How To Make The Most Of Summer Berries

There are three rules to making good meringues: use a scrupulously clean bowl, preferably metal; the egg whites need to be at room temperature; and use good eggs. Preheat the oven to 110°C/Gas Mark 1. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then add the sugar slowly, continuing to whisk. This will keep the meringues nice and stiff so they hold their shape in the oven. Spread the meringues into two single layers, one slightly bigger than the other. The larger one will be the base.

Cook in the oven for 1 ½ hours, then turn off the oven and leave them inside for as long as possible without opening the door, so they can dry out and become crunchy.

To make the jelly, heat the elderflower cordial in a small pan with 500ml of water. Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water. When the elderflower liquid comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the drained gelatine. Pour into a plastic container and transfer to the fridge to set. Once the mixture has begun to set, stir in the basil.

For the coulis, heat the raspberries in a pan with 100ml of water and the icing sugar, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Then purée in a blender or food processor, pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the seeds then chill. Done.

For the strawberry cream, make a strawberry coulis, as above. Lightly fold the coulis with the whipped cream to give a marbled effect.

When it comes to plating up, cut the jelly into cubes and get creative – the plate's your canvas. Assemble with one meringue at the bottom topped with a huge dollop of strawberry cream, followed by another meringue, more cream and coulis drizzled over the top. Finely chop the elderflower jelly and spread chunks around the outside.

Preheat the oven to 140ºC/Gas Mark 1. Draw a 23cm circle onto a sheet of baking paper and place on a large baking tray.

Blend the cornflour with the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and gradually whisk in the sugar a tablespoon at a time. Whisk in the cornflour mixture and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes until stiff and glossy.

Chop 75g of the walnuts and stir all but 1 tbsp of this into the meringue. Spoon onto the paper up to the line with a slight hollow in the centre. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp chopped walnuts and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the pavlova inside until cooled.

Whisk the cream to soft peaks and spoon over the pavlova leaving a 3cm border round the edges, top with the strawberries and remaining walnuts.

Put the slice of the bread into a small food processor and whizz until semi fine crumbs are formed.

Pour the crumbs into a frying pan, adding 20g butter over a low heat. Stir the crumbs around until dry and crisp but not burnt (5-8 minutes).

While cooking the crumbs, in a small non-stick frying pan heat 4 tbsp of caster sugar with just enough water to wet it. When the sugar starts to turn a caramel colour, swirl it so that the caramelisation is even. When you’ve achieved a hazelnut brown, stir the crumbs into the caramel to cover them before tipping onto some greaseproof paper.

When crisp blitz again to break up any nuggets.

In a bowl, add a big grind of black pepper into the raspberries and mix.

Finely grate the lime zest into the loose cream, beating until holding its own but not split and fold in the juice of half a lime.

Squeeze two halves of the lime into the raspberries, then add the honey. Stir and leave for 10 minutes.

Spoon the fruit over two or three plates. Make a large quenelle (or spoon a dollop of the citrus cream) and place onto the raspberries and then cover with a good scattering of the crumbs.

Rinse and dry your strawberries. Cut them finely and put half of them on the side and the other half into a mixer with the water and 25g of sugar and mix until you get a strawberry juice. This will be used to soak your savoiardi later.

Get two bowls: add the egg yolks in the first bowl and the egg whites in the second one. Whisk the egg whites until they are firm and put them to rest in the fridge.

Add the remaining sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until they double their size and become a velvety mousse, about 4-5 minutes.

Take the egg whites out of the fridge and add them to your mascarpone cream, incorporating them slowly to your mascarpone cream: this step makes your cream even more fluffy and delicious.

Pour the strawberry juice into a shallow dish. Dip in a few of the sponge fingers at a time, turning for a few seconds until they are nicely soaked, but not soggy. Layer them into a small tray.

Cover the first layer of savoiardi with some of the mascarpone cream. Add another layer of savoiardi soaked in strawberry juice, followed by mascarpone cream and repeat the layers, until your ingredients are over. Make sure to finish with a mascarpone cream layer.

Cover the last layer with the remaining half of strawberries. Put the tiramisu to chill in the fridge, for at least 4 hours.

Begin with the meringue. Preheat the oven 170ºC, turn off the fan and grease and line a large (40 x 28cm) baking tray with non-stick paper, then re-grease over the top. Set aside in the fridge.

Add the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar to the base of a stand mixer (if your whites are not at room temperature, sit the eggs in a bowl of warm water for a minute or so).

Whip on a medium high speed for 2 minutes then slowly drizzle in the water. Continuing on a medium speed, add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, making sure you don’t get any granules on the side of the bowl that will make your roulade grainy.

Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and whip for 3-4 minutes or until stiff, glossy and shiny. Mix the cornflour with the vanilla and vinegar and gently fold in using a rubber spatula.

Dollop mounds of the meringue onto the tray and smooth out. Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until risen and caramel coloured.

Remove from the oven, dust with icing sugar and cover with a clean tea towel and allow to cool for 2-3 hours (up to 12).

