Food / 14 March, 2018 / My Baba

Cotswold Mess

Raspberry and elderflower jelly, raspberry mousse, elderflower cream and meringue fingers (Serves 6)

Meringue:

Ingredients:

• 4 egg whites
• 4 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Separate the egg whites into a large glass bowl but keep the yolks as you will use these later.
2. Use an electric whisk to whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Slowly add the caster sugar one tbsp at a time and whisk until firm and glossy.
3. Pipe the mix into equal size shapes on to greaseproof paper and bake in a 100 degree centigrade oven until firm but still white in colour (about three hours).

Cotswold Mess:

There are 3 parts to the ‘mess’ the jelly, a mousse and a cream. You need to make them in this order and allow time for the jelly to set.

Elderflower Jelly:

Ingredients:

• 2 gelatin leaves
• 100ml elderflower cordial diluted with 300ml water. Preferably use homemade cordial but a good quality one like the Bottle Green will do instead to save time.
• 24 raspberries

Method:

1. Soften the 2 gelatin leaves in cold water.
2. Dilute the 100ml of cordial into the 300ml water.
3. In a small pan, warm through a little of the diluted cordial.
4. Remove the gelatin leaves from the cold water and add to the pan with the cordial. Stir until dissolved.
5. Pour the dissolved gelatin and cordial into the rest of the cordial mix and give it a good stir.
6. Pour into 6 containers (preferably glass so you can see the layers) and drop a few raspberries into each container and place in the fridge to set.

Raspberry Mousse

Ingredients:

For the puree:

• 500g Raspberries
• 4 tbsp caster sugar

For the mousse:

• The raspberry puree
• 150g caster sugar
• 2 gelatin leaves
• 4 egg yolks (remember the ones left over from earlier)
• 150ml double cream

Start by making the puree:

1. Take the 500g raspberries and 4 tbsp caster sugar, put into a blender and blitz until you have a puree
2. Pass through a sieve to remove any seeds until you a left with a nice smooth puree

Make the mousse:

1. Put the 2 gelatin leaves to soak in cold water
2. Put the egg yolks and sugar into a bowl and whisk over a bain marie until the mix has doubled in size and you have a stiff and pale mixture (be careful not to have the bain marie too hot or you will end up with scrambled eggs!)
3. Stir in the softened gelatin
4. In a separate bowl whisk the 150ml of cream into firm peaks
5. Fold the egg mix through the raspberry puree and then fold in the whipped cream as well
6. Remove the set jelly from the fridge and pour the mix over to create the second layer
7. Put the jelly and mousse back into the fridge. The mousse will not set solid but the fridge will help firm up the mixture

Elderflower Cream

Ingredients:

• 35ml elderflower cordial
• 150ml double cream

Method:

1. Whisk the cream and elderflower cordial in a bowl until firm enough to soft peaks
2. Place the mix into a piping bag and place in the fridge
3. When you are ready to serve, remove the jelly and mousse mix form the fridge and pipe the elderflower cream on top of the mousse forming small peaks across the surface until all the mouse is covered and serve with the meringue

Recipe by The Maytime Inn