Dessert of the Week - Strawberry & Elderflower Creams  Add/Read Comments

Being blessed with a fine Elderberry tree right outside my apartment it seems only natural to utilise the seasonal flowers and make a batch of Elderflower cordial. Now that I have three large bottles of the stuff in the fridge I have to find a use for it outside of adding it to a gin and tonic! This recipe, from Sophie Grigson's Country Kitchen, seemed ideal combining the Elderflower cordial with that other spring/summer staple, strawberries.

Strawberry and Elderflower Creams
Serves six apparently (I managed to fill three large glasses).

• 500g hulled strawberries


• 3 tablespoons Elderflower Cordial


• 85g caster sugar


• 4 gelatine leaves


• 300ml whipping cream


• 2 strips lemon zest

Select a few strawberries for decoration and process the others with the cordial and sugar.

Soak the gelatine in a dish of cold water, leave to soak while heating the cream. Add the lemon zest to the cream and heat slowly and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add the gelatine (squeeze out the excess water) and stir to dissolve. Cool until warm. remove the zest then mix in the strawberry puree. Spoon into glasses and leave to set in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Bring back to room temperature before serving.