Strawberry "Fool in Love"

Day late and a dollar short.
I was planning to include this with this week’s “Sugar High Friday” event on Valentine’s Day recipes. However, some bad allergic reaction required me to visit Benadryl la-la land for most of yesterday. (Thank God I don’t teach on Fridays.) So sadly, I missed the deadline, but I thought I would share my recipe anyway.

Strawberry “Fool in Love”

I am in a mixed marriage – I love chocolate, but my husband does not. He’ll eat some milk chocolate, brownies, and the occasionally cookie, but that’s about it. If I were to make a chocolate dessert, he might taste some, but it certainly would be consumed by my son and yours truly. Not exactly the effect one’s aims for on Valentine’s Day.

What my husband loves are strawberries. When picking fresh berries, we would joke that he should be weighted before and then after, to see how much we would owe the farmer for his “sampling.” He simply can not resist plump, crimson berries, warmed in the sun.

The difficult thing with strawberries is getting good ones. Sure, you could plunk down a five bucks for a pint of berries in the middle of February – but what would you get? A bunch of white, watery berries – with barely a hint of flavor. Blah. This leaves poor hubby berry-less on both Valentine’s Day and his birthday (which was in December).

Frozen berries can be used in a pinch, but they need some help. In this recipe, it’s cassis that comes to the rescue. Crème de Cassis, a blackcurrant liquor from Dijon, France, pairs lovingly with the strawberries, deepening their flavor.

A “fool” is a dessert found in Britain typically during the summer. Quite simply, whipped cream and fruit are folded together and chilled until set. Nearly any fruit will work. Some may require cooking with some sugar, such as gooseberries or peaches. Softer fruits, (raspberries and strawberries) are simply mashed and mixed with a little sugar. It is really best to taste the fruit first, to see how much sugar is needed – if any.

This dessert looks great in any type of glass that shows off the attractive layers. A crisp cookie nicely contrasts with the whipped cream, and is a fun scoop to eat the fool with.

So move over chocolates, this is how I make food-love for my hubby.

Strawberry “Fool in Love”
1 16-oz bag of frozen strawberries, thawed
3-5 Tablespoons sugar (depending upon the sweetness of the strawberries)
2 Tablespoons Crème de Cassis
1 pint heavy whipping cream

Chocolate curls, wafer cookies, for garnish (optional)

Taste the berries. Depending upon the berries, add 1 to 3 tablespoons of sugar and the cassis. Smash the berries with a potato masher, or the back of a fork. Set aside. (This could be completed while the berries are still slightly frozen, and the allowing the flavor to blend until completely defrosted.)

With a mixer, beat the cream. After one minute, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold half of the strawberry mixture into the whipped cream. In serving glasses, layer the strawberries with the cream, starting with a layer of strawberries, and ending with a layer of whipped cream. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour, until set.

To serve, garnish with chocolate curls and/or cookies.