Elderflower Strawberry & Rose Cordial

After making the Elderflower Cordial in my last post, I decided to use it to make a nice cool refreshing drink. I really enjoy making cordials, ice teas and mocktails over Summer and this one is no exception. 

I used the second Elderflower Cordial recipe from my last post to make this, however you could also use bought elderflower cordial. I wouldn’t use the first Elderflower and Lemon Cordial recipe from my last post for this one, as the lemon flavour would be too dominant. 

This recipe is also easily doubled if you have a crowd, and leftovers can be used to make ice blocks too. 

Elderflower Strawberry & Rose Cordial

Ingredients: 

1L cloudy apple juice

125ml elderflower cordial

1.5 tbsp rosewater 

2 handfuls frozen strawberries 

fresh elderflowers to decorate, optional 

Method: 

In a jug with at least 2L capacity, stir together the apple juice, elderflower cordial, rosewater and frozen strawberries. Top up the jug with chilled water (and ice if desired). Sprinkle a few fresh elderflowers over the top, or save them to decorate each glass. 

Once the strawberries begin to thaw the cordial will turn a pink colour. Store in the fridge, will keep for a 5-7 days.

For more recipes showcasing the best of rose, check out my ebook Baking with Rose by clicking the link below!

How to Make Elderflower Cordial

I have always been a fan of floral flavours, and elderflower is no exception. I have bought a couple of different brands of the pre made cordial, but had never had the opportunity to make it myself. Every Summer I would see those lucky enough to have access to elderflowers make batches of cordial, even use it to infuse alcohol. I even found somewhere online that sold small elderflower plants, though that idea was quickly vetoed due to the vigorous nature of the elderflower plant, and our genuine lack of space for new plants in the garden. 

This Summer however, I finally had access to some fresh elderflower - via the edible flower online store Petite Ingredient. About ten days ago, I received an email from them saying elderflowers were not only in season, but on sale too. At $9.95 a punnet, they were still pricey considering I would definitely need more than one punnet. I decided to just do it and buy some regardless. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to actually get my hands on some fresh elderflowers and I was curious to see how the whole ordering fresh flowers online worked in practice.

About a week later the elderflowers arrived. I had been eagerly awaiting their arrival and it was recommended that they go straight in the fridge once delivered. I had even briefed my Dad that they may be coming on a day I was at work, and said if they did to please put the whole thing in the fridge. Funnily enough they didn’t arrive that day, however an order from The Essential Ingredient did, so that ended up in the fridge instead! A few days later another order from The Royal Nut Company arrived (yes I have been shopping online a fair bit lately!), and yes that ended up in the fridge too. I think any delivery that looks like it is food related may end up in the fridge if I’m not home from now on!! 

When my Petite Ingredient order did arrive I set about making my first batch of elderflower cordial, which included lemon zest and an infusion time of about 36 hours. If you go with this method (see below recipe one), and live in humid conditions, definitely allow the elderflowers to infuse in the fridge. This method gave a super lemony fragrance and flavour, however I was looking for a more pure elderflower taste. 

The second batch (see below recipe two) only called for elderflowers and water to to be infused overnight. Again I did this in the fridge. You can see the difference in colour both recipes produced and I have to say the second batch was my favourite. I have used this recipe to create another elderflower drink in the next blog post. 

I have included both recipes here, however I would recommend the second one. Both produce between 600-700ml of cordial which can be stored in a sterilised glass jar in the fridge for about a month. 

Elderflower and Lemon Cordial (Recipe One)

Recipe One: Elderflower & Lemon Cordial

Ingredients: 

peeled zest of 2 lemons + 125ml lemon juice (approx. 3-4 lemons)

100g elderflower heads

500ml boiling water

325g caster sugar

Method: 

In a large bowl place the elderflowers and lemon zest and cover with the water. Ensure the elderflowers are submerged in the water. Allow to cool at room temperature. Once cooled, cover and place in the fridge (or other cool spot) for at least 36 hours. 

Once infused strain the mixture into a medium saucepan, pressing out as much of the liquid from the flowers as possible. The elderflowers and lemon zest can now be thrown out. 

Add the sugar and lemon juice to the liquid and heat on high heat for about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once the liquid begins to simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool before transferring to a sterilised bottle. Will keep in the fridge for about a month.

