These are not so much recipes but more a collection of simple summery ideas to do with all those fabulous berries around at the moment.

Strawberry Ice blocks for the kids
My nan made the best fresh icy pops ever, fresh strawberries gathered from her orchard out the back, blended with a splash of water, and poured into ice block moulds and frozen, for something so simple the result was heaven! The only trick is to use the ripest sweetest tastiest fruit you can get your hands on.

Raspberry coulis
Blend raspberries with a touch of water and if need be a sprinkle of icing sugar and a drop of fresh lemon. This is a great addition to ice cream, fruit salads and pavlovas.

Summer berry fool
Take a good selection of fresh ripe berries, place in a bowl and mash with a fork, fold in lightly whipped cream, a scraping of fresh vanilla seeds and crumble in plenty of crunchy meringue, then indulge.

Berry soup
Place 2 cups of berries in a metal bowl with ¼ of a cup of water, a splash of white wine and a teaspoon of sugar. Cover with clingfilm and place over a pan of simmering water, cook gently for 30 minutes and then hang in muslin or cheese cloth for an hour or so to extract the flavoursome liquor. Serve this chilled with fresh berries, lemon verbena and a scoop of lime and mascarpone sorbet.
The pulp can be kept and used in muffins, compotes or even mixed into the berry fool above.

Summer berry parfait
Whisk a couple of egg yolks and 2 spoons of sugar over a double boiler until they become thick pale and creamy, remove from the heat and whisk until cold, fold in 2 cups of whipped cream and some smashed berries. Place in freezer container and freeze, slice and serve with fresh berries and coulis.

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