Recipes
Raspberry Ice
Cream
This is the recipe we use on the
farm as it so simple and full of the real raspberry flavour.
450 g/ 1 lb raspberries, cleaned
225 g/ 8 oz castor sugar
600 ml/1 pint whipping cream
Handful of fresh raspberries (marinated with Drambuie liqueur, optional).
Puree the raspberries in
a blender or food mixer. Sieve the puree
if desired. Stir in the sugar until
completely dissolved. In a separate bowl whip the cream until thick. Fold in the pureed fruit. Pour into a freezer container and freeze for
about one hour. Remove from the freezer
and beat well. Return to the freezer for
at least three hours. Serve with more
fresh raspberries as a garnish.
Raspberry Cranachan Serves 4
Easy and delicious. If you use yogurt instead of cream, you could
serve this for breakfast or Sunday brunch.
For a strictly adult version use a dollop of
whisky instead of the elderflower cordial.
If you need additional sweetening drizzle some
runny honey over the top.
200g / 6-8oz granola or toasted oats
180ml / 6 fl oz double
or whipping cream
Slug of elderflower cordial, neat
Punnet of fresh raspberries
In a medium size bowl
stir the elderflower cordial into the cream, then beat
until lightly whipped.
In individual glass bowls layer half the granola, a dollop of the
flavoured cream, and some raspberries. Repeat the layer, ending with the fruit
on top.
Superb
This recipe works perfectly every time. But you must use jam sugar rather than granulated or
even preserving sugar. No substitutes. It is
almost double the price of granulated sugar, but you get a perfect set and with
only 4 minutes of boiling, more jam for your money.
You
will need about six 340 g / 12 oz size jars.
.
Clean and hull
1 ½ kg / 3 lbs fresh strawberries or
raspberries, leave whole or cut up as preferred
Put them in a preserving
pan or very large pot. Add to them and
allow to sit for at least four hours, or overnight
1 ½ kg / 3 lbs jam sugar
Stir them gently over
low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Turn up the heat to high. Stir
occasionally until you have a rolling, vigorous boil which
you can’t stir down.
While
waiting for the boil scrupulously prepare your jars and clean tops. Wash empty jars in hot, soapy water, then
thoroughly rinse in very hot water.
Shake off the drops then dry them in a low oven while you finish the
jam.
Once you get a proper boil, set a kitchen timer for
exactly four minutes. Then test for a
set by dropping a small amount from your spoon.
It should fall in flakes, or form two separate drops. Remove from the heat when set and allow to
cool for about 15 minutes.
Fill your warm jars completely. It helps to use a wide mouth funnel or a
small ladle. Cover immediately with new
lids or waxed discs. Allow to cool
completely. Label once
cooled, and if using waxed discs, cover with a piece of cellophane.
Simply Superb
If you have never
made jam, then you must try this. I was floored by how simple and quick this is. Best of all, it has the same flavour as the
above recipe. Even if you don’t
believe me, rest assured, this method is approved by the good ladies of the Women’s Institute!
This recipe makes three 340 g or 12
oz size jars.
Prepare and clean, but
do not bother to cut up
675 g / 1 ½ lb strawberries, hulled
OR raspberries
Place them in a large
bowl. Cover with microwavable cling film
and cook on full power for 5 minutes.
Stir and mash the fruit. Then
cover and cook on full power for an additional 10 minutes. Stir into the hot fruit until completely
dissolved
675 g / 1 ½ lb jam
sugar
Cook for another 2 minutes. Stir well
and remove any scum that may arise.
Cover and cook for another 4 minutes and test for a set using the spoon
flake or drip test, as above. If not
set, cook for an additional minute then test again. Repeat until set.
Pour into clean, warm
jars and seal, as above. Label when cool.
Chocolate Courgette Cake
|Surprise! Yes,
it is a recipe for chocolate cake with an added, healthy
bonus—just don’t tell the kids! The courgette makes it tender and keep well,
too, although we have trouble proving that!
The chocolate and nuts on top give it extra crunch.
You could also make this into 24
cupcakes; just reduce the baking time accordingly.
