• 450 g/1 lb green gooseberries
• 100 g/4 oz castor sugar
• few drops green colouring
• 15 g/½ oz powdered gelatine
• 3 tablespoons water
• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 small can chilled evaporated milk
• 2 egg whites

Place the washed gooseberries – no need to top and tail them – in a saucepan along with the sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Bring up to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gooseberries are quite soft. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatine over the water in a teacup and set aside to soak for 5 minutes.

Draw the pan of cooked gooseberries off the heat and add the soaked gelatine. Stir until dissolved – the heat of the pan should be sufficient to do this. Pass the fruit and juice through a sieve into a large mixing basin to make a purée. Discard the skins and pips left in the sieve. Add a few drops of green colouring to the purée, this improves the appearance of the finished dessert. Add the strained lemon juice and allow to cool.

Whisk the chilled evaporated milk until very thick. Beat the egg white until stiff and fold them both into the fruit purée. Pour into a serving dish and chill until set firm before serving.