Rhubarb Fool

Aug 10, 2022

Rhubarb, rhubarb rhubarb …..
It’s a bit of a dark horse isn’t it? It sits up the end of the garden looking like it might taste a bit dull and old fashioned. And yet with just a little cooking, love and some sweetness added - maybe even a little spice or zest too, it delivers such a unique and delicious twangy taste.
If you fancy a lovely light, satisfying dessert at the end of a Summer meal, this rhubarb fool meets the bill wonderfully. And its really easy to make.

I opted not to mix the cooked rhubarb into the fool mixture. I added it in dollops, as I filled the glass tumblers with the fool. This way your taste buds really get the contrast of the rhubarb zing with the rich creamy fool. It looks prettier in the glass this way too. It seemed to beg for a little topping of some sort. I added grated low sugar choc but you could maybe add chopped nuts, or a little sprinkling of spice or orange zest.

Rhubarb is often cooked in a pan with a smidgen of water and sweetness added. But I fancy that roasting it on a baking tray gives an even better flavour. Just rhubarb and the sweetener of your choice is lovely enough but maybe I can tempt you to try adding a little orange zest or orange flavouring just to send the flavour heavenwards even more.

300g rhubarb
1-2 tbsp granulated sweetener* (I used erythritol brown sugar replacement)
Orange zest of 1 orange - or 2 tsp orange flavouring (optional)

The foolish part
1 tsp ginger (optional)
1 tsp cardamon (optional)
150 ml double cream whipped
100 ml crème fraiche (or use a further 100ml whipped double cream)
1 egg white whipped
2-3 tbsp milled sweetener*
Grated sugar free plain chocolate for decoration

*Granulated natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.
For the fool mill your granulated sweetener for icing sugar consistency - unless you are using allulose, as it will be fine enough.


Rhubarb Compote:
Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 180C/350F.
Slice the rhubarb. Put on a baking tray, scatter over the sweetener and cover the tray with foil. Roast for 15 minutes. Mix the rhubarb around and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the fruit is soft.
Leave to cool.
If you're using orange zest or flavouring, stir in well.

The Fool:
Mix the whipped cream and egg white together.  Add the sweetener and spices – then blend in the crème fraiche if you're using it.  (Creme fraiche gives a lovely warm flavour to the fool).
Once the rhubarb compote has cooled, spoon the cream mixture into glass tumblers, adding spoonfuls of the remaining rhubarb compote along the way.
Top with a final spoonful of the fool mixture.
Finally grate a little sugarfree dark chocolate on the top and chill in the fridge before serving.

Serves 6