Cream together
115 g / 4 oz margarine or butter
115ml /4 Tbsp cooking oil
340g / 12 oz sugar or vanilla sugar
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract if using
granulated sugar
115 ml / 4 Tbsp plain yogurt
In a separate bowl sift together
300g /10 oz flour
100g / 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp powdered cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
Add this to the creamed
mixture and mix well. Stir in
340g /12 oz grated raw courgette
Pour the batter into a well greased Swiss roll tin, 18 x30 /7 x 9 inch cake
pan. Sprinkle on top
3 oz chocolate chips
2 oz
coarsely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
Bake
at 180 C/ 350 F for 30 minutes or until done.
Elderflower Sorbet Serves 4 - 6
This is
a most elegant, fragrant sorbet. It also
is terribly easy to make with our gold medal winning cordial.
Make up
800 ml/ 20 fl ounces of elderflower cordial
to your normal drinking strength using plain water.
Pour into a freezer container and freeze until
nearly solid. Mash with a sturdy fork
until slushy, or whizz with a hand blender. In a clean bowl whip
2 egg whites*
until stiff. Gently fold the eggs into the slushy
cordial. Freeze again until solid. Remove from the freezer 15-30 minutes before serving
to allow it to soften slightly.
Variations
·
For a truly posh version dilute the cordial with left over champagne
(should you happen to have some) or sparkling wine instead of water.
·
For a child’s version use apple juice to
dilute the cordial, skip the egg whites, but freeze it in lolly
moulds, or small yogurt pots with a wooden stick pushed in half way through
freezing.
*Take care as there is a potential health risk using raw eggs for
small children and pregnant women.
This cake was a surprise
hit with the crowd at the latest River Cottage Fair. Made with our Elderflower Cordial you can
enjoy it for an afternoon tea under the parasol.
With all ingredients at
room temperature, this is very quick to mix up with a tabletop mixer.
In your mixing bowl
combine:
110 g/ 4 oz soften
butter
110
g/ 4 oz caster sugar
110
g/4 oz self raising flour
2 medium eggs
Grated
rind of half a lemon
2
Tbsp elderflower cordial
Beat well until thoroughly
combined and light. Spoon into a greased
and lined one pound loaf tin. Bake for about one hour at 140C/ 325 F/Gas
Mark 4. Test with a skewer-- inserted
near the centre of the cake it should come out clean with no crumbs sticking to
it. The time may vary with your
individual oven.
Cool 10 minutes then
remove cake from the tin and peel away lining paper. Poke holes all over the top of the cake with
the skewer and drizzle with
4- 6 Tbsp
elderflower cordial
The amount will depend
on how gooey you like your cake. Allow
to cool thoroughly before serving.
Other Serving Suggestions for Elderflower Cordial
·
Make up a fresh fruit salad
and drizzle undiluted elderflower
cordial over the top. Stir gently to
mix. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.
·
Add a healthy splash of undiluted
cordial to anything you are making with gooseberries: fools, ice creams, crumbles and cobblers. Reduce the amount of sugar slightly to
account for the syrup.
·
Make your gin and tonic a Devon
Gin and Tonic by adding a splash of elderflower cordial to your regular sun downer.
·
Try a Devon Spritzer:
mix some white wine, elderflower cordial, and sparkling water to taste.
Great for girlie
parties.
Add a dash of Sweet Raspberry Vinegar to a jug of lemonade for both
added colour and flavour.
Feel free to use any
seasonal fruit for this. It really perks
up fruit that may not be at its peak of ripeness.
In a large bowl put together a mixture of
fruits as the season or your taste dictates:
Prepare each fruit according to type—peel, deseed, or core as
required:
Apples, pears, bananas, tropical fruits, berries, oranges, etc
In a small bowl whisk together until completely mixed:
2 Tbsp Raspberry vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon powder or celery seed
Pinch of salt and pepper
Taste, and adjust the vinaigrette as necessary. Toss the fruit in the dressing and serve.
Simple but elegant. Great with
slightly bitter or mustardy-hot salad leaves. Be sure to use a good quality olive oil. Use your sense of taste to adjust the balance
of flavours depending on your herbs and pungency of olive oil.
Shake together in a small jar or whisk in a small bowl:
1 Tbsp
spiced blackberry vinegar
1 tsp
mustard powder
Salt and
pepper to taste
1 Tbsp
chopped fresh herbs OR 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
1 small
clove garlic, minced (optional)
3 -4 Tbsp
olive oil
Taste and adjust to suit. Use with a leafy green salad.
Will keep for a week in a tightly covered jar.
