Rachel Allen: Delicious desserts in a dash

We all need a few tricks up our sleeve when it comes to cooking on a time shoestring but don’t want to compromise on great flavours.

There are lots of great and quick desserts that can be whipped up in minutes that finish off a meal just perfectly. Enter fools, mousses and possets. These require just minutes of your time and perhaps a few buttery shortbread biscuits as an accompaniment.

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The Amaretti with brandy and ice cream is a delicious but delightfully simple little way to finish a meal, and easy peasy to serve for a crowd.

Use the golden crunchy amaretti biscuits, available in supermarkets and Italian delis, rather than the soft variety. Leave out the brandy if you wish, and replace with an orange liqueur, or simply a squeeze of orange juice.

Lemon possets which are super speedy little lemon puddings, dating back to the 16th Century in England, are also so delicious when infused with sweet geranium leaves.

Use lemon verbena, basil or even a small spring of thyme or rosemary in place of the geranium if you wish.

I have a soft spot for white chocolate, and this mousse never fails. Make it a couple of hours in advance to let it set and serve with a crumbly buttery biscuit on the side.

And as for the raspberry fool, well, this really is the quickest of all puddings. Containing just raspberries, sugar and cream, it really is much greater than the sum of its parts. Light yet luscious, simple and speedy. Any fool could make it.

Rachel recommends

I adore marrying cardamom with white chocolate, so if you like, replace the vanilla extract in the white chocolate mousse with quarter of a teaspoon of crushed seeds, extracted from green cardamom pods.

Autumn raspberry fool

Serves 8-10

You will need:

450g raspberries, fresh or frozen

150g caster sugar

350ml cream

1 Place the raspberries and the caster sugar in a liquidiser and blend well.

2 Push the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds

3 Place the cream in a bowl and whip until it holds soft peaks, it shouldn’t be stiffly whipped, just softly whipped.

4 Fold the softly whipped cream into the raspberry puree. If you wish to create a rippled effect just fold it in slightly, not completely.

5 Place the fool in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it, or serve straight away with shortbread biscuits, or meringues.

Amaretti with brandy and ice cream

Serves 4

You will need:

8 amaretti biscuits

1-2 tablespoons brandy

400ml ice cream of choice, such as vanilla, chocolate or caramel

Cocoa powder, for dusting

1 Coarsely crush the amaretti biscuits. Divide half of them out between four glasses then drizzle with half of the brandy.

2 Scoop the ice cream and add into the glasses then scatter the remaining biscuits, another drizzle of brandy and finish with a light dusting of cocoa powder to serve. Easy!

White chocolate and vanilla mousse

Serves 4

You will need:

100g white chocolate, chopped or broken up into pieces

1 tablespoon cream

150ml cream

1 leaf of gelatine

2 large egg whites

50g caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Place the white chocolate and one tablespoon of cream in a Pyrex or ceramic mixing bowl (not plastic or metal) and put sitting over a saucepan of water (also known as a bain marie).

2 Place the pan over a medium heat and heat the water up to just under boiling point then take the pan straight off the heat and allow the chocolate in the bowl to slowly melt. White chocolate can be tricky as if it gets too hot it can block, ie solidify quickly, so make sure the water under the bowl doesn’t actually get to a rolling boil.

3 While the chocolate is melting, whip the 150ml of cream in a separate bowl until it is almost stiff, holding soft peaks, and place in the fridge.

4 Place the gelatine leaf in a bowl of cold water, completely covered with the water, for 3-4 minutes until it has softened. Remove the softened gelatine leaf from the bowl and shake off the water. Place it in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of boiling water from the kettle, and stir to dissolve the gelatine. Set aside.

5 Place the egg whites in a medium sized bowl with half of the sugar, whisk until it’s firm and then add the remaining sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is stiff.

6 Pour the dissolved gelatine into the melted chocolate, add the vanilla extract and stir to mix, then fold in the whisked egg white mixture and, lastly, fold in the whipped cream. Pour into glasses or bowls, cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours until set.

In season Raspberries

Raspberries Autumn raspberries are in season right now and are completely divine served with the white chocolate mousse.

Rachel’s top tip

When making the white chocolate mousse, make sure to scrape out every bit of the gelatine with water from the bowl when mixing it into the chocolate.

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