Five of the best British strawberry recipes

Indulge in the essence of summer with these five delightful recipes featuring English strawberries, just in time for the start of the Wimbledon tennis fortnight.

From luscious Strawberry Meringue Roulade to refreshing Frozen Summer Berry Slice, these dishes will transport your taste buds to a court-side paradise while you enjoy the thrilling matches.

Read also: 6 Amazing health benefits of eating strawberries and their tops

Strawberry, Ricotta, Lemon and Cream Tart

A delicious way to use these wonderful English strawberries, this tart can be prepared in advance and then quickly assembled just before serving!

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

You’ll need:

For the pastry

100g cold butter
175g plain flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
A little cold water

For filling the tart

200ml double cream
250g tub of ricotta
Zest of a lemon
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (to taste)
250g Strawberries

What to do:

Rub the cold butter into the sifted flour till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar and the egg, adding just enough cold water to create a dough, but no more.

Roll the pastry and use it to line a 20 cm tart tin which has been greased with a little extra butter. Prick the base of the tart with a fork. Place the tart tin in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a roomy bowl whisk the fresh cream till it forms soft peaks. Add the ricotta, lemon zest and cinnamon and mix well.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Bake the pastry tart case for 20-25 minutes, till crisp and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

When you are ready to serve the tart, spoon the ricotta and cream mixture evenly across the tart base. Decorate the top of the tart with strawberries.

Strawberry Meringue Roulade with Mascarpone

This decadent dessert is surprisingly light, making it the perfect pudding of the season.

Serves: 8

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 16 minutes

You’ll need:

Vegetable oil for brushing the tin
Whites of 6 eggs
300g caster sugar
80g flaked almonds
400g mascarpone cream cheese
1tbsp heaped icing sugar
300g Strawberries

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 200°C and place the oven rack quite near the top. Line a standard Swiss roll baking tin, or a shallow baking tray with baking parchment and brush with vegetable oil.

In a big, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites till they are quite stiff. Add the caster sugar slowly. Continue whisking until the meringue mixture is stiff and shiny, forming peaks.

Spread the meringue mixture in the Swiss roll tin and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top, evenly. Place in the oven and bake the meringue for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes lower the oven temperature to 160°C and bake the meringue until golden brown, which will take approximately another 8 minutes.

When the meringue is golden brown, remove from the oven and turn it almond-side down on a big, clean sheet of baking parchment. Peel off the paper from the base and leave the meringue to cool completely.

Whisk the mascarpone cream cheese and the icing sugar till stiff. Spread the mascarpone cream and three quarters of the Strawberries, sliced in halves lengthways, evenly over the cold meringue. Use the sides of the parchment paper to roll the meringue roulade onto a serving tray or platter. Keep the meringue roulade in the fridge until you are ready to serve it. Decorate the top with the remaining.

Strawberry and Vanilla Cheesecake

This creamy vanilla cheesecake recipe is a simple show-stopper – no baking required. Drizzle the warm, sweet strawberry compote over just before serving for the perfect finishing touch. 

Serves: 6-8      Prep time: 20 minutes plus 1 hour to set

You’ll need:

• 200g digestive biscuits crushed
• 100g melted butter
• 400g cream cheese
• 100g icing sugar
• 500g double cream whipped
• 1 vanilla pod split
• 300g Strawberries, halved 

For the compote

• 100g Strawberries chopped
• 25g sugar

Method:

1. Line a 9” springform cake tin with greaseproof paper. Mix the biscuits and melted butter together, and pat into the base of the cake tin. Place in the fridge to set.
2. Beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar then fold in the whipped cream and the seeds from the vanilla pod.
3. To construct the cheesecake, spread a spoonful of the cream cheese on the base, and then place the strawberries all around the sides, standing up with the cut side facing out. Use the cream cheese on the base to stand them in so they are stable. Then fill in with the rest of the cream cheese mix, and level off the top. Place in the fridge to set.
4. Meanwhile make your compote. Put the chopped strawberries and sugar in a pan over a medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries have begun to break down.
5. To serve, carefully remove the cake tin, and peel off the paper. Cut into slices and serve with the warm compote.

Frozen Summer Berry Slice

If you have friends coming over then make this easy dessert the day before then slice and decorate when you need it. Couldn’t be simpler and a great hit with adults and kids.

Serves: 10  |  Preparation time: 30 minutes  |  Cooking time: 15 minutes

You’ll need:

Sponge base
100g (4oz) soft margarine
100g (4oz) caster sugar
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
2 eggs
Grated rind of 1 lemon

Mousse
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
225g (8oz) strawberries, hulled
150g (5oz) raspberries
150ml (1/4 pint) double cream
400g (14oz) can full fat condensed milk
Juice of 1 lemon

Sauce
225g (8oz) strawberries
150g (5oz) raspberries

To serve
Few extra strawberries, hulled, sliced
Few extra raspberries
Few sugar confetti hearts, optional
Few red hundreds and thousands, optional
Little icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas Mark 4. Line an 18 x 28 x 4cm (7 x 11 x 1½ inch) loose bottomed rectangular cake tin with non-stick baking paper, snipping diagonally into the corners of the paper and pressing into the tin so that the base and sides are lined.
2. Add all the sponge ingredients to a bowl or food processor and beat together until smooth. Spoon into the paper lined tin and smooth into a thin even layer. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and the sponge springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. Leave to cool in the tin.
3. Meanwhile, make the mousse by adding the water to a small heatproof bowl; sprinkle the gelatine over the top so that all the dry powder is absorbed. Leave to stand for 5 minutes then stand the bowl in a saucepan of hot water and simmer gently for about 5-10 minutes until the gelatine is a clear liquid.
4. Puree the strawberries and raspberries in a food processor or liquidiser then press through a sieve. Lightly whisk the cream in a bowl until it forms soft swirls then whisk in the condensed milk and lemon juice until thick and smooth. Whisk in the fruit puree then gradually fold in the gelatine, pouring it into the bowl in a thin steady stream.
5. Pour the mousse over the sponge base. Freeze overnight, loosely wrapping in foil when set. To make the sauce, puree the berries then press through a sieve, pour into a plastic box and chill in the fridge overnight.
6. When ready to serve, remove the dessert from the freezer. Unwrap, remove from the tin and peel away the lining paper. Cut into 10 bars with a knife dipped in hot water. Transfer to serving plates. Arrange extra berries, sugar confetti and hundreds and thousands on top, dust with sifted icing sugar and serve with a separate jug of pureed berries.

Strawberry Mousse

This brilliant strawberry mousse recipe is a lighter alternative to ice cream and is perfect for the spring and summer months.

Whip it up in advance and chill until ready to serve.

Serves: 4   Prep time: 10 minutes   Cooking time: 1hr chilling

You’ll need:

• 200g strawberries, plus a few for decoration
• 2 egg whites
• 30g caster sugar
• 100ml double cream

Method:

1. Puree the strawberries to a smooth consistency and set aside.
2. Whisk the egg white to stiff peaks, sprinkle in the sugar and continue to whisk until you have a stiff, glossy meringue.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream to a soft peak then fold into the meringue mixture until completely incorporated.
4. Fold and swirl the strawberry puree leaving a few pink streaks visible. Spoon into serving glasses or bowl and chill for an hour. Add a few strawberry slices to serve.

All recipes by:  BerryWorld