An easy dessert that makes the most of summer’s strawberry bounty.

This week I am sharing a recipe with you that you should absolutely try, unless of course you’re dairy-free. It contains a handful of ingredients that are relatively cheap and easy to find at this time of year, and results in a delicious, blushing pink summer dessert that would look wonderful on the Christmas table. Even if you aren’t a fan of basil and think the addition of this punchy herb is a little odd, I urge you to give it a go. It adds another layer to this dessert.

STRAWBERRY & BASIL MOUSSE

Serves 6-8

750g strawberries

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 large basil leaves

500ml cream

Set aside four strawberries, hull the remainder then cut into quarters and put into a saucepan along with the sugar. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer the strawberries, stirring frequently for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, add a pinch of sea salt, the vanilla and the basil leaves. Stir well and set aside to cool.

Once the strawberries are cool, fish out the basil leaves (when I made this I couldn’t find one of my leaves and it was fine, so you don’t need to be too fussy!) and using a stick blender process the strawberries until you’ve turned them into a smooth puree. In a separate bowl whip the cream. Tip all but about a ¼ cup of the puree into the cream and fold gently until well combined. Spoon a little of the puree into the bottom of 6 or 8 glasses or wee bowls, then spoon in the mousse followed by the remainder of the puree. Using a teaspoon, swirl the puree through the mousse.

Hull and half the remaining strawberries then using a sharp knife, slice them thinly from the bottom, leaving them attached at the top. Fan them out then use these to garnish the dessert along with a few tiny basil leaves if desired. Put in the fridge for an hour or two before serving.