Berry Cordial

The choice is yours, whether to make blackberry, raspberry, strawberry or even tayberry or blueberry cordial! When I made this a while ago I plundered our home grown tayberries, but now the shift in seasons brings the possibility of autumnal fruit to enjoy. It would be the perfect time to throw the last of your blackberries into this sweetly sophisticated beverage.

 

 

Recipe

Inspired by one for plum cordial by Skye Gyngell in Waitrose magazine August 2012. For similar, see www.waitrose.com

 

 

300g fresh berries

250g caster sugar (or more, dependent on the sharpness of the fruit)

juice of 1 lemon (orange instead for blackberries or blueberries)

still or sparkling water, to serve

 

 

1. Put the berries, caster sugar and lemon juice into a blender and whizz until smooth. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar or citrus juice as needed.

Alternatively if you don't have a blender, heat the ingredients together in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring well.

 

2. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a large bowl, and stir again until it is smooth.

 

3. Pour the cordial into a sterilised bottle until needed.

 

4. To serve, dilute the cordial with sparkling or still water (about 1 part cordial to 4 parts water), and serve with ice cubes, mint sprigs and perhaps a slice of lemon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cordial was idly concocted as I listened to the choral music of Hildegaard Von Bingen

Baked Strawberry & Lime Mascarpone Cheesecake

This is such a delicious baked cheesecake, fluffy and creamy with that crunchy biscuit base and the sweetness of strawberry undercut by a soft citrus tang. There's nothing more to say really except dig in!

Recipe
Adapted from Olive Magazine July 2005, listed at BBC Good Food Online. See the recipe here.
Serves 8

8 or 9 digestive biscuits
600g mascarpone cheese or other cream cheese
50g butter
175g caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
quarter of a teaspoon vanilla extract
300g strawberries total: 150g for cake, 150g for topping
zest and juice of 1 lime
142 ml sour cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar



1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan) and get out a 20cm cake tin.

2. Crush the biscuits by putting them in a sealed plastic bag and attacking them with a rolling pin (this is very enjoyable, a good way of getting rid of any grievances of the day).

3. Melt the butter in a small pan over a low heat. Mix the crushed ground biscuits with the butter.

4. Press the biscuit butter mixture into the cake tin, making sure it covers the bottom evenly. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes, then take out and leave to cool.

5. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, lime zest and juice, eggs and egg yolk. Beat until fluffy.

6. Add half the berries (150g), stirring them gently into the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the tin, making sure it covers all the biscuit base, and smooth down the top.

8. Bake for approx 40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cheesecake is set but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Leave the cake in the tin to cool. Ideally, once the cheesecake is cool, you can put it in the fridge to help it set overnight, before adding the topping the next day when ready to serve.




for the topping:
the rest of the strawberries (150g)
handful wild strawberries and their flowers, optional

9. However if you want to serve the cake on the same day, then you can get straight on with the topping. Slice the remaining strawberries thinly. When the cake is cool, place the slices in concentric circles over the cake, ending in the middle.


10. Add a few wild strawberries and their flowers to decorate if you like, then keep in the fridge until serving.

This cheesecake was idly baked while listening to Florence & The Machine play Ceremonials

Strawberry & Mint Mini Tartlets

When the sun shines as brightly as it has done this weekend, I'm disinclined to spend my time baking in a hot kitchen. These pretty tartlets take very little time, and taste like lovely mouthfuls of sunshine, an easy way to use up any pastry offcuts.

Recipe

Serves 2

offcuts of leftover sweet pastry, ready made or from the pastry recipe of white chocolate, blueberry & lemon tart here

2 strawberries

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

2 sprigs of mint

1. Turn the oven to 190C (170 fan ovens). Roll and cut the pastry into heart shapes or mini circles.

2. Bake the tartlets in the oven for 15-18 minutes, until the pastry is sandy to touch. When baked, take out of the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

3. To make the glaze, heat the strawberry jam in a small pan, stirring until smooth and melted. Bring the jam to the boil, then take off the heat. Strain the jam through a sieve and keep the strained juice.

4. Wash and top the strawberries, then dry with kitchen towel. Place a strawberry, pointed ends up, on the pastry tartlets.

5. Brush the glaze over the strawberries and tarts.

6. Serve and eat within 2 hours of serving.

These tartlets were idly baked while listening to Laura Marling's album A Creature I Don't Know

Mother's Day Pavlova with Strawberries & Passion Fruit Whipped Cream

This sumptuous pavlova was a real pleasure to bake, and I owe it all to my food mixer's high speed whisk! For me a pavlova evokes sunshine and birdsong, both of which we enjoyed as we sat with my parents this afternoon, glass of cava in hand, to celebrate Mother's Day. The strawberries and passion fruit suit eachother perfectly, the soft sharpness of the passion fruit pulp cutting through the heady sweetness of this heavenly berry meringue.

Adapted from the recipe given by Olive Magazine, see it at the BBC Good Food website here.

Serves 6

4 large egg whites
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar


1. Turn oven to 180C (160 fan ovens), and grease and line a large baking sheet or tray. If you like a neat meringue then you can trace around a 20cm cake tin base, in pencil on the back of the parchment paper, before placing the paper pencil side down on the greased baking sheet.

2. In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Bear in mind the bowl needs to be totally clean - any little piece of dirt or dust could stop the whites stiffening.

3. Next add the sugar, a tablespoon at time, and once all used up beat again for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is glossy and stands up in stiff peaks.

4. Whisk in the cornflour, vanilla essence and vinegar.

5. Spoon the meringue mixture onto the prepared baking tray, spreading it out to be a circle of about 20cm diameter, making a hollow in the centre of the mixture to form a nest.

