On Sunday I joined the celebrations for the 1st Birthday of the fabulous Vintage & Cake. Held in the gorgeous Thomas Cook Memorial Hall in Melbourne, it was like stepping back in time…the music, bunting and the table decoration were stunning.  Thank you Julie for putting on such a scrumptious spread.  As usual, I was the first to reach for the victoria sponge!

I’m sure you will all join me in wishing Julie many more successful years ahead!  To find out more about Vintage & Cake please click here.

Thank you to Claire Sutton for the fab photos.

It’s that time of year when elderflowers are beginning to show themselves, so I thought it would be perfect to post a recipe for one of my favourites…elderflower cordial.

I used this recipe last year to make my first ever homemade cordial, which was delicious and extremely self satisfying to make.  The recipe will make approx 3 litres (5 pints) of cordial…plenty to see you through the rest of the year.

Here’s what you’ll need:

30 elderflower heads
6 pints (approx 3 litres) of boiling water
900g of caster sugar
50g of citric acid (you’ll find this at any local chemist)
1 unwaxed lemon
2 unwaxed lime

Gently rinse the elderflowers…this will remove any dirt and little critters!

Using a very large bowl, carefully pour the boiling water over the caster sugar.  Stir the mixture well and leave it to cool.

Add the citric acid, sliced lemon and limes and finally the elderflowers.

Leave the mixture to cool in a safe place for approx 24 hrs, stirring occasionally.

The final step is to strain the mixture through muslin.  Once this is done the mixture is ready to be bottled (bottles should be new and ideally sterilized).  What I love about the cordial is that it keeps well and it also makes a great gift presented in a bottle with a tag.  The cordial will keep for months and even longer if you freeze it (if you decide to freeze some, make sure that it’s in a plastic container or bottle).

Enjoy!