Red Currant Fool Food

RED CURRANT FOOL

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium heat, and stir in currants and sugar. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and the currants have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat, and lightly crush fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. Don't mash to a puree; some texture should remain. Transfer mixture to a bowl, and cool completely in the refrigerator before proceeding.
• In a small bowl, whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks. Set aside 1/2 cup of fruit mixture. Gently fold the whipped cream into the remaining fruit mixture, leaving it marbled. Serve immediately in individual bowls, garnished with a spoonful of the reserved fruit mixture.

RED CURRANT FOOL

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium heat, and stir in the currants and sugar. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the currants have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the heat, and lightly crush the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. Don't mash to a puree; some texture should remain. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and cool completely in the refrigerator before proceeding.
• In a small bowl, whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks. Set aside 1/2 cup fruit mixture. Gently fold the whipped cream into the remaining fruit mixture, leaving it marbled. Serve immediately in individual bowls, garnished with a spoonful of the reserved fruit mixture.

RED CURRANT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 f.
• Grease a baking sheet.
• Sift flour onto a pastry board and make a well in the centre.
• Add sugar, vanilla sugar and egg yolks to well.
• Mix a small amount of flour into the ingredients in the well to make a thick paste.
• Cut cold butter into small pieces over the flour mixture.
• Working quickly and starting from the centre, work all the ingredients together to make a smooth dough.
• Chill dough for 1/2 hour.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm (1/8 ") thickness.
• Cut into 5 cm (2 ") rounds.
• Cut 3 small holes using a floured thimble, in half of the cut out rounds, or use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole in the centre (you can use linzer cookie cutters if you have them).
• Place on prepared baking and bake on middle rack of oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Cool cookies.
• Spread jam on the solid rounds and cover with the cut out rounds.
• Dust with the icing sugar while the cookies are still warm (easiest way is to dip cut out cookie into icing sugar before placing on top of jam layer.

RED CURRANT MUFFINS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.
• Add both eggs and orange peel, or flower water and beat well.
• Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the creamed mixture and lightly blend.
• Fold in the red currants.
• Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full and bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.
• Cool for 5 minutes before placing on wire rack.
• Dust with confectioners' (icing) sugar once completely cooled.

RED CURRANT SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine ingredients in medium saucepan.
• Start cooking over medium temperature and lower after a while to maintain a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
• I started with frozen currants and cooked for 25 minutes, I imagine 20 minutes would be sufficient for fresh currants and the first 5 minutes was more or less defrosting them.