Elderflower Cordial (Recipe Two)

Recipe Two: Elderflower Cordial 

Ingredients: 

70g elderflower heads

750ml water 

75g caster sugar 

Method: 

Pick off all the elderflowers from their stems and add to a medium sized bowl. Pour over the water, cover and place in the fridge to infuse overnight. 

The next day, remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature for a couple of hours.

Strain the liquid into a medium saucepan, pressing out as much of the liquid from the flowers as possible. The flowers can now be thrown out. Add the sugar to the liquid and allow to gently simmer on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, until the colour of the cordial has turned golden and it has thickened a little. 

Allow to cool, then transfer to a sterilised bottle, or use to make this Elderflower, Strawberry & Rose Cordial. Will keep in the fridge for about a month. 

Elderflower Cordial (Recipe Two)

L: Elderflower and Lemon Cordial (Recipe One) R: Elderflower Cordial (Recipe Two)

References: ‘The Modern Cook’s Year’ by Anna Jones (4th Estate, 2017), p.221; ‘Local is Lovely’ by Sophie Hansen (Hachette Australia, 2014), p.71. 

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Here are some of the things I have been enjoying this month: 

• I’m quite late to the party on this one as I think Issue 10 has just been released, but I finally got my hands on Issue 9 of Cherry Bombe Magazine.

• This month I am loving all the lovely Spring flowers. I have enjoyed many a bunch of roses picked from our garden, and have picked a bunch of hydrangeas each week for the last four weeks or so. I also bought a small bunch of peonies and they are taking pride of place on my desk at the moment.

• Now that I am back working in the CBD of Sydney, I am enjoying popping over to the Food Hall in David Jones to check out all the lovely food and produce. I was excited to find they sell bagels and challah by Brooklyn Boy Bagels (my freezer is now stocked in case of a bagel emergency!).

• I finally started listening to this podcast and am so glad I did.

• Starting to think about Christmas and eyeing off all the cute festive things at Kikki-K.

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Peonies & Homegrown Hydrangeas

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

This cake is Summer on a plate for me. Elderflower and berries are Summer staples, and they both go so well in this cake. If you don’t have any elderflower cordial you can substitute it in the cake for lemon juice (so 180ml lemon juice in total). For the cake pictured in this post I used duck eggs (which are pictured in the above photos), because I can’t not buy them when I see them! I used 6 as they are much bigger than chicken eggs, and they gave the cake and amazing rise. It was the tallest chiffon cake I have ever made! 

Using Duck Eggs to Make the Chiffon Cake

Berries to decorate the cake

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Ingredients: 

300g self-raising flour

330g golden caster sugar

7 eggs, separated

100ml  + 1 tsp elderflower cordial 

80ml fresh lemon juice

1.5 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

200ml pouring cream 

berries & edible flowers to decorate, optional

Method: 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 170 degrees Celsius fan forced), and keep an angel food cake pan handy, but do not grease it. 

Add 165g of the sugar and the egg yolks to the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat for at least 5 minutes or until the egg yolks have become thick and pale in colour. 

While the egg yolks are beating, sift the flour at least 3 times to ensure it is well aerated. 

With the mixer on low, gradually add the elderflower cordial (100ml), lemon juice, 1 tbsp of the lemon zest to the egg yolks. Mix until combined.

Sift the flour over the egg yolk mixture and gently fold in to the batter. Gently use a whisk if there are lumps of flour remaining in the batter.

Using another large bowl fitted to a stand mixer, beat the egg whites using the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Sift over the cream of tartar, then gradually add in the remaining sugar (165g), and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the meringue mixture is stiff and glossy.

Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the meringue mixture into the egg yolks in 2 or 3 batches, and stop mixing once everything is just combined. They key is not to over mix, as the air you have beaten into the egg whites will help give the chiffon cake it’s characteristic rise. 

Transfer the mixture into the ungreased angel food cake tin, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Once the cake is done, invert it so the hole in the middle of the cake tin sits over the neck of a bottle. Leave like this until completely cooled - if the cake is not inverted once it comes out of the oven, it will sink. Once the cake has cooled, remove from the tin by carefully running a knife around the outside, middle and underneath of the cake. 

To finish the cake, beat the cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add the remaining lemon zest and elderflower cordial and whisk to combine. Use the cream to decorate the top of the cake, finishing with berries and edible flowers. 

