Eating seasonally: Elderflower parfait

With the elderflower blossom appearing in the hedgerows, now is the perfect time to pick some and make your own cordial… (it doesn’t really work as a cut flower. We tried… make cordial instead!). And if you don’t drink it all, use it to make this delicious summery dessert. After all, in the words of Donkey, everybody loves parfait.

We paired the parfait with marinated strawberries, which are just starting to appear in the kitchen garden…

As always with foraging, please make sure you forage responsibly, making sure you leave plenty of flowers for the pollinators.

Elderflower Parfait with marinated strawberries
(derived from an old family Swedish recipe)

Ingredients

For the parfait:

2 eggs
75g caster sugar
200 ml cream
50ml elderflower cordial (homemade or shop bought)

For the marinated strawberries:

A punnet of strawberries
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
Freshly chopped mint

Method

Line a loaf tin with a double layer of clingfilm, leaving a bit hanging over the edges.

Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until thick and pale.

Whip the cream to soft peaks, and fold into the egg yolk mixture along with the elderflower cordial.

Pour into the loaf tin and freeze.

For the marinated strawberries, slice the strawberries in half or quarters and mix in a bowl with the vinegar, sugar and mint. Cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Tip the parfait out of the loaf tin and peel off the clingfilm. Serve with the strawberries scattered over the top and a scattering of elderflower blossom.