting with new flavors, especially for dinner parties, since this is easy to make ahead and serve in small, decadent portions.
Get the original recipe:
(Images: Elizabeth Passarella)
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Very similar to Eton Mess, which is made of ribbons of puréed strawberries and crumbled chunks of meringues folded into whipped cream (with maybe an extra puddle of stawberry on top)... mmmm..
Ohhhhhh, yes, foooooooools. I made a lot of simple fools last summer when I was going through my initial giddy fruit overload brought on by moving to an apartment only 4 blocks from a farmer's market and being able to get REALLY FRESH RASPBERRIES AND PEACHES AND APRICOTS AND CHERRIES AND RASPBERRIES AND AND AND AND....
I started with the basic recipe in Mark Bittman's HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING, which, if you're using berries, doesn't even call for cooking the fruit - just pureeing it with a little sugar. Lovely. But the best part came when I laced a blueberry version with a little cinnamon first -- it was absolutely DIVINE.
Eton mess really needs chunks of strawberry as well as chunks of meringue, whereas fools are smoooooooth... a textural (but crucial) difference...
I want to try rhubarb but I'm afraid I won't like it. My fiance suggested trying a rhubarb/apple crumble but this sounds even better.
Badhuman- I had very little experience with rhubarb, and now I'm addicted (there's quite a bit of sugar in the recipe- it's pretty sweet and hard to dislike). I halved the Martha recipe, so the investment wasn't too high... Let us know how you like it if you try it!
A simple flaming dessert: Southern Comfort Snowball
Ingredients: Vanilla Ice Cream, Shredded Coconut, Southern Comfort (Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey).
Take a double scoop of ice cream for each serving (strawberry if you want pink), make it into a ball, roll in coconut. Place coconut balls in freezer (on smooth or wax paper-lined plate) until ready to serve. To serve: In the kitchen put balls in glass dishes, pour Southern Comfort over each ball and light them. Use a tray or platter to carry the flaming desserts. Turn lights down low for your entrance.
Optional: Soak halved strawberries in SC, chill, then add just before flaming.
Easy, romantic and sexy.