Gooseberry Burnt Creams
Ingredients
1 lb tart green gooseberries
4 oz caster sugar (or more)
5 oz granulated sugar
1/2 lb fromage blanc or quark*
1/2 pt double cream
Preparation
*Note: Creamy Greek yoghurt may also be used instead of fromage blanc
or quark. Choose a heavy-based saucepan with a large surface area.
Put the topped and tailed gooseberries into it, still moistened by
the water in which they have been rinsed. Cover and cook over very
low heat until the fruit is perfectly tender. (It does not matter if
the berries collapse in cooking here as they will be crushed to a
pulp for serving.) Crush the cooked fruit with a potato masher and
cook for several minutes more, without the lid but just stirring
occasionally, until most of the juices have evaporated leaving a
thick fruit puree. Add caster sugar to taste and stir until melted.
Spoon the puree into 8 individual cocotte dishes and leave until
cold. Beat the fromage blanc, quark or yoghurt into the cream until
smoothly mixed then whisk until fairly stiff. Spoon the creamy
mixture over the cold puree and level the tops. Cover and chill in
the freezer for about 45 minutes until the cream firms up. Dissolve
the granulated sugar in 1 tablespoon warm water in a pan placed over
low heat. Then turn the heat up and cook until the sugar carmelises
to a rich shade of gold. Quickly pour the burnt sugar evenly over
the chilled creams and set aside for 20 minutes or so until the
caramel sets in thin brittle sheets of gold.
Servings: 8
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