I love it when the elderflowers fill the garden with perfume. Here are some recipes to bring that lovely scent into your food.
GRAPEFRUIT AND ELDERFLOWER JELLY
1 yellow grapefruit, sliced
5 heads of elder flowers
1 ½ pints /855 ml water
1 lb /450 g sugar
Simmer the grapefruit and elderflowers in the water until the grapefruit is tender. Allow to cool, then strain through a jelly bag.
Check the volume of liquid, and add 1lb of sugar to each pint of liquid.
Boil, stirring constantly, until half a teaspoonful dropped onto a cold plate will set as it cools.
Pour into clean warm jars, cover and store.
ELDERFLOWER CREAM
‘Creams’ were once a mainstay of desserts: ‘creams’ flavoured with vanilla, almond or lemon were commonplace, served alongside jewel-coloured jellies.
In the days when everyone kept a pig, cream was used for cooking, while the skimmed milk went to the pig. Not having a pig, I used whole milk for this recipe.
Per person:
¼ pint / 143 ml full-fat milk. If you want to spoil yourself, use gold top, or single cream
1 head elderflowers
1 strip lemon peel
Sugar to taste: I used 5oz / 140 g
1/8 oz /3 gm gelatine
Soak the elderflowers and lemon peel in the milk for 3 hours.
Dissolve the gelatine in a spoonful of warm water, following the instructions on the packet.
Warm the milk to just below boiling point.
Remove the flowers and lemon peel, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Stir in the gelatine, then pour the dessert into individual moulds. Ramekins would do: I used wine glasses.
Put the creams in the fridge to set.
To serve, dip the mould in warm water and turn out on a plate.
Garnish with red berry fruits.
ELDER AND GRAPEFRUIT DRINK
non alcoholic drink of grapefruit and elderflower
This is a variation on the traditional cordial made with lemon juice. I froze it in ice cube trays. A few cubes added to a glass of water melt to produce a wonderfully refreshing cold drink.
Juice and peel of half a grapefruit
6 heads of elder flowers
1pint / 570 ml boiling water
Sugar to taste
Pour the water over the flowers and peel.
Cover and set aside to cool.
Strain, and add the grapefruit juice and sugar to taste.
To drink, mix with an equal volume of cold water.
Or freeze, and drink later.
APPLE AND ELDERFLOWER FLUFF
apple elder fluff
This can be eaten as a mousse, or frozen to become an absolutely gorgeous ice-cream.
Elderflowers, packed into a measuring jug to the ½-pint mark
1 oz / 30 g sugar
½ pint / 285 ml boiling water
One large cooking apple
9 fl oz/250 ml double cream
Pour the boiling water over the elderflowers, cover, leave to steep overnight, then strain off the liquid.
Meanwhile, stew the apple with a spoon of water, then blitz it with a hand held-blender to make a purée.
Whip the cream.
Warm a little of the elderflower water and dissolve the gelatine in it.
Mix together the elderflower water, apple, sugar and gelatine, then fold in the whipped cream. Taste it and add more sugar if you wish.
Either pour the fluff into serving glasses, and chill to serve as a mousse.
Or freeze it to make ice-cream.