Why a strawberry and elderflower fool belongs in a spring kitchen

A fool is one of the quiet achievements of British home cooking: fruit, lightly sweetened and lightly crushed, folded through cream. No oven, no tin to line, no gelatine, no nerve required. The whole thing takes about twenty minutes of actual work and tastes far more considered than it is.

Late spring is when it comes into its own. British strawberries start arriving in earnest from late May, and elderflowers are blooming in the same hedgerows and gardens at exactly that moment. The pairing is not sentimental — elderflower's musky, grapey perfume flatters strawberries without burying them. If you are picking your own elderflower heads, take them when the flowers are freshly open and the scent is strongest, and avoid anything growing beside a busy road.

Sweeten the fruit properly, and taste as you go

Fruit is the whole point here, so treat it with a little care before anything else happens. Hull the strawberries and cut the larger ones into halves or quarters; small, sweet ones can go in whole. Put them in a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice, stir gently, then leave them for twenty to thirty minutes. The sugar draws out the juice and the fruit softens without turning to pulp.

You will need roughly:

• 600g ripe strawberries, hulled
• 60g caster sugar, or a little less if the fruit is very sweet
• 1 tsp lemon juice — a small amount sharpens the flavour noticeably
• 2–3 tbsp elderflower cordial, added later, to taste
• 300ml double cream
• 150g full-fat Greek or natural yogurt

Resist adding all the sugar at once. Strawberries vary enormously through the season, and a punnet bought in early June needs more help than one picked in a warm July garden. Start with two-thirds of the sugar, taste a spoonful of the juices, and add more only if it needs it. Slightly under-sweet is better than cloying, because the cream will add its own richness.

Add the elderflower sparingly

Elderflower cordial is powerful stuff. Add it to the macerated fruit a tablespoon at a time, stirring and tasting between each addition. Two tablespoons is usually right for 600g of strawberries; three is plenty. If you overshoot, the dessert starts to taste like a boiled sweet rather than a bowl of fruit, and there is no way back.

If you have homemade elderflower syrup, use it in the same way and reduce the caster sugar accordingly. For an adult version, a tablespoon of elderflower liqueur or a little gin works beautifully alongside the cordial, though it will thin the mixture slightly.

Cream, yogurt and the fold — the only real skill involved

Pour the double cream into a large, cold bowl and whisk it to soft peaks. It should hold its shape but still slump lazily off the whisk; if it turns grainy and stiff, you have gone too far, and folding fruit into over-whipped cream gives you a heavy, buttery pudding. Stir the yogurt through the whipped cream with a spatula — this lightens the mix, adds a welcome tang and stops the fool tasting merely rich.

Now the folding. Tip the fruit and its juices into the cream in two or three additions, and use a large metal spoon or spatula to cut down through the mixture and lift it over itself. Turn the bowl a quarter turn each time. Stop while you can still see distinct ribbons of fruit. You want a marbled, softly rippled fool, not a uniform pink mousse — the variation in colour and texture is what makes it look and eat well.

Crush any stubbornly large pieces of strawberry lightly against the side of the bowl with the back of the spoon as you go.

Chill it, then serve with shortbread

Spoon the fool into six small glasses or ramekins, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, ideally two. Chilling lets the flavours settle and firms the texture enough to hold a spoon. It will keep happily for twenty-four hours; after that the fruit begins to weep and the cream loses its lightness.

Serve cold, with shortbread on the side — fingers or rounds, homemade or a good bought one — and a few fresh strawberry halves on top for contrast. A sprig of mint or a scattering of crushed shortbread over the surface adds crunch and looks generous. If you are serving this after a heavy Sunday lunch, a smaller glass is usually the smarter choice.

Variations and using up leftovers

The formula adapts to whatever is in season. Swap the strawberries for lightly stewed gooseberries, rhubarb or raspberries, and adjust the sugar and cordial to taste — gooseberries and rhubarb need considerably more sweetness than ripe berries. A half-and-half mix of strawberries and raspberries is excellent in July.

• Leftover fool can be layered with leftover sponge or crushed meringue for an instant trifle.
• Freeze it in a shallow tub for two hours, stirring once, for a soft, scoopable ice cream.
• Spoon it over porridge or fold it through thick yogurt with granola for a weekend breakfast.

However you serve it, make it on the day you buy good fruit and keep the additions minimal. A fool is at its best when it tastes unmistakably of strawberries and cream, with the elderflower hovering just behind.