ALEXANDER TRIFLE

Prep time: 35 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

While we are waiting for our British summer fruits to come into season properly (the early fruits tend not to have a lot of flavour), we have to think a little harder as to what we can make for pudding. Well, we needn’t look any further than our hedgerows: if you’re a bit of a forager you’ll know exactly what Alexanders are. They are prolific in many areas, especially coastal parts, and usually grow by the roadside. They are a member of the carrot family but very like angelica if you’ve ever seen it growing. Try to cut the young, thinner, green stems that won’t need peeling as when they go a purple colour they start to get woody.

While picking your Alexanders, grab a few flowering heads and dry them in a fan oven at 80C for a couple of hours to scatter on top.

INGREDIENTS

– 150g Alexander stems, plus some flowers if possible

– 100g caster sugar

– 1½ gelatin leaves (6g) – 200ml double cream

For the custard

– ¼ vanilla pod or a few drops of Madagascar vanilla essence – 250ml single cream – 3 egg yolks

– 30g caster sugar

– 3 tsp cornflour

METHOD

Cut the Alexander stems into rough 1-2cm lozenges and put them in a pan with 70g caster sugar and 500ml water.

Bring to the boil and simmer very gently with a lid on for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for a minute or so until soft, then squeeze out the water and stir into the cooked Alexander syrup.

Pour the Alexander jelly into individual glass coupes or a large sharing one and put them in the fridge for an hour or so to set.

To make the custard, split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a point of a knife.

Put the cream, vanilla pod and seeds into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl mix the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and pour on to the egg mixture and mix well with a whisk.

Return to the pan and cook gently over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens, but don’t let it boil. Remove from the heat and give a final mix with a whisk, then transfer to a clean bowl.

Once the jelly is set, give the custard a final whisk and pour on top and return to the fridge to set.

To serve, whisk the double cream with the remaining 30g of caster sugar until fairly stiff, then spoon on to the custard. If you’ve dried some flowering heads of Alexanders, crunch them up and scatter on top of the cream and serve.