Phil Vickery’s apple fool recipe

Phil Vickery's apple fool is a beautiful layered dessert of apples, sponge layers and custard. 

For times when you fancy a dessert that's a little bit more involved than basic stewed apples, this is a great option. You can make these apple fools in individual pots so everyone has their own one, or in a larger sharing bowl, like a trifle. Either way, it's easy and quick to create - it's ready in less than half an hour. The dessert is topped with flakes of finely grated dark chocolate which give it a lovely, luxury feel and make this perfect for a dinner party pudding. 

Ingredients

• 2 medium Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm pieces
• 4 tbsp soft brown sugar
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 55g bitter chocolate, finely grated
• 10 Sponge fingers/Savoy biscuits
• 1 pint ready-made, low-fat custard
• 450g thick yogurt

Method

1. Place the apples, brown sugar, juice and zest of lemon into a saucepan. Bring to the boil stirring occasionally, then turn down the heat, and cook until soft and pulpy; about 15 mins. You may need to add a little more water if the mixture is too thick, then cool.
2. Grate the chocolate carefully on a cheese grater, then chill well, or pop into the freezer.
3. Place a large bowl or bowls on the work surface, then spoon half of the apple into the bottom. Break up the Sponge fingers/Savoy biscuits and sprinkle over the apple then spoon over half the custard and next, half the yogurt. Repeat (apple, custard and yogurt) then finally sprinkle over the chocolate just before serving.

Top tip for Phil Vickery’s apple fool

For a grown-up twist, you could soak the sponge fingers in a little apple liqueur or calvados before you add them.

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