Blackberry Fool with Hazelnut Biscuits

Method:

Begin by preparing the biscuits. Pre-heat your oven to 200C (180C fan/Gas Mark 6) and line two large baking trays with baking parchment.

Scatter the nuts over a baking tray, pop into the centre of your pre-heated oven and roast for 6–8 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir them half way through and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn. Turn out onto a plate and set aside to cool.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, beating with a wooden spoon until light and creamy. Once cooled, coarsely chop the nuts and add to the creamed butter mixture along with the lemon zest, flour and baking powder. Stir well until the mixture comes together as a ball (use your hands if needed).

Divide the dough into 24 even-sized pieces, rolling each one into a ball. Arrange these balls on the prepared baking trays, spacing them well apart to allow them to spread. Press the biscuits to flatten until about 1cm tick.

Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for about 12 minutes, or until very pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the trays. Note that they will be very soft when you remove them from the oven, but will crisp as they cool. Store in an air-tight tin, where they will keep for up to five days.

For the fool, rinse the blackberries in a colander or large sieve to wash away any dust or dirt. Transfer the fruit to a non-stick saucepan and sprinkle over the caster sugar.

Stir in the lemon juice and heat gently for 2 minutes, or until the blackberries begin to soften and release their juices. Remove 12 blackberries and set aside for garnish, then continue cooking the remainder.

Bring the blackberries to a simmer and cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently until they’re very soft. Take off the heat then press the fruit through a fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl, using the back of a spoon to extract as much of the purée from the fruit as possible. Discard the seeds and set the purée aside to cool. You’re aiming for about 325ml of blackberry purée.

Combine the cream and yoghurt in a large bowl and whip with an electric whisk until soft peak form when the whisk is raised from the mixture. Note that the acidity of the fruit will thicken the cream mixture further, so don’t over beat.

When the blackberry purée has cooled to room temperature taste a little and adjust the sweetness by adding a little more sugar, if needed. Now scrape into the bowl with the whipped cream mixture and stir gently once or twice until just lightly combined.

Spoon the blackberry fool mixture into individual, wide, glass dishes (or use a single large bowl). The mixture should appear fairly marbled, so make sure not to over-stir. Scatter a few small mint leaves on top, then decorate with the reserved blackberries.

Sprinkle a little sugar over the top (if desired) and serve accompanied by the hazelnut biscuits.

Blackberry Fool with Hazelnut Biscuits

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