Spring is here! Make this rhubarb fool for a quick and easy dessert. Rhubarb sauce and whipped cream. Gluten-free.

Photography Credit: Sally Vargas

There’s no fool like a rhubarb fool, and now is the time for it. The arrival of rhubarb in the market always cheers me. Spring is here!

This British dessert goes way back — we’re talking about a few hundred years — and it was originally made with custard and pureed fruits, most notably gooseberries.

Our Favorite Videos Get Recipe »

I’ve lightened it up with whipped cream instead of the custard and swapped the gooseberries for seasonal rhubarb. It’s an easy-peasy dessert for a weeknight dinner or a spring party!

I like to add a little sour cream to the whipped cream in my fools — it gives the dessert some tang and also helps stabilize the cream to keep it from weeping.

Cream always whips better in a chilled bowl, but if you forget to chill it, just swirl some ice cubes and cold water in a metal bowl and then dry thoroughly before whipping the cream.

Too often rhubarb’s bright pink washes out in a profusion of juice and turns a disappointing gingery brown in the cooking process, but I think I finally solved that problem.

To preserve its rosy color, cook the rhubarb very briefly in a wide pan to facilitate evaporation, and immediately transfer it to a bowl to finish cooking off the heat.

Rosewater, available in Middle Eastern and Indian grocery stores and online, adds a romantic touch. But it’s fine to skip it if you don’t have any in your kitchen or have trouble finding it.