3 Strawberries & Cream Recipes to Celebrate Wimbledon

What better way to celebrate the great British summertime and the start of Wimbledon than with some signature strawberries and cream. We’re definitely right in the heart of strawberry season right now, so either get outdoors and pick your own or add a punnet to your weekly shop along with a tub of fresh cream.

And if you fancy taking things to another level, here are three tasty Wimbledon-inspired strawberries and cream recipes from Ocado are sure to be a hit at any summer gathering.

Giant Straberries & Cream Scone Cake

There’s no denying that a classic British scone pairs perfectly with strawberries and cream. So this giant version using both clotted and double cream is sure to impress your garden party guests!

Ingredients:

• 450g self-raising flour
• 110g unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
• 50g caster sugar, plus 4 tbsp for the compote
• 260ml milk, (preferably whole milk), plus extra for brushing
• 200g strawberries, hulled and chopped (for the compote), plus 200g to finish
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 150ml double cream, to finish
• 150g clotted cream, to finish
• 1 cup icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt, the butter and caster sugar. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips, until it resembles sand with no large lumps.
2. Slowly add the milk and start mixing it all together using a knife (this avoids overworking the dough, which could create a tough, chewy texture). Once most of the dough has come together, use your hands to bring it gently into a ball. Shape into a round and place on the lined baking tray.
3. Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough out to a circle about 20cm in diameter and 3cm thick. Brush the top with milk, then bake for 25-30 mins, until golden. Remove from the oven, peel off the baking paper and leave on a wire rack to cool.
4. While the scone is cooking, make the compote. Place the chopped strawberries, caster sugar and lemon juice in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a gentle rolling boil. Cook for around 15 mins until it starts to look syrupy, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge until needed.
5. Place the creams in a bowl and whisk to stiff peaks. When ready to serve, stir in the strawberry compote.
6. Carefully slice the scone in half horizontally and smother the lower half in the cream and strawberry mix. Cover with sliced strawberries, then pop the top of the scone back on. Dust with icing sugar, if you like.

Strawberry and Rose Syllabub

Add a boozy twist to the simple strawberries and cream dessert with a dash of rosé wine. This simple but effective recipe is perfect for chilling out and watching the tennis.

Ingredients:

• 400g strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 4 tbsp rosé wine
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp rose water
• 150ml double cream
• vanilla shortbread biscuits

Method:

1. Put the strawberries in a bowl with the wine, sugar and rose water. Mix well and leave to macerate for 45 mins.
2. Scoop most of the fruit into 4 dessert dishes, setting aside a few pieces for decorating. Pour the steeping juices into a separate clean bowl with the double cream and whisk to soft peaks.
3. Spoon the cream over the dishes of strawberries, then top with the remaining strawberries and a shortbread biscuit. Serve immediately.
4. Allow an extra 45 mins for macerating the strawberries.

Strawberry & Raspberry Eclairs

Why not add some fresh raspberries into the mix as well, with these party-perfect fresh cream eclairs. Don’t be intimidated by the choux pastry – I have baked eclairs before and the pastry was nowhere near as tricky as I’d expected.

Ingredients:

• 50g unsalted butter, diced small
• 65g plain flour, sieved onto baking paper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 600ml double cream
• 225g raspberries
• 15 strawberries, sliced
• 150g icing sugar, sieved

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
2. Place 150ml water and the butter into a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted and the water starts to boil, turn off the heat, slide the flour into the mix and beat with a wooden spoon until you have a ball of dough. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool for 10 mins.
3. Little by little, beat in the egg with a wooden spoon. You might not need all the egg – you want the mix to fall from the spoon after a count of 5.
4. Transfer to a piping bag with a 1.5cm nozzle and pipe out straight lines of choux pastry, 12cm long, with plenty of space in-between. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until risen, golden and crisp.
5. Remove from the oven, make a hole with a skewer in the base, lay them upside down on the baking sheet and return to the oven for another 5 mins to dry out. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.
6. Crush 150g of the raspberries. Whisk the double cream to medium peaks and stir through the crushed raspberries.
7. Push the remaining 75g of raspberries through a sieve and mix with the icing sugar to make the icing.
8. Once fully cool, slice the eclairs in half and spread cream over the bases, followed by the strawberry slices. Use a little more cream inside the lid to stick it on. Top them all with the pink icing.

Will you be watching the tennis this summer?