Elderflower jelly with summer berries and strawberry sorbet

Ingredients

• 250ml of elderflower cordial
• 750ml of water
• 150g of caster sugar
• 6 gelatine leaves
• 1 punnet of raspberries, a few reserved for garnish
• 1 punnet of blackberries, a few reserved for garnish
• 1 punnet of blueberries, a few reserved for garnish

Strawberry sorbet

• 500g of strawberries, hulled
• 50ml of lemon juice, juiced
• 200ml of water
• 250g of caster sugar
• 3 tbsp of liquid glucose

Method

1. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. Remove from the water, squeezing out the excess water from the leaves.

2. Place the caster sugar, half of the cordial and half of the water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the gelatine leaves. Stir well to dissolve the gelatine.

3. Add the remaining water and cordial, stir well and pour the mixture into a medium-sized bowl and set aside. Place the bowl inside another bowl of ice cold water, this will hasten the speed at which the liquid cools and the gelatine sets - make sure that it does not cool too much, as the liquid will not be able to be poured.

4. When the jelly is starting to set, whisk the jelly well. This creates air bubbles in the jelly which should then set within the jelly itself.

5. Pour the jelly into 4 wine or martini glasses, so that each glass is one-third full. Leave to set for 5-10 minutes in the fridge.

6. When the jelly is firm, you are ready to add the berries. The aim is to layer the berries through the jelly so they are suspended within it. Do this by adding some berries and then adding jelly. If the berries begin to sink, just leave the jelly to set for longer before adding more berries.

7. Place in the refrigerator and leave to fully set for 2-3 hours

8. For the strawberry sorbet, place the strawberries and the lemon juice into a food processor and blend into a purée.

9. Place the mix into a saucepan and boil. Keep boiling until it reduces by half. Once reduced, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Strain through a sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds.

10. Place the caster sugar, water and glucose into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes until all the sugar and glucose has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

11. Add the strawberry purée to the sugar solution and mix well before chilling in a bowl in the refrigerator.

12. Churn the cold mix in an ice cream maker until a sorbet consistency is reached. Transfer to a suitable container and freeze.

13. Serve each jelly with a quenelle of sorbet on top. Garnish with the reserved fresh berries.

Recipe courtesy of Great British Chefs.

Our thanks to Great British Chefs for providing this recipe. Great British Chefs an award-winning premium recipe website www.greatbritishchefs.com