Meanwhile, mix the cream, icing sugar and vanilla seeds in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until thickened but still runny. Continue beating by hand until it only just holds its shape (bearing in mind if you are making this in advance it will continue to thicken). Fold in the watercress.

Remove the tea towel from the roulade and dust with more icing sugar. Invert the roulade onto the tea towel and carefully peel off the paper. Spread with half of the whipped cream and then the lemon curd.

Dot half the strawberries over the lemon curd then, taking a short side in front of you, roll into a tight log, you can remove any cream that spills out.

Cover with cling film and pop into the fridge for 1 hour before finishing with the remaining cream, strawberries and a few sprigs of watercress if liked.

Juice the limes and put the juice together with the water and sugar into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Now leave the syrup to cool for an hour.

Blend the raspberries in a food processor until smooth, then pass the raspberries through a sieve into the syrup. Whisk the mix until all combined.

Transfer the mix into a shallow dish and place into the freezer. Freeze for 2 hours initially before raking through the sorbet with a fork. Return to the freezer and rake it another 3-4 times.

Once ready, serve into small glasses, decorate and serve immediately.

First, prepare the dough by combining the flour, sugar, egg yolk and butter. If possible, use a mixer with a paddle attachment.

Once combined, take the dough out, form into a ball, wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for about 45 minutes.

Now onto the crème pâtissière. Put the flour, sugar, egg yolks and egg into a bowl and whisk until pale. Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla pod and together with the milk add to a pan. Bring the milk to a boil and then immediately take it off the heat. Now slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture while continuously stirring.

Return the whole mix to the pan. Over a medium heat and while continuously stirring, warm the mixture up until it has thickened and just about reached boiling point. Take it off the heat immediately.

Pour into a clean bowl and cover with cling film. The cling film should rest on top of the crème to prevent a skin from forming. Put into the fridge to cool completely.

Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC/180ºC Fan. Grease your cake form and – on a floury surface – roll out the cooled dough to fit the form. Press the dough into the form and cut off any excess with a sharp knife.

Now cut out a piece of baking parchment to fit the form, lay on top of the dough and fill with ceramic baking beans. Put into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Take the base out of the oven, remove the baking beans and parchment. Place the base back into the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes until golden. Take the base out of the oven and leave to cool down completely.

Once the cake base and the crème pâtissiere are completely cooled down, pour the cream into the base. Top with berries and sprinkle icing sugar on top (to cut any tartness of the berries) and you’re ready to serve your cake.

Toss the blueberries with orange zest, ginger and sugar. Set aside in a warm place to macerate.

Mix the flours, sugar and salt, then mix in the melted butter, milk and eggs. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Leave for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 210ºC.

In a large cast iron pan, large enough to contain all the blueberries, melt the butter over a high heat until sizzling.

Pour in the berries and allow them to sauté for 20 seconds or so, then pour in the batter. Transfer to the oven for 15 minutes. Then open the door to remove some of the intense heat, and drop temperature down to 160ºC, for a further 15 minutes, closing the door again.

Remove from the oven, top with a further 100g of fresh blueberries, and sift with icing sugar.

Halve the raspberries and put them in a small saucepan. Pour the vinegar over and gently warm over a low heat to a gentle simmer, then leave for a few minutes until the raspberries start to break down. Strain through a sieve, pressing the juice from the raspberries as you do so.

In a deep oven tray, arrange the vegetables and pour over the liquid. Put in a 180ºC oven for ten minutes, until the liquid is starting to gently steam.

Remove the tray from the oven and lower the temperature to 140ºC.

Put a wire rack over the broth, and place the fish on the rack. The rack should be tall enough not to touch the liquid. Cover the tray in a layer of tinfoil, and put back in the oven for 20 minutes. The fish should gently steam in this time. Check it by gently pinching it. If it feels fleshy but resistant, it is cooked. Allow it to gently cool in its steam bath.

Slice the courgettes using a mandoline and arrange over each plate. Break the cold fish down into chunks and arrange around the plate. Garnish with thinly sliced shallots.

Mix 100ml of the raspberry vinegar with the extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and a crack of black pepper. Whisk together, and gently fold in the shelled baby peas and halved raspberries. Spoon over the fish.

Reduce the wine and port by half, then add the blackberries and vinegar. In a separate pan caramelise the sugar up to 130ºC, pour in the vinegar and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pass through a sieve and cool.

Allow the pork chops to sit out of the fridge for an hour so they are at room temperature. Sear on both sides in a very hot pan, baste with foaming butter and rest. Reserve a couple of spoonfuls of the pan juices in a large mixing bowl.

While the meat is resting, toss the beans, hazelnuts, shallots and blackberries with the reserved pan juices, salt and pepper. Split between four plates along with the four chops, and dress with the sweet and sour blackberry agrodolce.

Place the maple syrup, Greek yoghurt, vanilla extract and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk together.

Pour the mixture into a tray lined with parchment paper.

Stud with the fruits and chopped nuts. Leave to freeze overnight.

Once frozen, remove from the freezer and slice into shards.

Either serve immediately or place back in the freezer to enjoy when desired.