ELDERFLOWER & LEMON CORDIAL + Sunday Morning Waffles

19 November, 2020

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We have had a lot of rain recently. Although good for the garden, I have noticed my elderflowers looking rather sodden and bedraggled. A quick sprint to the garden between rain showers to harvest a small basket of flower heads resulted in an aromatic pan of elderflower cordial on the stovetop.

Elderflower can often be found growing wild along roadsides (although I would suggest finding a bush not so close to the main thoroughfare), plus it is an easy-care garden addition. Our tree started out as a small seedling gifted when our son was born over 8 years ago. It is tucked away in a corner of the garden, easy to forget, until the heady floral aroma begins to permeate the air in spring.

I do believe this delicate flower is one of life’s small pleasures, there is nothing quite like it and the resulting cordial is such a joy to sip. Next up is to prepare some elderflower fritters. These are a little like apple fritters with the flowerheads dipped in a light batter, then shallow fried until golden, and drizzled with golden syrup. Like I said – one of life’s simple pleasures. I would love to hear about your special elderflower recipes or preparations – please comment below or contact me here.

Small Batch Elderflower & Lemon Cordial

For this same-day cordial recipe, the elderflowers are gently heated to bring out the flavour. Generally, elderflowers are left to infuse in water overnight but I find a small batch like this gently heating and leaving to infuse for 20 minutes before straining works well too. The cordial makes for a lovely handmade edible gift.

Servings 600 ml

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 12 elderflower heads
• 3 cups water
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• About 4 tbsp honey or 1/3 cup raw sugar

Instructions

• Soak the elderflower heads in a bowl of water for 5 minutes, then gently shake to release any little bugs from the small flowers. Remove the thicker stalks and place flowers into a saucepan with the 3 cups of water. Use a peeler to create strips of zest and add to the pan along with lemon juice.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Stir through the honey or sugar until dissolved. Taste, adding extra sweetener if needed. Strain into a glass bottle adding a strip of lemon zest.
• To serve, pour 2-3 tbsp into a glass and top up with soda water and ice. Garnish with elderflowers.

Sunday Brunch Elderflower Waffles + Sourdough Version

This is a plan-ahead breakfast for easygoing Sunday mornings. If you don’t have a waffle-maker, then simply cook large spoonfuls of the batter in a hot pan to make hotcakes. The yoghurt is optional, or use a sourdough starter, both added for the lactic acid naturally found in yoghurt and sourdough that will soften the starch in the flour to give the waffles a gloriously light crumb.

Servings 4

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Overnight resting (optional) 10 hours hrs

Ingredients

• 1½ cups (220g) white flour
• ½ cup (70g) wholemeal flour (or use all white flour)
• 2 eggs, separated
• ¾ cup (180ml) milk – dairy or plant-based
• ¼ cup (60ml) Elderflower & Lemon Cordial (or extra milk)
• ¼ cup (60ml) natural yoghurt (optional) or sourdough starter
• 50 g butter, melted
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Butter or oil for cooking
• Mixed berries – I used frozen that were thawed and gently warmed
• Yoghurt or whipped cream
• Runny honey or maple syrup

Instructions

• Saturday evening: Place the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well and add the egg yolks, milk, cordial and yoghurt and whisk into a thick batter. Cover with a plate and place in the fridge overnight. Put the egg whites in a covered container and leave on the bench overnight – don’t refrigerate, or they will take longer to whisk in the morning.
• In the morning, remove the batter from the fridge. Melt the butter and fold it into the batter, along with the baking powder.
• Place the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and use an electric whisk to mix until soft peaks form. Add a spoonful of the whites to the batter to loosen, then gently fold through the remaining meringue. Don’t over-mix so to keep the volume in the mix. This step can be skipped, but the waffles won’t be quite as light, instead add the whole egg and sugar to the batter in the evening.
• Heat a waffle maker. Add a small knob of butter (I prefer to use clarified butter as it won’t burn) and use a pastry brush to evenly coat the hot plates. Ladle ½ cup batter into the maker and lower the lid. Cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
• Alternatively, use a heavy-based frying pan and cook hotcakes over a moderate heat until golden on both sides.
• Place cooked waffles on a cake rack to serve at the table to prevent them from sweating. Serve immediately with warmed berries, yoghurt or cream and drizzle with honey.