Italian apricot fool

• ripe fresh apricots↗500g g

  halved and stoned

• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• golden caster sugar↗140g g
• Cointreau↗ tbsp

  or other orange flavoured liqueur

• carton mascarpone↗500g g
• carton double cream↗142ml ml
• amaretti biscuits18

  plus extra to serve

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Put the apricot halves in a saucepan with the lemon zest and juice and the sugar. Shake the pan to combine, then simmer, uncovered, over a medium heat until the apricots are soft. This should take about 10-15 minutes.

2. 2

   Tip the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor and whizz to a purée. Decant into a bowl, stir in the liqueur and leave to cool – about 20-30 minutes.

3. 3

   Soften the mascarpone in its tub by whisking it vigorously with a fork. Whip the cream in a bowl – you want it softly whipped not stiff. Fold in the mascarpone with a large metal spoon, then lightly swirl in the apricot purée to make a pattern.

4. 4

   Spoon the mixture into six wine glasses. (At this point, they’ll keep in the fridge for up to a day.) To serve, crumble over the amaretti, with a few on the side for dunking.