White chocolate and roasted strawberry fool is a mouthful, isn’t it? Anyone who’s afraid of cream, stop now because this one’s full of it. And chocolate, got that too. To ensure that it can be considered a healthy dessert, there are strawberries both roasted and macerated. (however, I don’t honestly believe that the strawberries outclass the cream in the calorie department)
When my sister was here we visited Maleny Dairies high up in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast for a farm tour. The dairy offers tours twice a day Monday through Saturday and you get a visit to the processing plant, get to brush and milk a cow (or get squirted), feed baby calves with a giant milk bottle and see the chickens and the goats. Once you’re finished you get to taste all their products from chocolate or strawberry milk, custard and yoghurt.
It’s a beautiful drive up the hillside and you can see all the way out into the ocean from up there. If it wasn’t so far from shopping I’d love to live there. Meet Millie, a Guernsey cow at the dairy. All their cows are Guernsey because of the high protein and cream in their milk.
I began chatting online with the dairy’s PR person Suzie Scovell and with Kay Hopper, one of the owners of Maleny Dairies and today they delivered some of their wonderful milk, cream, custard and yoghurt for me to cook with. I’ll confess that John’s dad has already gotten into the yoghurt. “That’s really good, Maureen, it’s not too sweet. I hate it when it’s too sweet,” he said as he dipped his spoon back into his bowl.
So I began thinking what I could make. John loves cream. If you whipped cream he’d want some pouring cream to go on top. His mum is the same way. I wanted to make something for him because he’s been working like a madman lately.
There’s this craze going on about some royal baby so I decided on an English dessert – a fool. Not that this baby will be a fool – I’m pretty sure it will be a perfectly wonderful baby.
The standard fool is either whipped cream or custard with stewed fruit folded into it. So maybe my fool is a bit foolish because I added white chocolate to the cream and I roasted the strawberries instead of stewing them. My house smelled like strawberry jam as they were roasting.
- ½ cup white chocolate (chips or chopped white chocolate)
- 375 grams strawberries (1½ punnets)
- 2 tblsp sugar
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F
- In a small pan heat ½ cup of cream to just under boiling and pour over the white chocolate. Stir until it's completely melted and set aside to cool.
- Remove the green bits from the strawberries and place them on a baking pan. Roast strawberries for 15 minutes or until they start leaking juice. When they did this I flipped them over for about 5 more minutes to get roasting marks on both sides.
- When cool whiz in a blender or food processor for only a few seconds to break them apart. You want some strawberry bits in your fool
- When cream and white chocolate are cool, whip remaining cream to soft peaks and add the vanilla just at the end of whipping.
- Lightly fold the white chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.
- Fold half the strawberry mixture into the cream.
- Layer the cream and strawberry mixture into a serving dish and top with a whole strawberry.
As I was writing this, John came up and said, “I ate two bowls of that stuff, Maureen and so did Dad.” He laughed and said, “What’s not to like about cream and that was delicious.” Not bad from a man who normally says, “That’s all right,” when he means it’s spectacular.
Maleny Dairies provided the cream for this recipe along with other dairy products but my opinions are my own.
Maureen, I’m a fool for strawberries & cream and your rendition of this classic is beautiful. Fun review of Maleny Dairies, too! Your post is a wonderful example of “farm to table.”
Good photos and food styling! I particularly like the second Fool photo. I’m not usually a fan of shallow focus, but it really works in that photo. And nice recipe! Fools are such fun, and adding white chocolate is a cool idea. Good stuff- thanks.
Seems like so much fun in the farm. My boys would love it, especially the squirting part:), I’m gonna try and find a similar activity here in the Bay..
What a fantastic dessert and it has strawberries..so a little bit guilt free;)a
White chocolate is so fantastic with strawberries. I adore this dessert Maureen, and lickable photos !
Oh, my. What gorgeous dessert photos!
Hehehe…surely that’s misnamed, because no-one who makes that could possibly be a fool! Delicious combination of perfectly exquisite flavours – roasting the strawberries is intriguing! Thanks M! 🙂
You know how things fly past on the Internet? Well one day I saw a recipe that said “with roasted strawberries” and I thought, wonder if that would taste “jammy” so I gave it a go. I’d do it again!
This. Looks. AMAZING!!
*sigh*
Hi Ginger and thanks so much for coming by!
What an incredible dessert! I think my hubby would like cream on his cream, too, and I know he’d love this fool. So would I!
If we get together we know what to serve them both.. anything with cream.
I love, love, love cows, Maureen! There is just something about them! How wonderful that you visited Maleny dairies! Your dessert and your photos are stunning!
Thanks heaps, Lizzy. I loved the dairy. As you can see it was lush and green with cows wandering in the paddocks and goats frolicking. Idyllic.
Looks delicious! Who doesn’t love a good fool?
This looks delicious! Who doesn’t love a good fool?
I didn’t know I was “fool”ish until yesterday!
That is really really spectacular, your sweetness ! Red, sexy strawberry doing waltz into white satin chocolate… how can anyone ignore that ?
Loved your food styling and va-va-voom pictures 🙂
wow. coming from someone as talented as you are, I feel pretty good. Thanks!
