Strawberry rum baba with elderflower chantilly cream

Make the elderflower cordial at least 24 hours before you want to serve the dish. Place the water and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat to dissolve the sugar (do not boil)

Whisk in the citric acid, then add the vanilla seeds and its pod, the elderflower heads and lemon slices and peel. Transfer to an airtight container and infuse in the fridge for 24 hours

The bases for the strawberry consommé and sorbet both use the roasted frozen strawberry base – start this the day before you want to serve the dish. Mix all of the ingredients for the roasted strawberries together and set aside to macerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C and a water bath to 90°C

Transfer the macerated strawberries to a roasting tray and roast until the strawberries caramelise and release their juices

Divide the roasted strawberries in half and transfer each half into its own vacuum bag. Add the reserved tops from the fresh strawberries into 1 of the bags. Vacuum seal and steam both bags in the water bath for 30 minutes

Strain both bags through a fine mesh sieve into their own individual containers, discarding the solids. Hang both the mixtures in separate muslin or cheesecloths set over separate bowls overnight in the fridge to let them drip through and clarify. The mixture which had the strawberry tops in is for your strawberry consommé; the other is for your sorbet

The next day, weigh out 125g of the clarified liquid for the sorbet. Place in a blender and blend with the glucose and ProCrema stabiliser. Freeze the mixture in Pacojet containers at -20°C (or churn in an ice cream machine and freeze). Reserve the other batch of consommé liquid in the fridge until needed

Strain the elderflower mixture through a sieve (discarding the solids) and pour into a sterilised bottle. This will make more cordial than you need – this will last unopened for around 2-3 months, but once opened, keep in the fridge

For the baba loaf dough, first make a pre-ferment. In a bowl, mix together the yeast and warm water then combine with 150g of the strong flour to form a soft dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 hours until light and bubbly

For the variations of strawberries, first dehydrate a third (about 130g) of the strawberries. Arrange them skin-side down on a non-stick baking mat, lightly dust with icing sugar and place in a dehydrator. Dehydrate at 70°C for 3 hours, or until they have reduced in size by half and are slightly chewy

Preheat the oven to 190°C and grease and line a 1.5-litre loaf tin with baking paper

For the baba loaf dough, transfer the fermented dough to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the remaining ingredients (including the remaining flour) and mix until smooth and elastic. Place in the loaf tin, cover and leave to prove for 40 minutes, or until the dough rises just above the top of the tin

Bake for 30 minutes until deep golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool on a wire rack, then cut into slices 0.5cm thick, then stamp out rounds with a 3cm pastry cutter – you will have leftover baba. Set aside and increase the oven to 200°C

Macerate a third (about 130g) of the fresh strawberries. Place the strawberries in a bowl, season them lightly with caster sugar and a pinch of salt and leave to macerate for 20 minutes

For the final variation of fresh strawberries, slice the remaining strawberries (about 130g) and reserve for serving

For the elderflower chantilly, whip the cream to soft peaks using a small hand whisk. Fold in 10ml of the elderflower cordial and continue whipping to a light, spoonable consistency (be careful to not overwhip this)

For the rum syrup, bring the sugar and water to the boil, remove from the heat and add the rum. Pour enough hot syrup over the baba rounds to coat and set aside briefly to allow them to fully soak

Pacotise the roasted strawberry sorbet if needed, or just remove it from the freezer for a few minutes to soften

To serve, place a soaked rum baba disc into the base of each bowl. Arrange the dehydrated, macerated and fresh strawberries around the sponge to form a crown. Pipe or spoon elderflower chantilly into the centre. Quenelle the strawberry sorbet and place on top. Spoon a little consommé around the base and finish with a few drops of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt over the sorbet. Serve immediately