It’s that time of year again, the first of the summer fruit are ripening, and despite the weather my thoughts are turning to jam making. In between the showers I ran out to the garden to pick gooseberries. I love them,  maybe because they are one of the first fruits to ripen and you can’t eat them raw so you have to think about what to do with them. One of the first things I make is a simple sponge cake with gooseberries dropped on top of the raw cake mix with a sprinkling of dried rosemary, bake for 25 minutes then sandwiched together with crème frache and  top with some brown sugar, delicious!

The second thing I did this year was to  turn them into jam with some elderflowers. It’s a lovely recipe I found in a National Trust preserve cookbook. The elderflowers gives the jam a lovely pinky tinge and wonderful flavor.

1.35 kg green gooseberries

1.35 kg  preserving sugar

500ml water

6 to 8 elderflower heads

Add the water to the top and tailed gooseberries in a large pan or jam kettle. Simmer for 30 minutes or until very soft. Stir in the warmed sugar until completely dissolved, then bring to the boil. Tie the elderflowers in a muslin bag and add to the pan and boil until setting point is reached. Remove the muslin bag ad pour jam into warm jars. Makes about 6 jars

Raspberry crisp cake  is another early summer favourite, and is great for picnics. My daughter made it last weekend  for Fathers day.  I can’t remember where the recipe came from originally and  I’ve had to change it since I gave up eating wheat, but wheat or no wheat it still tastes good.

350g  self raising flour (for wheat free version, 175 g wheat free flour, 100 g ground almonds and 75 g polenta 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp zantham gum)

225 g butter

I medium egg

125g brown sugar

125 g  frozen or freash raspberries

grated rind of a lemon

icing sugar

• Put the flour or wheat free substitutes and baking powder into a food processor with the butter and blitz, add the sugar  and lemon rind and blitz again.
• Add the egg and blitz until the dough comes together.
• At this stage you can chill the dough for 30 minutes, but if I’m in a hurry I just divide the dough and press half into a well greased      20 cm tin put  the raspberries on top, break up the remaining dough and crumble over the raspberries.
• Bake at 180 or 160 Fan oven for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
• Cool in tin and cover with icing sugar.