Mint tea sorbet with chocolate mint leaves
A refreshing sorbet, finished with mint leaves brushed with dark chocolate - peppermint crisps are the easy way out. Serves four.
1 large handful fresh mint
1 tbsp green tea
100g white sugar lumps
Juice of 2 lemons
1 egg white
To finish
8 large, perfect mint leaves
3-4 squares bitter chocolate
Rinse the mint and cram it into a jug with the tea. Pour in 300ml boiling water and leave to infuse for five minutes. Add the sugar, stir thoroughly and leave to cool. Strain and add the lemon juice. Freeze for an hour or so, until ice crystals have formed but the mixture is not yet hard. Scoop into the liquidiser, add the egg white and process until pale and frothy. Freeze again until solid. It'll be ready in three to four hours, but can be left for longer, if required.
To finish, melt the chocolate gently in a small bowl over boiling water. Brush the undersides of the mint leaves with the melted chocolate, transfer to a plate lined with cling- film and set briefly in the freezer to firm. Scoop the sorbet into well-chilled glasses, and tuck in a pair of mint leaves per serving. A trickle of crème de menthe would serve to gild the lily.
Rosemary, vodka and orange jellies
A grown-up dessert - put childish things behind you, but don't lose the plot. Serve with a crisp little biscuit - something sophisticated, such as an almond tuile. Serves six.
2-3 small sprigs fresh rosemary
25g gelatine (leaf or powder)
100g caster sugar
600ml fresh orange juice
Zest of 1 orange, cut into fine strips
150ml vodka
In a small pan, bring 150ml water and the rosemary sprigs (save any flowers or tips of sprigs for decoration) up to the boil, switch off the heat and leave to cool and infuse. Remove the rosemary, sprinkle in the gelatine (if using leaf-gelatine, soften first in cold water and tear into small pieces), leave for about 10 minutes to swell, then stir over a gentle heat until the gelatine dissolves completely.
Meanwhile, in another pan, heat the orange juice and vodka with the zest and sugar, stirring till the crystals dissolve. Remove the zest with a draining spoon and reserve. Off the heat, combine the two liquids, whisking to blend thoroughly. Allow to cool a little before dividing between six stemmed glasses - cocktail glasses for retro-chic. Finish with the reserved orange-zest and rosemary.
Lavender syllabub with lavender caramel
Very Barbara Cartland, this. If fresh lavender eludes you, use flowering thyme instead. Serves four to six.
For the syllabub
2-3 fresh lavender spikes
150ml white wine
2 tbsp caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
300ml chilled double cream *
1 tbsp eau-de-vie or brandy
For the caramel
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp fresh lavender flowers
Heat the wine in a small pan, removing it just before it comes to the boil, and add the lavender spikes. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes, strain, and stir in the sugar, lemon juice and eau-de-vie. Whisk the cream until it begins to hold its shape - don't overwhip, or it'll turn to butter. Whisk in the lavender-wine infusion, and refrigerate.
Meanwhile, make the finishing caramel. Heat a heavy frying pan over a medium heat, and sprinkle in the sugar. Watch carefully as it melts and then caramelises - don't let it burn. As it cooks, shake the pan every now and then, to distribute the crystals evenly, but do not stir. As soon as the sugar melts to a warm brown, remove from the heat and stir in the lavender flowers. Pour on to a lightly oiled marble slab or plate, and leave to cool and set. Once hardened, place the caramel between two sheets of clingfilm, bash it with a rolling pin to break into small pieces. Fold these into the syllabub just before serving.
Bayleaf junket
Fresh bayleaf - peppery, spicy, an underlying sweetness - is the perfect perfume for a delicate junket, which is the soft curd that forms when rennet, a digestive enzyme present in the stomachs of all mammals including ourselves, is added to warm milk. A delicate emulsion that splits all too easily into curds-and-whey, junket is never likely to be found loitering among the mousses and low-fat fromage frais in the supermarket's chill cabinet - which is a recommendation in itself. Serves four.
600ml full-cream milk
1 tsp rennet (if you can't get it from the supermarket, try the local health-food store)
2 fresh bayleaves, torn in half
To serve
Single cream
Demerara sugar
Leave the bayleaves to infuse in the milk in a pan for an hour or two. Gently warm the milk to just below boiling point - test the heat with a clean finger. Remove the bayleaves and stir in the rennet. Pour immediately into four small earthenware pots or glass tumblers. Cover with a cloth, and leave to set in a cool place for a couple of hours, until the surface is firm to the touch. To serve, trickle with a thin layer of cream and a generous crust of crunchy sugar. Delicious with a ripe fig - a fruit to which bayleaf, with its faint flavour of liquorice, has a particular affinity.
Rose-geranium and almond torte with rosewater syrup
When bruised or crushed, rose- geranium leaves release an astonishingly powerful scent. Elusively exquisite in a fruit salad or, as here, used to perfume a simple sponge-cake - no flour, nothing fancy, just fragrant. You're not likely to find rose-geranium down at the local greengrocer's, so head for the garden centre and add a potful to your window-box. Lemon balm makes an equally fragrant substitute. Serves six to eight.
3-4 rose-geranium leaves, rinsed and dried
Butter for greasing
4 medium eggs
175g caster sugar
250g ground almonds
To finish
2-3 rose-geranium leaves, shredded
2 tbsp rose-water
2 tbsp honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Butter an 18cm sponge-cake tin and arrange the rose-geranium leaves on the base. Whisk the eggs, whites and yolks together, until frothy. Still whisking, sprinkle in the sugar, and whisk until the mixture is white, stiff and holds its shape in soft peaks - this will take twice as long as you expect. With a metal spoon, lightly fold in the ground almonds. Spoon over the leaves in the tin, and bake for 45-50 minutes, until well-risen and firm to the finger. Wait for 10 minutes before turning out on to a plate - lacking flour, it shrinks alarmingly. No matter, since it tastes delicious.
Meanwhile, put all the finishing ingredients in a small pan, along with six tablespoons of water, bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced to half volume. Pour the hot syrup over the warm cake - it'll absorb it like a sponge. Exquisite with summer berries and crème fraiche
