Miss Windsor’s Pink & Spicy Gooseberry Raspberry Fool!

Hello, darlings!

Food for thought: have you ever wondered about the origins of the illustrious Gooseberry Fool?

Well, maybe it was first served to King George III of England at a lavish dinner party? Or could it be an invention of the overindulgent Victorians? Or possibly, this dish first graced the likes of a medieval banqueting table? Indeed, a farrago of possibilities, which Miss Windsor investigated thoroughly, and, delineates her findings right here………

Eager to revive the quintessentially British (or English!) dessert of Gooseberry Fool, I, therefore, sifted through my food history archives and stumbled upon a recipe in my 1903 edition of Mrs Beeton’s One Shilling Cookery Book.

With one or two adaptions to the original recipe, I created Miss Windsor’s Pink & Spicy Gooseberry Raspberry Fool – prepared with the most superior ingredients of posh pink gooseberries (instead of the green common type!), ravishing raspberries, sweetened whipped cream, and a smattering of ground ginger and cinnamon.

Before I indulge you with a titbit or two about this spiffing dessert, it has come to my attention that many folks assert that Gooseberry Fool is a rather chucklesome name for a dessert! For some bizarre reason or another, the title seems to tickle many Americans – an odd reaction, but it is known that they’re quite an eccentric bunch!

Darlings, the recipe from my 1903 edition of Mrs Beeton’s One Shilling Cookery Book, first appeared in the 1861 edition of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. However, it’s difficult to confirm if my recreation is definitely of Victorian origin because if the truth is told, Gooseberry Fool has quite a fruity history.

According to the jolly old internet, our beloved Gooseberry Fool was enjoyed by our forebearers as far back as the 14th or 15th century. However, there’s a huge time difference of a whole century to argue over, yet it’s highly possible this type of “foole” (as it was once called), commenced its culinary journey as a medieval dish. So far, there are no recorded recipes that could uphold this claim.

Thankfully, one can rest assure that many recipes for Gooseberry Fool have been traced to the 17th century – 1658 to be exact! Although, it is of great belief to some that there’s an elusive recipe stowed away somewhere that dates back to 1598.

I was intrigued to discover that our fabulous fool can be made with either a cooled custard-like base or whipped sweetened cream. You see, over the years, keen cooks from across the country would’ve rustled up this classic dish with either ingredient – I have only experienced the latter.

Darlings, purely for your delectation, Miss Windsor presents a couple of recipes from two distinctly different eras. A recipe from 1658 notes a custard base (following the execution of King Charles I, the year of 1658 was the last year Oliver Cromwell was the leader of the republic of England), and a Georgian or Regency recipe from 1802 (written during the reign of King George III) favours whipped cream.

Of course, I recreated this dessert following traditional methods, which involved an old-fashioned pudding basin and potato masher. You see, Mrs Beeton suggests to steam the fruits in a “jar”, however, please do refrain from doing so, as when Miss Windsor followed her instruction the jar cracked then smashed to smithereens – a sturdy pudding basin will certainly do the job instead!

Before I retire to my parlour for a well-deserved G & T, I recommend one must serve their creation in style – a matching set of vintage bone China teacups would do the trick, or if one must, serve in tiddly yet elegant ceramic vessels.

I say, these exquisite, Haas and Czjzek, vintage teacups, as showcased above, once belonged to the rather wonderful and beauteous Valeria Wallace.

Miss Windsor x

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MISS WINDSOR – EXCEPT FOR THE PHOTO OF GRANDMA GEORGINA & VALERIE WALLACE.