A “fool” is a classic British dessert usually made with fresh seasonal fruit. It dates back as early as the 16th century. It is traditionally a delicious mixture of sweetened fruit puree and whipped cream. This wonderful dessert is super simple and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth heavenly.

My Peach Mango Fool will always have your guests asking more. It is the perfect summer dessert – cool and refreshing. I often serve this dessert as a happy ending after a healthy grilled meal. You can make this yummy dessert using any fresh fruit of your liking such as pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apricots, cherry, bananas, papaya, orange, guava, kiwi…


MANGO PEACH FOOL

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh diced mango
1 cup fresh diced peaches
1 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of saffron
pinch of freshly ground cardamom powder
¼ cup sugar, to taste
fresh mint leaves for garnish
coarsely chopped pistachio pieces for garnish

METHOD:

In a small mixing bowl, combine the diced mango and the diced peaches with the sugar. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 hour. You can most certainly puree the fruit along with the sugar if you wish, thereby omitting this entire step but I prefer a little texture. The sugar will help break down the fruit to some extent but if you like a smoother texture – just puree it in the blender.

In a very small bowl, combine the saffron with about 2 tbsp of mango juice (you can also use peach juice or even orange juice). Let the saffron soak for about 10-15 minutes. Then add the saffron along with the orange juice to the mango and peach mixture. Also, don’t forget to add the ground cardamom powder. Mix well to combine all of the ingredients and set aside until needed.

Using a hand held blender, beat the whipping cream until you get lovely soft peaks. Traditionally, the whipped cream is then folded in with the fruit puree and served. But I prefer a more modern approach to serving this dessert. Using a tall clear glass (a tall stemless wine glass works really well), start with a generous layer of fruit on the bottom. Then top the fruit layer with a generous layer of the whipped cream. Now repeat with another layer of fruit and a final layer of whipped cream on the top. Finally, garnish each glass with a couple of fresh mint leaves and a liberal sprinkling of pistachio pieces. Serve chilled.


VARIATIONS:

Sometimes, I serve this dessert with pound cake or sponge cake. Just cut the cake into small cubes and add a layer of the delicious cake cubes in between the fruit and whipped cream layers.

You can add some toasted coconut nut flakes on top as a garnish for extra texture & crunch.