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Reference: ‘Indulgent Cakes’ by The Australian Women’s Weekly (Bauer Media Books, 2014) pp.218-9. 

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Elderflower Chiffon Cake

Raspberry & Rose Sponge Cake + Raspberry & Elderflower Cordial

These two recipes, raspberry & rose sponge cake and raspberry & elderflower cordial, are current favourites. They are great served together, or separately, and would be lovely additions to an afternoon tea or celebration over the warmer months. 

The flavours raspberry and rose are clearly firm favourites for me, and this cake in particular showcases how well they go together. 

Hopefully, now I have baked and posted these few recipes using flavours and ingredients I particularly love, I can move on to some new or different flavours than those I have been baking with recently. I saw a post on Instagram yesterday from someone who was talking about how they wanted to get more into cooking and was considering taking some classes. They then realised that they had enough cookbooks to inspire them to cook, and probably didn’t need to spend the money on classes! They resolved to try a new recipe from each of their cookbooks during this year. I think this is a great idea. As our cookbook collection spans at least 144 books, I think I should have enough inspiration and recipes to keep me going for a while, without always falling back on the flavours I love the most. 

So, I am giving myself a ‘cookbook challenge’. I am going to try and make something new from each cookbook I own. Hopefully I will discover some new favourites, and hopefully this will challenge me to tackle to daily dilemma that is dinner with more enthusiasm.

A small selection of the cookbook collection.

How many cookbooks do you have in your collection? Do you use them often? Let me know in the comments! 

Raspberry & Rose Sponge Cake

Ingredients: 

Butter and plain flour, for greasing cake tins 

4 eggs 

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 cup cornflour 

1 tbsp custard powder 

1 tsp cream of tartar 

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 

1 tsp rosewater

Ingredients for Icing and Filling: 

2 cups icing sugar 

1/2 tbsp boiling water

3 tsp rosewater

pink food colouring

1 tbsp rose syrup

1 punnet raspberries 

1 cup of thickened cream 

edible flowers (fresh or dried), to decorate 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Use a little butter to grease two (20 cm) sandwich tins, then dust them with some flour. Line the base of each tin with baking paper. 

Separate the eggs, and set the yolks aside. Place the whites into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until they form stiff peaks. Add the sugar and the rosewater, and beat until the mixture has become stiff and glossy. Add the yolks and beat until just combined. Sift in the dry ingredients, and gently fold into the egg mixture using a large metal spoon.

Divide the mixture between the two tins, and bake for 20 minutes. The cakes will be ready when they are golden in colour and spring back when touched lightly. 

Line two cooling racks with baking paper. Remove cakes from their tins, and allow to cool on the prepared racks. Allow to cool completely before icing or filling the cake. 

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the water and rosewater and mix to form a smooth, slightly thick icing. If the icing is too thick add more water, too runny, more sifted icing sugar. Add a small amount of pink food colouring, and mix to create a light pink icing.

Whip the cream with the rose syrup, then roughly chop the raspberries and gently fold into the cream. Spread the cream over one of the cakes (top side down). It is easiest to ice and fill the cake on the plate you will serve it on. Top with the remaining sponge cake, and ice the cake with the icing. Decorate with edible flowers. 

This cake is best served immediately after it is assembled, however, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. 

Original Recipe found in Country Style Magazine, November 2014 Issue, pp.76-77 (article: ’never too late’, recipe originally by Bill Bevan).

Raspberry and Elderflower Cordial

Raspberry & Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup elderflower cordial

1 cup water 

1 litre cloudy apple juice 

handful frozen raspberries

For Ice Cubes: 

ice cube tray

water

raspberries 

Method:

Prepare the ice cubes the day before. Place small whole raspberries, or roughly chopped larger raspberries, into an ice cube tray. Cover with water and allow to freeze overnight. 

For the cordial, in a 1.5 litre capacity jug, add the elderflower cordial, water and apple juice. Top with a handful of frozen raspberries. Leave in the fridge to chill, and once the frozen raspberries have started to defrost, mix the cordial so it becomes stained with the red colour of the raspberries. 

Once ready to serve, add the raspberry ice cubes to the glasses and pour over the cordial. 

This recipe was originally published via Liveability.

For more recipes showcasing the best of rose, check out my eBook Baking with Rose by clicking the link below!