The first summer berries don’t need any real cooking, but a quick warm-through with roast rhubarb and orange juice will really bring out their flavor. Add an exquisite, dainty syllabub of sweet wine and a hint of orange blossom to balance the fruit. The orange shortbread accompaniment makes this dessert a cut above, but any delicate, buttery biscuit will do, bought or homemade.
Ingredients
For the orange shortbread
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup superfine sugar, plus 2 tbsp extra, for dredging
1¼ cups white spelt four, sifted
2 tbsp cornflour, sifted
Zest of half an orange
For the roast rhubarb and berry compote
14 oz rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into 1½-inch lengths
1 orange, finely grated zest and 2 tbsp juice
⅓ cup superfine sugar
2 cups early summer berries, such as raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, hulled if necessary
For the syllabub
1¼ cups heavy cream
2 tsp orange flower water, plus extra to taste
Juice of half an orange
⅔ cup muscat wine
3 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
The Homes & Gardens method
1. Start by making the biscuits. Pre-heat the oven to 340°C, gas mark 3. Use an electric whisk or a wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugar together until soft and light. Gradually beat in the sifted flours and orange zest until just combined.
2. Tip the mixture on to a lightly floured pastry board and gently roll out to a thickness of about 1cm. Stamp out 6cm circles with a biscuit cutter (re-roll any scraps and stamp out more biscuits), space out on a lined large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until just starting to colour at the edges. Dredge in caster sugar and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Keep the shortbreads in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap up well and freeze for up to 3 months if you don’t want to eat them straightaway.
3. To make the compote, pre-heat the oven to 350°F, gas mark 4. Toss the rhubarb, orange zest and juice and sugar together and spread out in a medium-sized baking dish. Cover with foil and roast for 10 minutes. Add the berries, stirring them in carefully, re-cover and return to the oven for 5 minutes or so, until the rhubarb is just tender and the berries are beginning to release their juice. Set aside to cool.
4. To make the syllabub, whisk the cream, orange flower water, orange juice, muscat and icing sugar together briefly, until the mixture forms soft peaks. Taste and stir a little more orange flower water in if you prefer a stronger favour. Divide the syllabub between bowls and serve with the compote and the shortbread biscuits.
This super simple dessert will be an easy win for your Mother's Day lunch as you can roast the rhubarb in advance and use ready-made biscuits for an easy cheat.
