Strawberry Fools
By Afton CyrusPublished on January 4, 2023
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4
What Kids Are Saying
"It was super easy! All you have to do is make the jam and whipped cream." —Evelyn, recipe tester, age 9
Ingredients
Before You Begin
You can use 1¾ pounds (28 ounces) of thawed frozen sliced strawberries instead of the fresh strawberries and begin the recipe at step 2, if desired.
Instructions
- Place strawberries on their sides on cutting board and use chef’s knife to carefully cut off leafy green parts. Stand strawberries on cut side and slice strawberries. (If strawberries are large, cut slices in half.)
- Place half of strawberries in medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and use rubber spatula to stir until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Transfer remaining strawberries to 10-inch skillet. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar and use rubber spatula to stir until combined.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until strawberries are broken down and spatula leaves clear trail through jam mixture, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off heat and slide skillet to cool burner.
- Let jam cool in skillet for 5 minutes. Use rubber spatula to scrape jam into large bowl (ask an adult for help). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to make fools, in second large bowl combine heavy cream, vanilla, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Use electric mixer on medium-low speed to whip cream for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until cream is smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and lift beaters out of cream. If cream clings to beaters and makes soft peaks that stand up on their own, you’re done. If not, keep beating and check again in 30 seconds. Don’t overwhip cream.
- Fold whipped cream into chilled jam following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Fold,” below.
- Use slotted spoon to divide half of sliced strawberries evenly among four (8- to 12-ounce) glass tumblers or jars. Use spoon to divide all of strawberry-cream mixture evenly among glasses. Use slotted spoon to top each glass with remaining sliced strawberries. Serve.
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4What Kids Are Saying
"It was super easy! All you have to do is make the jam and whipped cream." —Evelyn, recipe tester, age 9Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
A fool is a classic British dessert that combines cooked fruit with custard or whipped cream. In this kid-tested, kid-approved version, young chefs will fold whipped cream into quick homemade strawberry jam and then layer in some sliced, macerated strawberries. As kids cook the sliced strawberries and sugar to make their jam, ask them to make a prediction about what will happen to the strawberries over the 10- to 15-minute cook time: What will the strawberries look like at the end? Why do they think so? The sugar pulls water out of the strawberries’ cells and into the hot skillet, where it evaporates, making the mixture thicker. The heat and the water loss also causes those cells to collapse, making the strawberries fall apart into soft, spoonable jam.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
You can use 1¾ pounds (28 ounces) of thawed frozen sliced strawberries instead of the fresh strawberries and begin the recipe at step 2, if desired.
Instructions
- Place strawberries on their sides on cutting board and use chef’s knife to carefully cut off leafy green parts. Stand strawberries on cut side and slice strawberries. (If strawberries are large, cut slices in half.)
- Place half of strawberries in medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons sugar and use rubber spatula to stir until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Transfer remaining strawberries to 10-inch skillet. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar and use rubber spatula to stir until combined.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with rubber spatula, until strawberries are broken down and spatula leaves clear trail through jam mixture, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off heat and slide skillet to cool burner.
- Let jam cool in skillet for 5 minutes. Use rubber spatula to scrape jam into large bowl (ask an adult for help). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- When ready to make fools, in second large bowl combine heavy cream, vanilla, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Use electric mixer on medium-low speed to whip cream for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and whip until cream is smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and lift beaters out of cream. If cream clings to beaters and makes soft peaks that stand up on their own, you’re done. If not, keep beating and check again in 30 seconds. Don’t overwhip cream.
- Fold whipped cream into chilled jam following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Fold,” below.
- Use slotted spoon to divide half of sliced strawberries evenly among four (8- to 12-ounce) glass tumblers or jars. Use spoon to divide all of strawberry-cream mixture evenly among glasses. Use slotted spoon to top each glass with remaining sliced strawberries. Serve.
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