Skip to main content

Berry Foolish

There is an amazing lot I don't know about cooking. I've never baked a cake or a whole loaf of bread. Never made meringue. Never worked with a pastry bag.

I always get fascinated by professionally decorated food so decided to set at least the last one right. Whipped a cup of cream with a tbsp of caster sugar until it was thick. Got hold of a sandwich bag, cut a small hole and dropped a piping nozzle in. Filled the bag with my whipped cream and then spent a happy hour creating circles, curves and squiggles. I won't torment you with my amateur decorating skills.

But when I'd finished having fun with piping cream I still had half a bag of whipped cream left. Perfect to make a fool.



I've been mixing whipped cream and fruit to create a decandent dessert for ages. But I realized very recently that this is the classic English dessert called Fool. A typical fool is a mix of sweetened fruit puree and whipped cream. But where do I find fruits suitable for a fool in Bombay monsoon - no berries, few peaches (and none in my fridge).

So I got out my bottle of mixed berry no-sugar preserve. I mixed 2 tbsp of that with a tbsp of orange juice to get puree like consistency. Dropped the entire leftover cream on top of this, and mixed very gently. The cream got deliciously flavored, and was lovely when chilled in a wine glass.

Comments

Bharti said…
That sounds like a fun afternoon! There is an amazing lot that most of us don't know about cooking and baking. That's simply 'cause there is just too much out there to know and learn. Fool sounds lovely.
notyet100 said…
this sounds like nice fun,..nce ame too,..:-)
Anonymous said…
Wow...looks like you a pleasant afternoon :) Looks wonderful!
Anonymous said…
wow tahts a very creative idea and its really fun to make new food like this. Its absolutely refreshing.
Suganya said…
This is so cool. YUM!
Rachel said…
With real berries or not..it sure does tempt me....
Looks lovely. Just haven't been able to figure out why it's called "fool"! Just doesn't do justice to such a lovely concotion.
Sunshinemom said…
I too do that sometimes - trying to decorate the rim etc. Its nice to drink that way:) Yep! I read about these fools - the peach and the mango in GH, and Femina!

Popular posts from this blog

Kadhi Chawal

I just can't think of what to write today. That's what my absolute favorite meal does to me, I just want to stop talking and dig right in. So I won't ramble and go straight on the recipe for kadhi. First, make the pakoras that would go in the kadhi. Slice an onion lengthwise. Make a batter with 1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan), salt, red chilli powder and water. Dip onions in this batter and deep fry until crisp. Keep aside. Now blend 1 cup yogurt and 1/3 cup besan into a paste. Add 3-4 cups water to make a very thin blend. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add a tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain (carom seeds) and methre (fenugreek seeds). Let splutter for a few seconds. Now add a large onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices and cook until browned lightly. Pour in the yogurt/besan mix and add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp red chilli powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for at least half an hour. You have to stir this occasio...

Potato Naan

I know what you see up there is a naan. But let's pretend for a moment we are making bread. For I had bookmarked this recipe for potato bread a zillion years ago. And that's what I set to make. Chopped and boiled 100 gms potatoes until they are soft. Mashed them along with 3/4 cup of water they were boiled in. While the potatoes were boiling, I added a tsp of sugar to 1/4 cup warm water, then sprinkled a tsp of yeast and let it proof for 10 minutes. To the potato/water mix, I added a cup each of whole wheat flour and plain flour, 1/2 tsp salt as well as the yeast. Once everything was mixed well, I put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and kneaded it for 10 minutes or so. It was a fairly wet dough, but got it to get smooth. Oiled a large bowl and put the dough in it to rise to double it's size. By the time the first rise ended after an hour or so, I didn't want the bread. I wanted a naan instead. And if someone deserves to throw a tantrum after days of sniv...

Pineapple Pastry

This is what makes me feel so glad to be a part of the food blogging community. You saw the cake yesterday. I baked it on the morning of my parents' anniversary, hoping to turn into a traditional pineapple pastry they like. Then I panicked. I know that the bakeries use a whipped cream topping, but I also knew that the 25% cream we get in India won't whip. So I put in an SOS mail to Deeba . And she called me back within minutes with ideas to incorporate more fat in the cream. With all her tips and hints, I finally have a pineapple pastry I like. So if you are struggling with 25% Amul cream like me, here's what you do. Tip No. 1 : Get rid of the whey. When you pour out the cream from the carton, you will get thick cream and some whey. Just pour the whey out. Tip No. 2 : Chill, chill, chill. Before you start whipping your cream, put the bowl of cream in the freezer for 10 minutes. I also left the whipping blades of my hand mixer in the freezer for the same time. Tip No. 3...