I should have posted this yesterday.  But, it isn’t an April fool’s joke, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

Many years ago my mother and I went to England.  I had art historical research to conduct and she had a daughter to keep company and London and surrounding areas were the perfect place for both of our activities.

 

 

I won’t say that we loved all the food we encountered on our trip.  Far from it!  Grilled tomatoes and baked beans for breakfast seemed weird, but not nearly as strange as some of the meats we encountered.

High tea at Liberty was a huge success, as was high tea at Harrod’s.  I mean, what’s not to love?  Pour the clotted cream on anything and I will eat it all up!  Maybe even on grilled tomatoes.  Well, maybe not tomatoes.  But anything else.

But while I have a generalized happy memory of all the dainty sandwiches and biscuits served at high tea, there is only one dessert, or pudding, that I have never forgotten.  What made it more memorable was that I found it in a church basement cafeteria, somewhere in London.

My mom and I were visiting this particular church in order to see the 19th century neoclassical sculpture in the nave and when we were done it was lunch time and we were hungry.  We realized there was a cafeteria in the basement and made our way there.

I don’t remember what we had for lunch, but I do remember encountering something called rhubarb fool in the pudding section of the cafeteria buffet.  I had never heard of a fool, but I could tell it was made with cream and I was sold.

 

 

One bite of that rich combination of tart rhubarb compote mixed with whipped English cream and I was in heaven.  I’ve never looked back.

Enjoyed with a shortbread biscuit, life is never sweeter!

Here’s a recipe and a link.  The internet is full of rhubarb (and other fruit) fool information.

 
Serves 4

450g rhubarb, roughly chopped
5 tbsp golden caster sugar
300ml double cream
100ml Greek yoghurt
Small bunch of mint, leaves only

1. Put the rhubarb in a pan with 4 tbsp sugar and heat gently, covered, until tender. Uncover, turn up the heat slightly, and allow some of the juice to evaporate. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if necessary, then drain the rhubarb, reserving the juice. Allow to cool.

2. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, then stir in the yoghurt. Fold in the cooled rhubarb, and chill for at least an hour.

3. Serve in glasses with the reserved juice to pour over the top, and a few mint leaves on each portion.

Is fool the finest British summer dessert, both for ease and sheer, simple delight, and if so, what’s your favourite flavour? And what else do you like to do with rhubarb over the summer, now that crumble season’s finally on its way out?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/apr/12/how-to-make-perfect-rhubarb-fool