Strawberry Fool, Blogger CLUE

Living in California's Central Valley, I have easy access to an abundance of fruits and vegetables. And, this time of year, the strawberries are popping up at roadside stands every day.  It is so hard to drive past those beautiful flats filled with red, luscious strawberries.  You see it is Blogger CLUE time and our theme for this month is "berries"!   Great choice for spring.  Wait! Guess I should hold on a minute as you may be wondering, "What is Blogger CLUE?"

I have participated in this group's recipe exchange for the last two months.  It is so much fun.  Here's how it works:  1) a blog is assigned; 2) a clue is provided, 3) find a recipe that matches the clue!  This was dreamed up by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Thank you Liz and fellow Blogger CLUE helpers...AND, a big thank you to all CLUE. bloggers for sharing some amazing recipes!

So back to the theme, "berries".  I was assigned Liz's blog, That Skinny Chick Can Bake, and after perusing for a loooong time, I selected the raspberry.  I had just seen some beautiful, plump raspberries and was determined that I would find just the right recipe.   Needless to say, I found a few recipes: Raspberry Mousse, Raspberry Chicken and Raspberry Brie Bites.  Yum! Somewhere along the way I learned that Liz is a raspberry fan so what better place to find a recipe using raspberries??  I have followed Liz's blog since 2010, when she started blogging, as we both began about the same time, and I was fascinated by her specialty and love....all of those wonderfully sweet dishes.   Choices were not limited on her blog.

So why is my post about strawberries?  (No, I am not confused.)  You see pictures of strawberries because it seems that the beautiful raspberries I had seen vaporized and in their place were some not so pretty ones.....

Since my choices at Liz's blog are not limited....I was on my way to the roadside stand....moving on to strawberries!  I decided to make the Strawberry Fool.

I made the recipe twice.  The first time I made it to take to a friend's for dinner.  We all loved it.  It had just the right amount of sweetness and the strawberry flavor was perfect....the problem was that I should have doubled the recipe.  There were four of us and it's not that we wanted a lumberjack serving "grin" but a little more would have been nice.

So, I decided to make it again.  This time I doubled the recipe for four people....except that I wanted some additional strawberries for the bottom of the glasses so I added about four more large berries.  I used the martini glasses for the adults and small glasses for my granddaughter and me!

Strawberry Fool

adapted from That Skinny Kid Can Bake

Serves: 4

6 ounces strawberries, hulled and medium dice

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest

3/4 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Fresh strawberries and mint for garnish, optional

Cook the diced strawberries, sugar and salt in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to simmer.  Add the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for two minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then chill it in the refrigerator until cold.

Once the berries are cold, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Add vanilla and the remaining Tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.  

Reserve about 2 Tablespoons of berries.  Fold the remaining berries into the whipped cream.

Divide the mixture between four serving dishes.  Add a few teaspoons of berries on top of each serving.  Garnish with fresh berries and mint, if desired.

NOTE:  

1) If you desire additional berries so that you can layer it in a serving dish, you may wish to double the strawberry and sugar mixture.  

2) For four people I would suggest increasing the recipe by one half.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

If you are curious about how the Fool originated, it is included in my previous post. 

• Blackberry Yogurt Muffins by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Blueberry Bars by Lora from Cake Duchess
• Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake by Heather from girlichef
• Blueberry Lemon Bars by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Blueberry Sour Cream Cake by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
• Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes and Frosting by Kelli from Kelli's Kitchen
• Irish Blackberry Cobbler Cocktail by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Italian Jam Cookies by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits with Raspberry Sauce by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Raspberry Muffins by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Raspberry Oat Bars by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Strawberry and Coconut Tartlets by Anna from annaDishes
• Strawberry Champagne Cocktail by Kim from Liv Life
• Strawberry Fool by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Strawberry Lemon Marmalade by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Strawberry Margaritas by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Strawberry Mousse by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Tapioca Cream Strawberry Parfait by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone and Raspberries by Kathleen from Bakeaway with Me