Elderflower And Strawberry Bombe Food

STRAWBERRY & ELDERFLOWER TRIFLE

Steps:

• For the custard, heat the double cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Whisk together the eggs, cornflour, cordial and sugar in a bowl, then pour in the hot vanilla cream. Pour into a clean pan and set over a low-medium heat for 5-6 mins until thick and glossy. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl and leave to cool.
• Put the wine and gelatine in a separate pan, heat gently to dissolve, then pass through another fine sieve into a jug and leave to cool slightly.
• Put the lemon drizzle cake in a trifle or serving dish, pour over the jelly and place in the fridge for 1 hr to set. Once set, pour the custard onto the trifle base and leave to set in the fridge overnight.
• The next day, put the strawberries, caster sugar and vinegar in a mixing bowl, toss together and leave in the fridge for 1 hr or so. Spoon the strawberries on top of the custard, along with the balsamic juices.
• Whisk the double cream, vanilla and icing sugar together, then spoon on top of the trifle. To serve, crumble over the biscuits and scatter with thyme.

STRAWBERRY & ELDERFLOWER GATEAU

Steps:

• Remove the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin (make sure it's a deep one) and use it as a template to cut out a circle from each flan case. Chop the offcuts from the flans into small pieces and set aside. Reassemble the tin and line it with a couple of sheets of cling film, leaving enough overhanging to wrap up once the tin is filled.
• Put one flan disc in the base of the tin and spread over half the jam. Arrange the strawberries around the outside with the cut surface facing outwards. If you have any particularly large or small strawberries, put them to one side.
• Whip the cream, 2 tbsp icing sugar and 3 tbsp elderflower cordial together in a bowl until the mixture holds its shape. Chop the reserved strawberries, then fold them into the cream mixture. Use half of the cream to fill the centre of the gateau, spreading right to the edges so it holds the strawberries in place.
• Push a single layer of the chopped flan offcuts into the cream (you may have some leftovers to nibble on), and drizzle over the remaining elderflower cordial. Stir the remaining jam through the rest of the cream, spread it over the flan pieces, and top with the final piece of flan. Fold over the cling film and give the gateau a gentle press down to compact the layers. Chill while you make the icing. Can be chilled for up to 24 hrs.
• Crush the raspberries with the back of a fork and stir in the 150g icing sugar to make a thick icing. Add a splash of water if it's too thick. Alternatively, add enough water to the icing sugar to make a thick icing, then stir in a few drops of pink food colouring.
• When you're ready to serve, remove the cake from the tin and discard the cling film, then transfer to a cake stand. Spread the icing right to the edges, then scatter the pistachios in a ring around the top, if using, and serve with a little strawberry coulis or cream on the side, if you like.

STRAWBERRY & ELDERFLOWER COBBLER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the strawberries in an oval, roughly 25cm, ovenproof dish with the vanilla, lemon, sugar and cordial. Roast in the oven for 10 mins, or until the strawberries are jammy but holding their shape. Remove the vanilla pod and discard. Mix a little of the strawberry juices into the cornflour, then add the cornflour mixture to the strawberries, combining well.
• For the cobbler topping, toss the flour with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips, then swiftly stir in 80ml buttermilk. If it looks dry, stir in the remaining 20ml. Spoon the cobbler mix over the strawberry base (about eight large spoonfuls), sprinkle over the demerara sugar and bake for 25-30 mins, or until the topping is lightly golden brown. Leave to rest for 10 mins, then serve with clotted cream or ice cream.Twist itSummer berries: Use a mixture of summer berries and up the sugar to 60g. Frozen summer berries work well - just leave out the cooking time for the fruit in step 1, toss the berries with the vanilla, lemon, sugar and cordial, then follow the method from step 2.Peach melba: Slice 3 ripe peaches and toss them with 400g raspberries in step 1 for a peach melba twist. Remove the elderflower cordial if doing this twist, and top the cobbler with flaked almonds before baking.Gooseberries: Simply use the same quantity of gooseberries and cordial, but increase the amount of sugar to 80g.

