A cake, a crumble, a salad and a showstopper. The best recipes using Wexford strawberries

Summer berries are front and centre in Colm O'Gorman's summer-inspired recipes

You can't beat a sponge with fresh cream and berries. Photo: Mary Browne.

Layered almond and lemon cake with berries and mascarpone cream

recipe by:Colm O’Gorman

This cake is airy with a delicate crumb and meringue mix to fold through an almond-based batter - it both tastes and looks spectacular

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• For the almond and lemon sponge:

• 8 eggs

• 200g caster sugar

• 300g ground almonds

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tsp white wine vinegar

• ½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg

• freshly grated zest of one lemon

• 2 tsp vanilla essence

• For the filling:

• 500g Mascarpone cheese

• 125ml cream

• 1tsp vanilla essence

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 300g fresh strawberries

• 125g raspberries

• 125g blackberries

• 125g blueberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Separate six of the eggs, popping the yolks into a mixing bowl with the two remaining eggs. Whisk the egg yolks and 100g of the sugar until they are smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla essence and lemon zest and combine those with the mixture. Next, add the ground almonds and the baking powder and mix them well to combine.

2. Using a food mixer or handheld electric mixer, whisk the six remaining egg whites until they are fluffy and form peaks when you remove the whisk. Now add the remaining 100g of sugar a tablespoon at a time while you whisk at high speed until you get stiff, shiny peaks as if you are making a meringue. Whisk in the vinegar; this will help make the meringue mix more stable when you add it to the batter.

3. ‪Add a third of the meringue mix to the batter, mixing it in well to loosen it up. Now carefully fold in another third using a metal spoon. When that is well combined, add in the final third, again folding carefully. This will make the sponge lovely and light.‬‬ Butter and line the base of two 20-23cm cake tins. Spoon half the batter into each. Bake for thirty minutes without opening the oven door. After thirty minutes, stick a skewer into the centre of one of the sponges, if it comes out clean, your sponges are ready. If it is a little sticky, give them another five minutes and check again. They should be perfectly cooked after thirty minutes, but it is worth checking just in case your oven temperature is a little off. When the sponges are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before removing them from the tins.

4. When they are fully cooled, cut each sponge in half to make four layers for your cake. Do not torture yourself trying to get perfectly even halves here, I think they look great even if they are little uneven.

5. In a big bowl, whisk the cream, vanilla essence, and sugar until it is a little stiff. Add the Mascarpone cheese and whisk to a smooth, thick cream. Now slice about half of the strawberries, keeping some nice ones to decorate the top of the cake. Cut some of the blackberries in half now too, also keeping the remaining half for the top of the cake.

6. Start to assemble the cake. Spread some Mascarpone cream over one layer and add some of all the different berries. Add another layer of cake, cream & berries, and then repeat once more. Now add a final generous layer of cream to the top of your cake. Cut some of the bigger strawberries in half with the stalks still on and pile all the remaining berries high on top of your cake for a spectacular finish.

Strawberry and blueberry crumble

recipe by:Colm O’Gorman

This crumble is delectably and simple to make - enjoy the incorporated fresh berries with ice cream for a summertime treat

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 500g strawberries

• 150g blueberries

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• For the crumble:

• 60g flour

• 60g sugar

• 40g butter

• a handful of flaked almonds

Method

1. Halve and quarter 350g of the strawberries. Pop them into a small pan along with the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Simmer over a low heat for five to minutes until they are soft but still holding their shape, then take them off the heat.

2. Warm your oven to 180°C. In a bowl, rub together the flour, butter, and sugar until you get a clumpy breadcrumb-like texture. Mix in the flaked almonds. Hull and quarter the rest of the strawberries. Put a layer of strawberries in an ovenproof dish and spoon over the warm berry compote. Scatter the crumble mixture over the top.

3. Bake for ten minutes, until the crumble is nicely toasted. Serve with some whipped cream, or better yet, some tangy Greek yoghurt. The tartness of the yoghurt works beautifully with this warm, sweet crumble.

4. You can make this all in one go or make it up portion by portion on demand. Just choose an ovenproof dish that is right for the portion size you want. You can even save any unused compote and uncooked crumble and have a lovely second helping whenever you want one. It will keep well in the fridge for a few days. A gorgeous dessert ready to be baked in minutes whenever you fancy some.