Strawberry Elderflower Semifreddo Recipes

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 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 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.