Sometimes inspiration is right there in front of you. When you discover that stunning strawberries have arrived, you’re impelled to do something equally stunning. Meet Charlotte—she’s a classic, like that girl everyone longs to hang out with, the one who always looks fabulous and is the life of the party. She looks high maintenance, but once you get to know her you realize how down to earth she is. She understands that you don’t want to turn on your oven right now. A little splash of elderflower cordial (home-made or store-bought) makes her extra special.
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
- 6 tablespoons cold water
- 4 teaspoons powdered gelatin
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons elderflower cordial
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 8-inch springform pan
- 1 package (about 24) store-bought ladyfinger biscuits
- about 1/2 - 3/4 cup elderflower cordial (for soaking)
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
Instructions
In a blender, purée the strawberries and pass the mixture through a fine sieve until you have 1½ cups of strained strawberry purée. Divide into ½ cup and 1 cup, and set aside.
In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water and leave for about 5 minutes until the gelatin blooms. Add ½ cup of the strained strawberry purée and the sugar, and cook, stirring constantly until the gelatin has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before adding the remaining 1 cup of strained strawberry purée.
In a large bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add elderflower cordial and vanilla and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Now fold in the strawberry mixture using a spatula to combine. Set aside.
To assemble
Place only the closed outer band of the springform pan on the plate or cake stand you will use for serving, and line the bottom with a circle of parchment. Cut another strip of parchment to line the sides of the ring.
On a cutting board, cut one end off each lady finger so that you are left with 7-inch-long pieces, as well as a bunch of smaller “finger ends.” The ends will be used to line the bottom of the pan while the bigger ones will form the sides of the dessert.
Pour the elderflower cordial ¼ cup at a time into a shallow baking dish. Depending on how dry your biscuits are, they may soak up more or less cordial, so doing it this way ensures that you don’t waste any of that precious liquid.
Quickly dip the biscuit pieces into the liquid, one at a time, starting with the small pieces to line the bottom of the pan. Repeat with the long pieces and place them upright, flat side inward, around the inside edge of the pan. Make sure they fit snugly.
To prevent leakage, very slowly pour only a little of the strawberry-cream mixture into the bottom, and refrigerate for about 10 minutes to set slightly. Then pour in the rest of the mixture very slowly and carefully so that it doesn’t run out the edges. Put back into the fridge for another 10 minutes and then garnish with the fresh strawberries, pressing them gently into the filling. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
To serve, remove the plastic wrap and gently unmold the springform ring. Carefully remove the strip of parchment paper. The centre should be firm enough to allow you to cut a slice of the cake for each lady finger. But you can always give people two.
