Easy elderflower cordial
Every year, in June, I make elderflower cordial which I use in cakes, ice-lollies, puddings and cocktails over the summer. I normally make thetraditional version, but this year I wanted to make it less sweet and rather more healthy – most importantly this time I needed to have it ready by the afternoon. So this easy elderflower cordial recipe doesn’t need to be soaked overnight, but the flavours are still just as intense. It looks dark on the pictures because I used muscovado sugar which gave it a slight caramelised taste – can’t wait to try it out in my summer baking!
Ingredients
Method
- Shake the elderflowers to get rid of any insects hiding inside, then put them in a pan and cover them with water. Add the lemon zest and simmer for 30 minutes. Let it cool then strain it into a large bowl through muslin or a clean tea towel, gently squeezing the elderflowers to extract all the juice.
- You should get about 1-1.2 litres of juice. Pour it back into the pan, then add the sugar and the juice of the zested lemon. Bring to the boil, then gentle simmer until it reduces by half into a thick cordial. Taste – if it’s not sweet enough for you, add some acacia honey.
- Pour the liquid into clean, sterilised bottles and seal. Keep chilled in the fridge and it should last for several weeks.