6. As soon as the meringue goes into the oven, turn the oven right down to 120C (fan 100C). Bake in the oven for an hour and a half, then turn off the oven. Leave the meringue to cool in the oven, and only remove when totally cool. I baked mine in the evening and left it to cool overnight in the oven ready to eat the next day.

7. Once cool, gently peel off the parchment paper and place on a plate or dish. It doesn't matter if the meringue cracks a bit.



for the topping:
285ml double cream (I had to use a little less thanks to the packet of cream opening out onto the floor when I got home - Nico kitten got her first taste of cream)
400g strawberries, washed hulled and halved
3 passionfruit, pulp only

8. Whip the cream with two of the passionfruit pulps, then spoon the cream into the hole of the meringue nest, spreading out to cover the middle of the meringue.

9. Spoon the strawberries over the passionfruit cream, and drizzle the pulp of the third passionfruit over the top. Serve the pavlova immediately!

This pavlova was idly baked to the sounds of Dean Martin's album That's Amore

Gluten Free Wild Strawberry & Orange Cake

This simple summer cake is my own creation, designed to showcase the the wild strawberries that grow in the sunniest patches of the garden. Wild strawberries are natural beauties, too frequently ignored in favour of their large watery domestic cousins. The tiny fruit jewels have a stronger, more intense berry flavour, and they taste amazing thrown into salads as well as used in cake toppings or fruit compotes. Have a forage around your local hedgerows or woodland and you can easily spot them; don't wash them before use or you'll drown them. You can of course create the glaze topping with large domestic strawberries, just be prepared to use more of them to create as much flavour as the wild variety.

Recipe
Serves 8 -10

200g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g golden caster sugar
200g gluten free plain flour (Dove's Farm or M&S recommended), sieved
1 tsp baking powder
1 or 2 tbsps ground almonds
grated rind of half an orange
juice of half an orange
3 eggs

1. Turn the oven to 160C (140C fan oven). Grease and line a 23 inch round baking tin.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add 1 egg, the orange juice and rind, and beat well. Add the 2nd egg, plus the baking powder and a third of the sieved flour and combine. Finally, fold in the 3rd egg along with the rest of the flour and all the ground almonds. Mix gently until the batter is totally combined.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and put in the oven for approx 50mins. It will be done when a skewer comes out clean and the top bounces back when you touch it with your finger. Take it out of the oven and leave in the tin for 15 minutes, before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool.

For the glaze topping:

1 small bowl of wild strawberries
quarter of a cup of golden caster sugar
juice of half an orange
carton runny cream to serve (optional)

4. Mix together the topping ingredients in a large bowl and then spoon over the cake. Serve straight away with runny cream.

This cake was idly baked while thinking about Wild Strawberries, my favourite Ingmar Bergman film and a real classic. Here's one of the more whimsical bucolic scenes as an old man looks back at his youth. Have a peek while eating the wild strawberry cake.

Harry Eastwood's Dairy & Gluten Free Chocolate Heartache Cake

This gorgeous dairy and gluten-free recipe was devised by the very talented Harry Eastwood, who specialises in inventing cakes from unassuming vegetables. It makes a cake that I believe tastes just as good when you're happy as when you're sad. And if you're sad when you make it you'll be happy by the time you taste it. Who'd have thought something so sweet could be made from aubergine!

Recipe
Adapted from Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache by Harry Eastwood
Buy the book on Amazon
Serves 8-10

2 whole aubergines (weighing roughly 400g)
300g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids essential, broken into squares) I used Green & Blacks cooking chocolate - or use a dairy free chocolate
50g good quality cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting (Green & Blacks again)
60g ground almonds
3 medium or large free-range eggs
200g clear honey
2tsp baking powder (gluten free if necessary)
quarter tsp salt
1 tbsp good brandy
a handful of sweet local strawberries

1. Turn the oven to 180C (or 160C if using a fan oven like me). Line a 23cm x 7cm loose bottomed tin with baking parchment, grease and flour it so that the cake won't stick.

2. Randomly puncture the aubergines' skins erratically with a skewer, then place them in a bowl covered with cling film. Microwave on high for 8 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. Get rid of any water left over. Place the aubergines in a bowl.
Alternatively, if you don't have a microwave, peel the aubergines with a potato peeler or knife, and cut them into small cubes and cook them with a tablespoon or so of water. That's what I did and it worked well. Once they're soft tip any leftover water out.

3. Then puree the aubergines in the blender. Once the warm aubergine is soft and smooth, add the chocolate, which will mingle and melt slowly. Set aside, covered once again in cling film, until all the chocolate has melted.
Or if like me you don't have a blender then mash the cooked aubergine with a potato masher until smooth. Add the chocolate chunks to the warm aubergine and stir/mash until all has melted.

4. Next stir all the other ingredients in a bowl until they're well mixed. Pour the melted chocolate and aubergine into the bowl with all the other ingredients.

5. Pour the mixture into the greased and lined tin and place it in the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes.
An idle note: for some reason when I made it the cake cooked so slowly it took more like 50 minutes to bake, and that was with the cake on the middle shelf - I suggest you check it after 30 minutes and then every 5 minutes or so.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for at least a quarter of an hour before very carefully placing it out on a wire rack. It may be a bit cracked, accept that as part of it's charm. Sieving cocoa powder over the top once the cake is cooled hides all the cracks and adds to the dark dense chocolate flavour, and some fresh strawberries on top contrast with the bitter grownup taste of the cake delightfully. This cake keeps best in the fridge, and is a delicious torte when eaten cold with or without cream. Enjoy!

 

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Kate Bush's album The Red Shoes