Mixed berry cobbler
A cobbler is one of those all-American desserts where seasonal fruit is topped with a dough before cooking. It makes a nice change from crumble as it offers a wider range of textures: the dough becomes browned and crisp on top, is tender like a scone in the middle, and melds with the juices at the bottom. You can make individual ramekins or one big family dish.
Serves 6-8
For the fruit
1.2kg mixed berries (gooseberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
4 tsp unrefined sugar
2 tsp pearl tapioca
For the dough
150g plain flour
50g ground almonds
2 tbsp unrefined sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp orange blossom water
125g plain yoghurt
70g cold unsalted butter, diced
1 Put the mixed berries in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar and tapioca. Toss gently to combine, arrange in an even layer, cover, and leave to stand for 1 hour.
2 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, almonds, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the orange blossom water, yoghurt and diced butter. Combine roughly with a fork, then use the tips of your fingers to rub the ingredients together. The dough will be soft – don't overwork it.
3 Drop tablespoonfuls of dough on top of the fruit, leaving a little space in between for the fruit to show. Sprinkle the top with sugar.
4 Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit bubbling.
5 Serve while still a little warm – but not piping hot – with creme fraiche or whippedcream.
Recipe supplied by Clotilde Dusoulier, chocolateandzucchini.com
Spinach, summer berry andgoat's cheese salad
Raspberry vinegar works perfectly with this summery salad. Feel free to use another soft cheese instead of goat's cheese, such as brie – it's an unusual flavour combination, but it really works.
Serves 2-4
1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 medium red onion, finely sliced
200g goat's cheese
A handful of toasted flaked almonds
100g baby leaf spinach, washed
225g mixed summer berries
(raspberries, strawberries, blueberries)
1 Put the raspberry vinegar in a salad bowl with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Add the sliced onion and combine.
2 Cut the goat's cheese into bite-size pieces, place on a baking tray, scatter with the flaked almonds and pop under a hot grill for about 4 minutes, or until the cheese has slightly melted and the nuts are golden brown.
3 Add the spinach and the berries to the bowl containing the onion and dressing. Toss gently, top with the warm goat's cheese and almonds, then serve immediately.
Adapted from Forget the Lentils by Rose Elliot (Little Books), roseelliot.com
Blueberries, feta and mint
This is a beautiful and unexpected combination, as blueberries don't often feature in savoury dishes. Serve from late spring to early autumn, when the berries are at their best.
Serves 4
400g blueberries
20g mint leaves, larger leaves torn
150g feta, crumbled
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns, crushed
1 Divide the blueberries among four small, shallow serving bowls, then sprinkle with the mint and feta cheese.
2 Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil over each serving. Crush several generous pinches of salt over each dish and sprinkle with black pepper.
The Perfectly Tossed Salad by Mindy Fox (Kyle Books). Mindy Fox's new book, The Perfectly Roasted Chicken (Kyle Books), is out now. To order a copy for £12.79 (RRP £15.99), visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Iced berries with hot whitechocolate sauce
Mark Hix created this dish at The Ivy, and in the late 1990s you'd find many a supermodel or actor scoffing it. Its minimal calorie content is part of the allure, but the sensation you get from eating two foods at such different temperatures is what makes it irresistible.
Serves 2
200g frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants)
30g white chocolate
30ml double cream
2 tbsp Cointreau (optional)
1 Arrange the frozen mixed berries on a dessert plate and keep frozen until needed.
2 Put the chocolate and cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir continually, until the chocolate has just melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the Cointreau if using.
3 Take the berries out of the freezer and drizzle with the sauce. Serve immediately.
Skinny Weeks and Weekend Feasts by Gizzi Erskine (Quadrille Publishing)
Strawberry and rhubarb jam
The tang of the rhubarb combined with the sweetness of the strawberries makes this a wonderful pairing of flavours.
Makes 7-8 x 350g jars
1kg rhubarb stalks, trimmed and wiped clean
1kg small strawberries, washed and hulled
6 tbsp lemon juice
1.8kg jam sugar
15g unsalted butter
1 Cut the rhubarb into 2cm pieces and put them in a large bowl with the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Stir well, cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere cool, but not in the fridge, overnight. This will draw out some of the juices from the fruit and help keep the strawberries whole during cooking.
2 The next day, transfer the fruit mixture to a large, deep saucepan of at least 4½ litre capacity and heat gently, stirring frequently, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the butter and bring to a rolling boil.
3 Boil the jam rapidly for 8-10 minutes, until it reaches 104-105C/220F. Remove from the heat, skim off any froth and leave to cool for 15-20 minutes or until the fruit stays suspended in the jam after you've stirred it.
4 Ladle the jam into sterilised jars and cover immediately with waxed discs and lids. It will keep in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.
Yeo Valley: The Great British Farmhouse Cookbook by Sarah Mayor (Quadrille Publishing). To order a copy for £13.99 (RRP £20), visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Spiced strawberry sauce on overnight oats
Overnight oats are simple to make, versatile and incredibly energising. Top with this spiced berry sauce for a special treat. The sweetness of the berries explodes on a background of warming spices, vanilla and citrus. It's bright and bold, clean and complex. If you have any strawberry sauce left over, you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week – it's delicious on pancakes, yoghurt and ice-cream.
