It is officially spring when I walk outside my door and there are stalks of rhubarb standing tall in my garden. To date, rhubarb and strawberries are the only edible things I’ve managed to grow. Every year the rabbits and squirrels wait until the strawberries are perfectly formed and just about to turn red, then they systematically eat them all. So, in the end, all I am left with is my huge patch of rhubarb. It may be why I love it so much, because I feel a sense of accomplishment.
This year will be different. I have signed up for the Backyard Harvest Project. They assigned me a master “urban” farmer, Stefan, and we will work the land together. My city farm is tiny, no more than 10×14′ of organic growing space. This is apparently enough room to grow about 30 varieties of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers. So far we’ve prepped the land, shoveled loads of beautiful black organic dirt, planted leeks, cauliflower, spinach, peas and radishes. The beauty of this program is that Stefan is here to make sure that in the end I have a bounty of produce. In other words he makes sure I won’t kill it. He even installed a fence today to keep out the rabbits. Hmmm, perhaps I’ll get strawberries this year after all.
The spring “fool” came to me on Twitter. @francis_lam, who is a food writer, posted that he had some fresh heavy whipping cream and asked what he should do with it. I thought, rhubarb fool! Fool is a classic British dessert made of cooked, sweetened fruit that is folded into whipped cream. There is nothing as simple, and yet just a touch decadent. I wonder where the name comes from?!
How to Make Rhubarb Fool
See me make it step by step here and find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
In a medium sized sauce pan heat the rhubarb, Lillet and sugar until gently simmering. Cover the pot and cook for about 5 minutes.
Or until the rhubarb is very tender.
Pour into a container and refrigerate until totally chilled. I stuck it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and it did the trick.
Once the rhubarb is chilled whip the cream and vanilla together until soft peaks. Don’t over whip or your fool won’t be smooth.
Slowly fold 1/3 of the rhubarb into the whipped cream. Add another 1/3 of the rhubarb and gently fold it in.
Reserve the last 1/3 of the rhubarb for layering or pouring over the top of the fool.
You can serve it in glasses with a layer of fool, then the reserved rhubarb and more fool. Decorate with a sweet strawberry. This can all be made a couple of hours ahead.
Ingredients
- 4 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb
- 1/2 cup Lillet or other sweet white wine
- 1/4 cup sugar more to taste (but don't make the rhubarb too sweet or you lose its lovely tang)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla homemade vanilla recipe
- Strawberries for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sized sauce pan heat the rhubarb, Lillet and sugar until gently simmering. Cover the pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until the rhubarb is very tender.
- Pour into a container and refrigerate until totally chilled. I stuck it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and it did the trick.
- Once the rhubarb is chilled, whip the cream and vanilla together until soft peaks. Don't over whip or your fool won't be smooth.
- Slowly fold 1/3 of the rhubarb into the whipped cream. Add another 1/3 of the rhubarb and gently fold it in. Reserve the last 1/3 of the rhubarb for layering or pouring over the top of the fool.
- You can serve it in glasses with a layer of fool, then the reserved rhubarb and more fool. Decorate with a sweet strawberry. This can all be made a couple of hours ahead.
I made this for a dinner that included 3 kids so I sweetened the whipped cream with a little powdered sugar (not much!) and everyone ate every bite! It was a lovely, not-too-sweet, seasonal, elegant dessert.
I added plums to it….mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
A rhubarb fool is a really nice way to enjoy springs rhubarb!
Hi Laura,
Yes, you should get a bunch of recipes from one plant. Just keep cutting off the larger stocks and never let it flower. I use it up until July, then it starts to get too woody. Some varieties are more tender than others.
Enjoy! Zoë
Hey Zoe, saw you and your backyard farm in the SW Journal — fun! How many rhubarb plants do you have? I planted my first one last year. Will it provide me with at least one recipe?
The rhubarb looks great and so does the dessert.