Transform some plain,
lightly cooked vegetables into a gormet
delicacy. Particularly
nice with purple sprouting broccoli.
Steam until cooked, but still with some bite:
500 g/ 1
lb green
cabbage, shredded, OR
Boiled beetroot, peeled OR
purple
sprouting broccoli
Drizzle with
Blackberry
vinegar, to taste
Sprinkle with
sea salt
freshly ground
black pepper
Serve at once.
Don’t spend out on overpriced ready made
dipping sauces when you can easily make one yourself:
Mix to taste:
Flavoured vinegar
Well flavoured
oil
Salt and pepper
Dip crunchy bread sticks or cut-up vegetables as a starter, preferably
with a glass of wine or local juice.
This is an amazing, no fat dessert that tastes
like a fantastic raspberry ice cream. It is made in a
flash with a food processor.
In a food processor or blender pulse together:
250 g/ 10 oz frozen raspberries
4 Tbsp caster sugar
Squeeze of lemon juice
Process until slushy. Add
250 g/ 10 oz quark
and blend until smooth. Serve at once, or freeze until needed.
Try this with other frozen berries, too.
Remember, the trick only works with frozen fruit.
A spicy version of trifle. You could use frozen, defrosted strawberries
for this, in that case you won’t need the
additional juice or cordial as the strawberries supply their own liquid.
For each serving use in the bottom of individual serving bowls toss:
2
crumbled ginger nut biscuits
Sprinkle with
1 Tbsp ginger wine or cordial, or orange juice, optional
On top of the biscuits toss:
Handful of blackberries
Stir together
1 small pot Greek yogurt
!/2 of a piece of preserved ginger
in syrup, drained and minced
1 Tbsp
syrup from the preserved ginger
Spoon over the berries. Sprinkle the top with a bit of
Gingernut biscuit crumbs
Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Should you have leftover brownies, this is a terrific way to use them
up. On the other hand, if you make a batch
of brownies just for this, you may have leftover brownies for the next day!
Break into large chunks and put in the bottom of a glass bowl
4 - 6
brownies, depending on size
Throw on top
500 g/ 1 lb raspberries (reserve a few for the top)
Sprinkle the brownies and raspberries with:
4 Tbsp Drambuie
Whip lightly, until it falls in large, soft dollops
300 ml whipping or double cream
Spread over the raspberries.
Chill.
Decorate the top with shavings of chocolate and more raspberries
Variations: Use strawberries
instead of raspberries, spread a few tablespoons of
marmalade over the berries before sprinkling with Grand Marnier. Substitute ice
cream for the whipped cream. Decorate
the top with dollops of marmalade and sliced strawberries.
This is my most
requested recipe-- ever. Latest request
came from
Forget all the rules
about mixing, creaming and beating air into a cake batter, for this simple
cake, easy enough for a child to mix, defies all those rules. It’s crazy,
but it works, and is moist and chocolaty too.
Baba asks why bother with all those other recipes?
If you don’t
have standard cup measures select a medium size mug and use it consistently in
the recipe, or stick to the metric measurements. Just don’t
jump from one set of measurements to another.
Stir together in a large bowl:
375 g/ 3 cups flour
400 g/ 2 cups sugar
60 g / ½
cup cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp
bicarbonate of soda
Make two wells in the dry mixture (three if you are using the optional
vanilla) and pour into the first
2 Tbsp vinegar
And into the second
170 ml/ 2/3 cup oil
(and into the third)
(1 tsp vanilla)
Pour over the entire contents of the bowl
480 ml/ 2 cups cold water
And stir well with a fork. Pour into a large, greased 13 x 9 inch tin,
or two 9 inch round tins and bake for 30 minutes at 375 F/ 190 C/Gas Mark 5 or
until done.
Ice, if desired, once cool.
Variations
Baba always adds a handful of dried fruit to the batter once it is in
the tin: either some
halved glace cherries, raisins or chopped apricots. Baba also suggests putting in bits of fresh
apple or pear instead of the dried fruit.
Benji from University suggests double
chocolate with the addition of chocolate drops.
If you use flavoured vinegar, such as raspberry, you could complement
the chocolate flavour with a handful of fresh raspberries and drizzle raspberry coulis on top
when you serve it for a gourmet treat to impress your friends. Just don’t
tell them how easy it is to make!