1 lb Tart green gooseberries
4 oz Caster sugar (or more)
5 oz Granulated sugar
1/2 lb Fromage blanc or quark
-OR- creamy Greek yoghurt
1/2 pt Double cream
Choose a heavy-based saucepan with a large surface area. Put the
topped and tailed gooseberries into it, still moistened by the water
in which they have been rinsed. Cover and cook over very low heat
until the fruit is perfectly tender. (It does not matter if the
berries collapse in cooking here as they will be crushed to a pulp
for serving.)
Crush the cooked fruit with a potato masher and cook for several
minutes more, without the lid but just stirring occasionally, until
most of the juices have evaporated leaving a thick fruit puree. Add
caster sugar to taste and stir until melted. Spoon the puree into 8
individual cocotte dishes and leave until cold.
Beat the fromage blanc, quark or yoghurt into the cream until smoothly
mixed then whisk until fairly stiff. Spoon the creamy mixture over
the cold puree and level the tops. Cover and chill in the freezer
for about 45 minutes until the cream firms up.
Dissolve the granulated sugar in 1 tablespoon warm water in a pan
placed over low heat. Then turn the heat up and cook until the sugar
carmelises to a rich shade of gold. Quickly pour the burnt sugar
evenly over the chilled creams and set aside for 20 minutes or so
until the caramel sets in thin brittle sheets of gold.
Source: Philippa Davenport in "Country Living" (British), June 1988.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
