Gooseberry Cream Elderflower Jelly Pots Food

GOOSEBERRY AND ELDERFLOWER ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Top and tail the gooseberries, wash them and put them in a saucepan with the water and sugar; cover and bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally to a pulp.
• Keeping the heat low, simmer the gooseberry pulp, uncovered, for 5 minutes; allow to cool slightly then put in a blender and process until smooth; sieve to make a smooth puree and set aside to cool.
• When the puree is cold, add the elderflower cordial and cream; mix well and check the sweetness, adding a bit more sugar if required; pour into a plastic container and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.
• NOTE: allow the ice cream to soften for 10 minutes before serving.
• The original recipe instructs you to process or whisk the ice cream when partially frozen, re freeze then repeat in order to break down any ice crystals that may form; I must confess that whenever I see this instruction I always ignore it and have never had a problem with grainy ice cream: I'll leave the choice up to you, but of course it will increase the preparation involved.

GOOSEBERRY & ELDERFLOWER JAM

Steps:

• Tip the gooseberries into a large saucepan or preserving pan with 300ml water. Cook over a low heat for about 15 mins, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has broken down into a soupy purée.
• Add the sugar and cook over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat as high as it will go and boil everything for 10 mins, stirring the bottom to make sure the jam doesn't burn and skimming any scum off when it appears. If you have a jam or digital thermometer, the optimum temperature for the jam to set is 105C, but anything around 104C will be fine.
• Do the wrinkle test (see tip) on a frozen saucer to make sure it's set, then add the elderflower cordial and leave to cool before decanting your jam into sterilised jars.

GOOSEBERRY ICE CREAM

Steps:

• To make the purée, put the gooseberries and sugar in a pan with 4 tbsp water. Heat gently, stirring, then bring to a simmer and cook until the fruit starts to burst. Tip everything into a food processor and whizz until puréed. Push through a sieve to get rid of the pips and skin. Cool.
• Put the eggs and sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until pale. Heat the milk and cream to just below boiling then pour onto the eggs, whisking all the time, until completely mixed.
• Clean out the milk pan then pour the custard back in. Heat gently, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens and can coat the back of the spoon. Cool and chill.
• Mix the gooseberry purée with the custard then churn in an ice-cream maker until thickened. Put into a freezerproof container and freeze until needed.

GOOSEBERRY & ELDERFLOWER FOOL

Steps:

• Wash the gooseberries thoroughly, top and tail them, then place in a wide heavy-bottomed pan with the sugar, cordial and lemon juice. Simmer over a gentle heat until all the gooseberries have burst.
• Lightly crush with a fork, tip into a bowl to cool and chill for at least 2 hrs. This can be done up to 2 days ahead.
• Lightly whip the cream to a soft dropping consistency, then swirl in the cooked gooseberries to give a rippled effect. Spoon the fool into glasses and chill until you are ready to serve.