The fool sounds so rich and decadent with the cream and white chocolate. I’d have to throw some sponge or pound cake in there for roughage. 🙂
I think that would be a good idea – but then it wouldn’t be my traditional English dessert in honor of the new baby 🙂
I am so pinning this recipe! I have never roasted strawberries before. That is a great idea just like roasting other veggies I am sure it brings out its sweetness and intensifies it flavor. Cream and white chocolate is doubly delicious. What time are you serving dessert? I will be right over. Have a super weekend. BAM
We’ve been waiting for ages!!
I was just saying to hubby that I am so glad to see some strawberries. I do like winter fruit but there are just so many pears and mandarins that I can eat 😛
Scared of cream… do such people exist?!? I would gobble these up any day. Strawberries and cream would have to be one of my favourite combos!
You’re merciless Maureen :(((((
I do my best! 🙂
I am someone who genuinely doesn’t like cream but I do love how pretty this dessert looks. And I love that you’re supporting local dairies!
It’s really creamy so you might not like it but the chocolate made the difference for me 🙂
I am someone who genuinely doesn’t like cream (largely because it makes me feel ill) but I do love how pretty this dessert looks. And I love that you’re supporting local dairies!
You’ve hit the trifecta with this one Maureen … Strawberries, cream and white chocolate! There’s nothing foolish about. Love your work.
I often get so caught up in baking ridiculous things that I forget how great simple desserts like this are! Especially with my love for strawberries and white chocolate. This looks like it was an absolute winner!
Simply delicious and deliciously simple. You hit a triple with this one Maureen.
I saw this on FB when Charles posted it, what a wonderful take on an old classic! And I wouldn’t dare substitute anything for that cream, strawberries and cream are a match made in heaven! Roasted berries is new to me, I bet it really concentrates the flavour, I must remember to try that in the dead of winter when the berries have no taste.
Delicious! I especially love your table setting. Very chic
What a lovely dessert! The strawberries are just so fantastic at the moment. I haven’t tried roasting strawberries. I’ll try that soon.
Oh my lord! How insanely gorgeous is this!! Cream, and roasted strawberries……slurp!
I’d never roasted strawberries before and I’ll do it again!
How pretty is this?! I love roasted strawberries and they sound perfect with white chocolate!
Now everyone in my family would go mad for that dessert. My mum always says that there’s nothingw rong with just the strawberries and the cream – she growns the world’s best strawberries in her garden in Scotland. But I’m sure even she would be frothing at the mouth for this dessert.
If I had to be a cow I think I’d like to live on this dairy farm – that green grass looks very good and I’m sure these cows are very well cared for. I’ve always wondered why this dessert is called a ‘fool’. Looks delicious, Maureen and you’ve inspired me to roast some strawberries xx
I’d be a fool if I didn’t think this looked fabulous.. fit for a prince, or princess:) I love that you’ve folded in some white chocolate, fantastic!!
That looks amazing – but possibly a bit too rich for me! I’m the opposite, when it comes to cream… I can just about take a couple of spoons-full, and that’s enough.
You and Helene are killing me! I just started drooling over her vanilla flan and now you’re serving up this delicious looking fool with fresh strawberries and cream! I need to go get a napkin! 🙂 I was just thinking about driving down to one of our local dairies today for some milk and cream (which I definitely have NO problem with). Think I might just have to do that. This looks SO GOOD!!!
That looks amazing Maureen and I am sure the taste is out of this world!
I love the fact that you know where the cream came from, I need to take the kids on a trip to a dairy farm soon!
You should and I hope it’s a dairy farm that loves its animals like this one does. 🙂
Love this Maureen! Maleny cream is just gorgeous. I always make sure to pick up Maleny cream when shopping as it’s so delicious.
I love Maleny cream but their Guernsey cream is like nothing else I’ve tried.
That’s pretty and delicious! Sinfully delicious actually 😀
Thanks so much for coming by. I try not to be sinful. 🙂
This looks awesome! Tyler is always complaining that the milk isn’t creamy enough. I would love to be able to go to a farm and get it for him fresh!
Creamy, luscious, luxurious. That’s what came to mind when I saw the strawberry fool. Love the idea of roasting strawberry. Awesome.
I’ll definitely roast strawberries again 🙂
Very yummy and creative Maureen, I love the roasted strawberry part! Oh, and I have the same bowls. If you ever have a big party you can borrow mine 🙂
This looks and sounds glorious Maureen – takes me back to when I used to be a little kid and my mother used to make blackberry fools! My favourite part was when you’d come across a “lump” of cream which hadn’t been folded in with the fruit as well as the rest! It was like a little gem to be gobbled up immediately!
What a cute memory, Charles!
Oh my, lucious indeed! With such lovely green grass to munch on I’m not suprised the cream and other products are so good 🙂
Strawberries & cream are the dessert on my ‘last supper’ list (everyone has one right?). I like the sound of the jammy roasted strawberries with the chocolate cream better though – might as well go out in style.
I am with John and his mother. I love cream and if there’s chocolate, so much the better. Your photos are lovely.
Thanks Suzanne. If I could only photograph like you do, then I’d be a happy woman.
Just call me a fool… because I am just wiping away my drool for this Raspberry Fool. Hey, did I just rap that? Okay.. all goofing around aside…gorgeous dessert. 🙂
LOL you’re so cute 🙂
This looks AMAZING!!! Thanks Maureen!
This looks and sounds AMAZING!! Thanks Maureen!