STRAWBERRY & ELDERFLOWER SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Line a 1-litre loaf tin with cling film. Cook 300g of the strawberries with the 50g sugar and 4 tbsp of the elderflower cordial for 8-10 mins in a small pan over a medium heat until the strawberries have released some of their liquid and it has reduced a little. Leave to cool.
• Whisk the double cream to soft peaks, then fold in the Greek yogurt until combined. Gently fold the cooked strawberries through the cream and yogurt mixture to create a ripple effect. Tip the mixture into the lined tin, then gently even out with the back of a spoon. Cover with cling film and freeze for at least 5 hrs or overnight. Will keep frozen for up to one month.
• To serve, remove from the freezer, turn out onto a serving plate, peel off the cling film and defrost for 20 mins. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the strawberries with the remaining elderflower cordial, sprinkle over the 2 tbsp sugar, if using, and pile these on the semifreddo.

STRAWBERRY-ELDERFLOWER JAM

Steps:

• Combine the strawberries, sugar, vinegar and salt in a medium saucepan or Dutch oven. Toss well and let stand until the strawberries are juicy and the sugar is moistened, about 20 minutes.
• Add the elderflower liqueur to the pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer; cook, stirring and skimming off any foam, until the juices become glossy, thick and syrupy and the fruit is very soft, 25 to 30 minutes. If the berries are still in large pieces after about 20 minutes, gently mash with a rubber spatula or potato masher. Remove from the heat and let the jam cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
• Transfer the jam to a jar or other airtight container. Refrigerate until cold and fully jelled, at least 2 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

LEMON & ELDERFLOWER TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• First, make the pastry. Tip the flour, butter, sugar and lemon zest into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Tip in the egg yolk and ½-1 tbsp cold water and blitz again to bring everything together into a dough. If the dough isn't coming together, add more cold water, ½ tsp at a time, and blitz again. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm thickness, then use it to line the base of a loose-bottomed traybake or brownie tin (ours was 20 x 30cm). Transfer to the fridge and chill for 20 mins.
• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line the chilled pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 15 mins. Remove the parchment and beans and bake for 5 mins more until the pastry is lightly golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes before spreading over the lemon curd, leaving a 2cm border around the edges (it will spread out when the cake batter is poured over). Turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together using an electric whisk or in a stand mixer until pale, light and fluffy, about 8 mins. Beat in the eggs, one at a time along with 1 tbsp of the flour, then fold in the remaining flour and the ground almonds. Carefully spoon the batter over the lemon curd and gently spread out using the back of the spoon, then bake for 35-40 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin completely, then carefully remove to a board.
• To make the icing, combine the icing sugar, lemon juice and elderflower cordial until loose enough to drizzle over the sponge, then swirl over extra lemon curd, if you like. Cut into squares and serve. Will keep in an airtight tin for up to three days.

ELDERFLOWER AND STRAWBERRY BOMBE

Steps:

• Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a saucepan bring cream and milk just to a boil. In a small bowl with an electric mixer beat together eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Add 1 cup hot cream mixture to egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Whisk egg mixture into cream mixture in pan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until thickened slightly, just coats back of spoon, and a candy thermometer registers 170° F. (Do not let custard boil or it will curdle.) Pour custard through a fine sieve into a bowl set in bowl of ice water and stir in elderflower concentrate (or vanilla mixture; see above note). Cool custard. Chill custard, its surface covered with plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 24. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and in freezer harden until firm. Ice cream may be made 1 week ahead.
• In a saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in strawberries and lemon juice and cool 10 minutes. In a food processor purée mixture until very smooth and force through a sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids. Discard solids and cool purée. Freeze purée in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and in freezer harden until firm. Sorbet may be made 1 week ahead.
• Let ice cream and sorbet stand at room temperature until softened, about 10 minutes. Into a large bowl scoop alternating cup measures of ice cream and sorbet. Make 2 figure-eight swirls with a large metal spoon through ice cream and sorbet and pour into a 7- to 8-cup mold. Freeze bombe, covered with plastic wrap, at least 4 hours and up to 2 weeks. To unmold bombe, dip mold in a bowl of hot water 1 second and invert bombe onto a serving plate.
• Garnish bombe with strawberries.