Whiteley Creek Homestead

As much as I cringe when I see Christmas merchandise displayed in stores before we've devoured the last few pieces of Halloween's candy corn, I have learned to shift my own thinking to the next holiday a bit farther in advance. This yogurt-based "Raspberry Fool" from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave would be a perfect Valentine's Day dessert.

       
 
“Fool” is a dish made of crushed or puréed fruit mixed with cream. Options: In the left photo, I used undrained Greek yogurt. In the right photo, I drained the whey from regular yogurt which produces a thicker consistency. Both end products result in a refreshing, nutritious dessert.   

Raspberry Fool

1 ½ cups vanilla yogurt (I used Kalona Supernatural Vanilla Yogurt which has only 6 g sugar.) I have also used plain yogurt to reduce the recipe's sugar content. Naturally, it produces a bit more tart end product but still sweet enough.

1 10-ounce package frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed (I used 1/2 pkg to puree + fresh raspberries to fold in and garnish.)

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

¼ cup well-chilled heavy cream

Place yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel or natural, unbleached cheesecloth. Let it drain and thicken in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. (I drained it for 1 1/2 hours and called it good.) Discard the liquid (whey). *Save the liquid for another use (e.g. add to a smoothie or replace some of the liquid in muffins or bread) and set the thickened yogurt aside. (Alternatively, you can use Greek yogurt and skip the draining step. It just won't be quite as thick. See photos above.) Process 1/2 pkg thawed raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Transfer the purée to a fine mesh strainer and strain it into a large bowl pressing the liquid out with a rubber spatula. Discard the seeds. Whisk in the powdered sugar. Gently stir in remaining 1/2 package of raspberries. In a chilled medium bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks are formed. Gently fold in the yogurt and the raspberry mixture. Fold in fresh raspberries. Spoon the fool into stemmed glasses and chill, covered with plastic wrap, for at least an hour and up to 1 day. Garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired. Serves 4. Serving size: ½ cup. *See Curds and Whey post.