Make our super easy strawberry mousse recipe.

As they say in Essex I'm 'well jel' at the moment. One of my friends has been gloating about how she picked three punnets of strawberries off her allotment at the weekend. I smiled and congratulated her, all while looking out at my astroturfed garden where all that grows is a single weed poking through from under the shed. I envy allotmenters and their summer gluts. But thankfully we have some fabulous growers in this part of the world and from now until around September there are some pretty special local strawberries to be eaten from farms in Suffolk and Norfolk.

MORE: Make our retro chocolate lime lollies

At my local Co-op the berries come from Lodge Farm in Lindsey. Their scent as you walk in the store is inescapible, luring you over to the fruit and veg aisle.

Of course they're amazing on their own or with a dollop of cream or sugar. But my absolute favourite way to indulge in strawbs is marinating them in a couple of tablespoons each of balsamic vinegar and golden caster sugar. The result is perfumed, sweet and beautiful. This method makes even woolly old strawberries taste magnificent.

I'm also quite partial to a strawberry mousse and this one is extra special. It's made super quick with marshmallows, meaning pregnant women and those who can't usually eat raw eggs can tuck in too.

Strawberry mousse with basil shortbread

Ingredients

400g strawberries, 2tbsps caster sugar, 300g mini marshmallows, 400ml double cream

For the shortbread: 125g butter, 50g caster sugar, 100g rice flour, 80g plain flour, 2tbsps finely chopped fresh basil

Method

Blitz the strawberries in a food processor with the sugar until very smooth then sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds. Melt the marshmallows on a low heat in a pan with 4tbsps water. then mix with the strawberries.

Allow to cool.

Whip the cream then fold into the strawberry mix and place in the fridge for one hour to set.

For the shortbread cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Sieve in the flours and add the basil and bring together into a dough. Wrap then place in the fridge for 20 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 190C.

Roll out to 3-4mm thick and cut into shapes (I chose hearts). Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden and firm.

Serve the shortbread with the mousse.

For the latest recipes, reviews and food news visit our dedicated foodie Facebook pages Eat Norfolk and Eat Suffolk.