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Gooseberry and Basil Fool

When my dad was a young boy, gooseberries were one of his favourite fruits. Gooseberries tend to grow like weeds, and are a great fruit to just pick and pop in the freezer, whole, to save for a rainy and not so warm day. You can use frozen or tinned berries in this recipe, or try them in a crumble. The addition of basil in this recipe brings a slightly savoury note to the fool and creates an even richer floral aroma. You can make these fools up to a day ahead, if you wish.

SERVES: 4 | PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES | COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES, PLUS SETTING

150g caster sugar

400g gooseberries, topped and tailed

200ml double cream

FOR THE CUSTARD

160ml milk

16 large basil leaves

2 egg yolks

1 tsp custard powder

30g demerara sugar

1 Put the caster sugar in a large saucepan. Add 200ml of warm water and bring to a simmer. Add the gooseberries and simmer gently for 5 minutes, then remove a fifth of the berries and set them aside. Keep cooking the remaining berries for about another 10 minutes until soft. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.

2 To make the custard, put the milk and half of the basil leaves in a small saucepan and bring just to the boil, stirring frequently.

3 Put the egg yolks, custard powder and sugar in a heatproof bowl and whisk until well combined. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes or until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon (take care not to boil the custard as the egg yolks will scramble). Strain through a fine sieve into a clean container, cover the surface of the custard with clingfilm (to avoid a skin forming) and chill in the fridge.

4 Lightly whip the double cream.

5 Once the custard is cold, whisk it well then fold it into the lightly whipped cream. Fold in the gooseberry purée. Thinly slice the remaining basil leaves and fold them through the mix.

6 Divide the fool among 4 glasses. Halve the gooseberries you cooked and set aside, and arrange them on top of the fools. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour, until set.