A Fool for Fools

When hearing the word "fool", dessert is probably the last thing to come to mind. Though when you hear someone say, "I'm making a raspberry fool", your mind starts to churn a little bit.
A fool, in the culinary sense, is similar to a trifle or parfait, at least in modern times. It is a British dessert and has gone through many variations over the years. My raspberry fool is not exactly traditional, but it is delicious without any doubt.
I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but sadly I cannot. This wonderful summer dessert is courteous of a magazine I hope to write for one day, Bon Appétit. The brilliant minds there managed to create a dish so bright and bursting with a refreshing fruity flavor. It's layered with complimentary textures, yet so wonderfully simple. The thing itself only has six ingredients and one of them is a pre-made angel food cake. Who doesn't like things simple to make and even easier to eat?
I actually made the dish this weekend per request from a friend whom I served it to at a dinner party a long, long time ago. Her craving for it inspired a post on the blog, so while I cannot take credit for the recipe, I can show you how to make it.
The dish begins with angel food cake. Now, many of you may not like angel food cake usually, I myself am included. I beg you to stay with me here because this angel food cake is about to be toasted. Yes, toasted. Dice it up and throw it in the oven till it's nice and golden. The cake becomes crunchy on the outside but stays so luxuriously soft on the inside.

While the cake is cooling, the raspberries get lightly mashed with some sugar and lime zest. The natural sweetness in the juice of the raspberries slowly builds up in the bowl and works with the lime zest to create an addicting, delicious syrup.

As you layer on the raspberries, that syrup I mentioned soaks into the toasted angel food cake and becomes a decadent little cup of heaven. While the raspberries are the "cherry on top" per say for me, the next step is my mom's weakness. The whipped cream. 

This is not your normal whipped cream. While it is heavy whipping cream beaten with sugar, this fool has a little trick up its sleeve; sour cream. 

It sounds strange but the tanginess of the whipped cream with the sour cream is what cuts through the sweetness of the raspberries. May I say one more time how good this dessert is?

Finish the whole thing of with a little lime zest and the dessert is ready to be eaten. Once tasted, everything about this dessert makes sense but the name. Maybe the British decided to name it a fool because when you eat it, all you can think is "I'm a fool for this dessert". I don't know and I guess I don't need to. All that matters is that it is yummy and easy to make. Even though I happen to be content with the dessert how it is, there are so many ways this fool could go. All sorts of variations of fruits could work here and they would all look and taste beautiful. After all this fool is dressed rather sharply in its martini glass.