Raspberry Fool

This summer I saw a few different Fool recipes floating around, and all of the claimed that Fool is a traditional English dessert.  My Grandma was born and raised in England, my Dad was born in England, and he still has lots of family there.  So I was shocked I had never heard of this before.  I asked my Dab about it, but he didn't know anything either (he left England when he was 2, my Grandpa was in the Air Force).  So I did a little research, and sure enough it is English.  So I had to make some! 

It is a super easy, rather light dessert.  By light I don't mean calorie wise, I just mean not heavy.  It is basically a homemade whipped cream with pureed fruit mixed in.  It is a great dessert for a big meal, not too sweet and not too heavy.  Plus it is super easy to make.  No baking or cooking, so you are done in less than 10 minutes!  It is pretty versatile, you could use many different fruits.  From what I could find it looks like raspberry is traditional, but I could see strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries being great.  I even saw someone layer the cream over grilled fruit (peaches I think). 


Raspberry Fool
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pint raspberries

Using an electric mixer whip the heavy cream over med high until you get soft peaks.  Mix in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Do not over mix or it will curdle and turn to butter. 

Place all but a few raspberries in a food processor.  Puree until almost smooth.  You don't want soup, but you don't want huge chunks either. 

Fold the raspberries into the cream.  Serve in a glass, and top with the reserved raspberries. 

If you want to take it over the top and away from tradition you could layer in some brownies! 

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

Remember back when I made Pistachio Ice Cream?  I promised more recipes with the goodies that Oh! Nuts had sent me.  Well I think it is time to share this delicious pie that I made with the Hazelnuts and Almond Flour.  This recipe was adapted from Giada.  I love her, we are on a first name basis :)  Anyway, I saw her make this years ago, and printed the recipe right away. I have just never had Hazelnuts around to try making it.  So that was first on my list when OH! Nuts contacted me.

I didn't really have a reason to make this when I did, so we called our neighbors over at 3:00 in the afternoon for dessert.  It was a hit.  My friend absolutely loves hazelnuts, she could probably live off Nutella alone.  So I thought of her right away when I made this.  So glad they liked it!

Note - the original recipe uses all purpose flour, I just wanted to try my almond flour.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pie
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Printable Recipe

Pie:
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup hazelnuts toasted
1/4 cup almond flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
4 eggs
1 stick butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat to 350 degrees F.

 

Put 1/2 of the chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and flour in the food processor. Pulse until the hazelnuts are coarsely chopped. Pour the nut mixture into a small bowl and set aside.



Combine remaining chocolate chips and sugar in the food processor. Blend until the mixture is finely ground. With the machine running, gradually add the hot water until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, butter, vanilla. Pulse until mixture is blended.



Return the hazelnut mixture to the food processor and pulse to incorporate. Pour the mixture into a buttered and floured 9-inch pie dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool for 1 hour in a cooling rack.  Refrigerate for 2 hours. Allow the pie to return to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

While the pie is cooling you can make the cream.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar, and vanilla. Continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks.

Serve each slice with a dollop of Whipped Cream!

Pavlova

I hope everyone had a great long weekend.  We got lots done around our house, our yard, and spent time with friends.  It was a good weekend, but now back to reality!  At least until Friday when we go to see family for a few days!  My Sister-in-Law will be up with her kids from Florida, so we will get to spend some much needed time with them. 

Pavlova is traditionally topped with Kiwi and is a New Zealand specialty.  We had it in March when we were on vacation there, and I fell in love.  I had it topped with passion fruit, and then I had a rolled chocolate one, that was amazing!!  Back at home we opted to make one topped with strawberries.  My husband made it for me on Mother's Day, and it was so good!  For his business dinner a couple weeks ago he wanted to make it again.  But this time we got to work together on it.  Love when he helps in the kitchen and we can do it together!

Meringue SEEMS hard, but it is really so EASY.  If you have an electric stand mixer it will do all of the work for you.  Really, it is easy!  Trust me!  You can make it and your guests will be amazed, but you can keep the secret that it was simple. 

Pavlova
From Alton Brown
Printable Recipe


4 ounces egg whites, room temperature
Pinch kosher salt
6 ounces sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp corn starch

Whipped Cream
Cut up Fruit

Start by heating your oven to 250 degress,  You will want a large sheet pan that is lined with parchment paper, or a silicone linear. 

In the stand mixer bowl put in your egg whites and a pinch of salt.  Using the whisk attachment on high, whisk until stiff peaks, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Reduce the speed to medium and add the sugar over 2 minutes. 

Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Increase the speed to high and whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy and stiff peaks for, 6 to 7 minutes. 

 Decrease speed to low, and add the vanilla, vinegar and cornstarch.  Mix just to combine. 

Gently spoon the meringue onto the lined pan, and spread to make about a 9 inch circle forming a slight well in the center. 

Place the meringue into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave it in the oven for 3 more hours.  Open the oven door and cool completely before removing from the oven, approximately 30 minutes. 

Just before serving make the Whipped Cream, you can find a recipe here.  Top the meringue with whipped cream, and sliced berries or fruit of your choice.  Serve immediately. 

 

A VERY happy boy there was leftovers from the party.  He LOVES Pavlova!