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Charlotte Pike

Award-winning cookery writer, teacher and chef

Baking

Lemon Butter Cake

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This cake recipe is incredibly simple and really worth knowing about. There is something rather special about the simplest of cakes made with the best quality ingredients. Whilst this cake may sound unremarkable, with no icing, no groundbreaking ingredient pairings, and its simple, homemade appearance, it is truly delicious, very versatile and a great recipe to have in your repertoire.

This lemon butter cake is a simple, rich, order neurontin online no prescription dense sponge cake, flavoured with fresh lemon zest. It is light, buttery and has a subtle hint of lemon. It’s really excellent served with tea or coffee at any time of the day, and makes a lovely pudding served with some fruit and cream, or can even be used in a trifle sponge. It freezes well and will happily keep for a week, wrapped well.

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Elderflower Cordial

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The elderflowers were out early in Dorset this year, but much later in Oxfordshire. And now, in early July, they are still out in Northern Ireland, where I’ve just returned from this week.

Elderflower has a unique fragrance and is a truly wild ingredient. You can only get it when it’s in season. It’s very easy to find and pick when in flower, and not to be confused for cow parsley growing in the verges.

I like to make it into cordial, using citric acid to stop it fermenting and to allow it to keep for longer. Citric acid is easily obtained from brewing shops and chemists, if you have never bought it before.

This cordial can be diluted with sparking water to make an elderflower pressé, mixed into a gin and tonic or drizzled onto summer fruits, such as strawberries or poached gooseberries. It also goes straight into my elderflower sorbet recipe.

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Strawberry Cream Tea and Strawberry Jam

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Strawberries are at their very best now. One of the best ways to enjoy them is with freshly baked scones, cream and homemade strawberry jam.

Strawberry jam is probably my very favourite jam, but it must be really good. Sadly, it is often overly sweet and cloying. If you haven’t made your own before, then I really encourage you to do so. It is quite quick and easy to make. It is still very sweet, but it retains a true strawberry flavour, and it is a great way to preserve the flavour of strawberries at their peak.

Homemade scones are also a revelation. They are infinitely superior to shop bought, but must be eaten really fresh – straight out the oven ideally, but definitely on the day they are baked. 

I like to serve scones with softly whipped cream, which I now prefer to clotted (thanks to Ballymaloe). It is not as dense and fatty, which I prefer, but use whichever you like best. And of course plenty of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.

This such a nice tea to make if you are visiting or entertaining friends of family at this time to year. It is quite quick to make, looks lovely and takes sublime.

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