Serves 6
For the sauce
1kg strawberries
Zest of ½ orange
½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped
2 cardamom pods
1 star anise
1 black peppercorn (optional)
A small pinch of salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp raw honey or agave nectar
For the oats
400g oats, or any other whole, rolled grain
1½ litres of milk (preferably brazil nut or almond, but goat's or cow's is fine), or water
3 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 tbsp chia seeds
1 Wash and cut the strawberries into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place in a large jar or container. Add all the other sauce ingredients and, using a muddler or a large spoon, smash the berries to extract the juices, but leave some of them whole. Be sure to crush the whole spices too (you may want to use a pestle and mortar before placing them in the jar).
2 Cover with an airtight lid and place in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour (it can be kept for a week).
3 Meanwhile, fold all the overnight oats ingredients together in a jar or bowl and place in the fridge overnight.
4 In the morning, remove the oat mixture from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes. To serve, combine the oats with more milk, the strawberry sauce and some chopped fresh fruit, plus a dollop of yoghurt on top.
Recipe supplied by Sarah Britton, mynewroots.org
Cherry and beef sandwich
Summer berries are perfect for desserts and salads – this combination of succulent meat and intense fruitiness is fantastic too. Itworks well with any leftover beef you might have in the fridge.
Makes 4
1 tbsp honey
200g cherries, washed and destoned
100ml apple juice
125ml olive oil
A large handful of fresh basil leaves
2-3 garlic cloves
Salt and black pepper
400g flank steak
4 wholegrain buns or 8 slices of sourdough
4 tbsp mayonnaise
100g rocket
75g parmesan
1 In a skillet or frying pan heat the honey until sizzling. Add the cherries and stir for 1minute, then add the apple juice and simmer for 4-5minutes. Remove from the heat and setaside.
2 In a food processor, blend the olive oil, basil and garlic until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and more garlic.
3 Brush the steak with the basil oil and season again. Heat a frying pan on the hob, add a dash of oil and cook the steak on both sides to your preference. Cover in foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
4 Remove the steak from the foil and slice as thinly as possible, reserving the juices.
5 To assemble your sandwich, toast the bread or buns on both sides, spread with mayonnaise and add a handful of rocket, a few slices of steak, some of the cherries, some slices of parmesan and a drizzle of basil oil. Top with more rocket and a drizzle of the reserved steak juices.
Recipe supplied by Josephine Malene Kofod, atastylovestory.com
Gluten-free summer berry cornmealalmond cake
This light, gluten-free cake is the perfect last-minute dessert, as it comes together and bakes in less than 30 minutes. The combination of cornmeal, orange juice and turmeric gives the cake a golden, "buttery" hue, while the mix of cooked and raw berries provides a delicious juicy sweetness.
Makes one 23cm cake
For the cake
80g cornmeal
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of ground turmeric
125ml fresh orange juice
60ml maple syrup
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to oil the pan
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
A pinch of fine sea salt
For the topping
375g mixed berries
(blueberries, blackberries andraspberries)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar or maple sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp arrowroot powder
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Oil a 23cm springform cake tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, ground almonds, baking powder and turmeric and set aside. In another bowl whisk together the orange juice, maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt. Pour the wet mixture into the cornmeal and almond mixture and whisk until justcombined.
3 Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean with only a crumb or two attached. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4 While the cake bakes, place half the berries in a small saucepan with the maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the berries have softened and released some of their juices.
5 Dissolve the arrowroot in a tsp of water and stir this in with the berries. Return to a simmer, stir again and remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining berries and set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Spoon on to the cake and serve.
Recipe supplied by Amy Chaplin, coconutandquinoa.com
Raspberry sherbet
The flavour of raspberries is so intense that they can simply be blended with milk and sugar and made into this sumptuous, full-flavoured sherbet. The mixture is best frozen right after you've blended together the ingredients, which preserves the vivid taste ofthe raspberries.
Makes about 1 litre
450g raspberries, fresh or frozen
500ml whole milk
200g sugar
1½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Put the raspberries in a blender or food processor, along with the milk and sugar. Puree until smooth, then strain the mixture to remove the seeds. Stir in the lemon juice.
2 Freeze the mixture in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a shallow freezer-proof dish, cover with clingfilm and freeze until firm. Once firm, break the frozen mixture down in a food processor to obtain a puree, then pour back into the freezer-proof dish and refreeze untilfirm.
Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (Jacqui Small). To order a copy for £16 (RRP £20), visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
Cherry clafoutis
Make this lovely light, comforting pudding when cherries are in season and really ripe. You don't have to remove the stones – they make for a better flavour and are easily removed on eating. Adding a little salt to desserts keeps the sweetness in check and pulls the fruit back to its real flavour, which sugar has a tendency to mask.
Serves 6
40g unsalted butter
600g sweet cherries, washed and stems removed
100g caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp extra
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs, separated
75g plain flour
75g ground almonds
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml double cream
A pinch of salt
1 Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. When it is foaming (but not browned), add the cherries, 100g sugar, the cinnamon and lemon zest. Cook gently for 10minutes, or until the cherries are soft, stirring gently from time to time. The juices should have reduced and thickened slightly. Remove from the heat.
2 Using a slotted spoon, place two-thirds of the fruit over the bottom of a shallow 23cm-diameter baking tin. Reserve the rest of the cherries in the juice for serving.
3 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Beat the egg yolks and remaining 3 tbsp sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, ground almonds, vanilla extract and cream.
4 In a separate bowl, whisk the egg
whites with a pinch of salt, until they form soft peaks.
5 Carefully fold the whisked egg whites into the batter, then pour the mixture over the cherries. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the batter is puffed and golden brown.
6 Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before serving, topped with the reserved cherries and juice.
My Favourite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell (Quadrille Publishing). To order a copy of My Favourite Ingredients for just £20 (RRP £25), visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846
