“Many a good argument is ruined by some fool who knows what he is talking about”

Marshall McLuhan, The San Francisco Chronicle

April Fool’s Day today, but I don’t think there is anything foolish about a recipe which is simple and quick, so I refuse to call this rhubarb fool. I also think that the traditional fool is just a bit too foolish…. too much cream, so I have increased the fruit content, and added a generous teaspoon of crushed, ginger-wine-soaked ginger biscuits to make it less rich.

Other good sensibles are mango sensible (just mash up the mangoes with a little icing sugar and substitute for the rhubarb conserve), gooseberry and elderflower sensible, raspberry sensible (substitute some of the yoghurt with lemon curd),  and blackberry sensible.

Recipe for very sensible rhubarb fool

Serves 6 (or four – with an extra biscuit or two)

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp (about a jar)  ready-made rhubarb and ginger conserve. By far the best I have found is Victoria Cranfield’s Gold Award winning version. Otherwise Wilkin & Son rhubarb and vanilla conserve is available in some supermarkets. Or you can make rhubarb compôte very easily.
• 1¼ cups/300 ml tub of double cream
• 6 generous tbsp thick greek yoghurt
• 6 ginger biscuits, crushed
• 1 tbsp ginger wine (or rum, or whisky, or even sherry)
• a little orange zest, if you have it, also to garnish

Method

1. Whisk the cream to soft peaks.
2. Fold in the Greek yoghurt.
3. Fold in the conserve.
4. Put into small glass bowls or cups.
5. Sprinkle the ginger wine onto the ginger biscuit and use to garnish, together with any fine, sunset-orange spirals of orange zest you happen to have.
6. Serve with a couple of additional ginger biscuits to go with it.