Bottlegreen Pomegranate and Elderflower Cordial 500 ml (Pack of 6)

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Powdered gelatine and I have never been friends, but gelatine leaves give a softer and more predictable set. If you soak them in water no hotter than room temperature, the ensuing blob of gelatine is easy to lift out with your hands and drop into the lightly warmed juice, where it will dissolve with a stir or two. Any hotter and your gelatine will lose its effectiveness and be difficult to use. Among the cream and sugar, the chocolate and the icing, it is something of a quiet joy to come across a simple fruit jelly. This recipe is made in minutes. Preheat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4. Put the mincemeat in a mixing bowl. Finely chop the walnuts and the pistachios. If you do this in a food processor, make sure you don’t grind too finely – the texture should be quite rough and nubbly. Add them to the mincemeat together with the ground almonds. Depending on your choice of fruit or florals, it will either be boiled in a sugar syrup e.g. rhubarb, or added later. Follow one of the recipes below, e.g. elderflower cordial.

Place a sheet of filo pastry in the base of the baking tin and brush it with some of the butter. Follow this with another four sheets, buttering generously between each layer. This Pomegranate Elderflower Spritzer is incredibly easy and I always suggest using fresh ingredients whenever available! Yes, I’m talking fresh pomegranates! Don’t mind the mess, I promise you, it’s worth it! Snap the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Put a pan of water on to boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Place the bowl of chocolate over the water (the base of the bowl should not touch the water) and leave to melt. Let the pieces of chocolate turn to liquid, pushing them gently under the surface as they melt. Are you ready for this? Add all of your ingredients together in a large pitcher and stir! Taste and adjust ingredients as desired! Other Ingredients That Can Be Used

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Score the surface layers of pastry with a large, sharp knife in a lattice fashion, each cut about 3cm wide (I do 6 each way). Bake for 40-45 minutes till crisp and deep gold. Like the traditional Italian cassata on which the recipe is based, this is quite sweet, so I bring it to the table with a dish of very softly whipped cream which has a calming effect on the sugar, and a refreshing plate of peeled and sliced clementines to serve alongside. None of my Christmas extras need to be eaten the moment they are made. All will keep for a day or two and the ice-cream can stay in the freezer all Christmas, ready to slice or scoop on New Year’s Day. Scented with orange zest and almond, with vine fruits and candied citrus; dusted with chopped pistachios and rose petals or sprayed with gold, they are the essence of the season, sweetmeats with which to amuse and delight. None take very long to make, or require special equipment. Just an hour or two in which to do something special, magical, a little extra something for all who come calling. Orange and elderflower jelly with pomegranate and mint (pictured above)

Over a mixing bowl, crumble both the soft amaretti and the meringues into large crumbs of differing sizes (anything from brazil- to hazelnut-sized is good). Toast the flaked almonds in a dry, shallow pan to a pale, golden brown, then add to the crumbs. Roughly chop and add the pistachios. Finely grate the clementines into the crumbs. Finely chop the candied fruits, then mix everything together.Spoon the filling over the pastry and lightly smooth the surface. Place the remaining sheets of filo on top, again buttering between each. Trim any overhanging pastry.