Phil Vickery’s apple fool recipe

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This apple fool makes a lovely summer or early autumn dessert and a great alternative to a trifle.

Phil Vickery’s apple fool
Serves6–8
Preparation Time10 mins
Cooking Time15 mins

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

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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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Phil Vickery
Celebrity Chef

Phil Vickery has been part of the This Morning team for over 20 years and his recipes are unsurprisingly a huge hit with families as they are fuss-free, wholesome and delicious. He’s one of the country’s most-loved chefs and is passionate about using locally sourced ingredients to cook classic British dishes. In fact, in Phil’s spare time he likes to spend ours on his farm tending to the land and livestock, which includes pigs.