Method

Lay the raspberries out flat on a dish. Sprinkle on the caster sugar and allow to macerate for 1 hour. If you are using frozen berries this should be long enough for them to defrost.

Puree the fruit in a liquidiser or blender. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds.

Gently fold in the whipped cream. If you wish to create a ‘swirly’ effect just be a little light handed with the folding in of the cream. The fool is now ready to be served or can be chilled for serving later.

Serve with shortbread biscuits.

Jane’s Biscuits (Shortbread Biscuits):

Put the flour and sugar into a bowl, rub in the butter as for shortcrust pastry. Gather the mixture together and knead lightly. Roll out to 1/4 inch (7mm) thick.

Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6cm) cutter or into heart shapes.

Bake in a moderate oven 180°C/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 to pale brown, 8-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the biscuits. Remove and cool on a rack. Serve with fruit fools, compotes and ice creams.

Note: Watch these biscuits really carefully in the oven. Because of the high sugar content they burn easily. They should be a pale golden – darker will be more bitter. However if they are too pale they will be under cooked and doughy. Cool on a wire rack.