Lemon Mousse with a Strawberry Sauce

Prep time:     20 minutes 

Chilling time: approximately 2 hours

1 packet Lemon Flavored Jelly, in cubes 30ml (2tbsp) clear honey 150ml (1pt) double cream 1x 200g bar dark chocolate, broken into cubes 225g (½ Ib) fresh strawberrys 25g (1oz) icing sugar dark chocolate curls to decorate

• Dissolve the jelly in 150ml (1pt) boiling water, stir in the honey and leave to cool for 10 minutes. 
• Whip the cream until stiff. 
• Fold into the jelly mixture.
• Fill 2 150ml (1pt) heart shaped moulds with the mixture (there will be some left over), cover with cling film and chill in the refrigerator to set.
• Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. 
• Pour the melted chocolate into an ice cube tray, filling each section only half way to the top. 
• Top up with the remaining jelly mixture and chill in the freezer until firm. 
• Puree the strawberries, reserving 4 for decoration, then sieve to remove the pulp and discard. 
• Whisk the icing sugar into the puree until smooth. 
• Remove the jelly mousses from the refrigerator, dip in hot water for a few seconds and turn out onto 2 dessert plates.
• Surround each mousse with strawberry sauce and decorate with the reserved strawberries and chocolate curls. 
• When required remove the chocolate jelly cubes from the freezer, leave at room temperature for 5 minutes before turning out of tray to serve. 

Serves 2 

Serving suggestion: Crack open a bottle of elderflower champagne to wash down this delicious dessert 

Elderflower Mousse

Elderflower mousse

• 4 heads of elderflower
• 16 fl oz/400ml creamy milk
• 4 eggs, separated
• 4.5oz/125g caster sugar
• 1 sachet powdered gelatine
• 6 fl oz/150ml double cream

Bring the elderflowers and milk slowly to the boil, then turn off the heat. Cover and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 3oz/85g of the caster sugar until thick, pale and creamy.

Boil the milk again and strain. Pour it slowly on to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Put 4 tbsp of hot water into a small pan, sprinkle over the gelatine and leave for five minutes to swell. Then heat very gently until dissolved. Pour the gelatine into the hot custard and stir. Leave in the fridge to cool and thicken to the consistency of whipped cream.

Whisk the egg whites into soft peaks, sprinkle in the rest of the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff. Fold into the custard. Allow to set, then whip the cream and fold it in. Spoon into a 2.5 pint/1.25 litre mould or serving bowl, cover and leave to set in the fridge.

Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients:

• 1.5 litres of boiling water
• 1 kilo of white granulated sugar
• 20 large elderflower heads (if they are small, pick more)
• 4 lemons
• 55g of citric acid

Method:

1. In a Pyrex bowl (or deep saucepan) pour the boiling water onto the sugar and stir. Leave to cool, stirring every now and then to dissolve the sugar.
2. When cool add the citric acid, the lemons (zested and sliced) and the elderflower heads.
3. Leave to steep for 48 hours.
4. Strain twice through sterilised muslin (how do I sterilise muslin? See Tips and tricks below)
5. Using a jug and funnel carefully pour into hot sterilised bottles (how do I sterilise bottles? See Tips and tricks below)

Tips and tricks:

• How do I sterilise a jelly bag or muslin square?
  Both can be scalded with boiling water. If you are using a clean muslin bag or square you can iron them with a hot iron. This also works with tea cloths.
• How do I sterilise bottles?
  The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the syrup, I quickly wash and rinse the bottles and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (140c fan-assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The bottles will stay warm for quite a while. Sterilise the lids by boiling these for a few minutes in water.