Food: In the pink

As the best varieties hit the shops, strawberries are stunning twinned with coffee – in a brûlée, a meringue cake or whizzed up in a smoothie

Strawberries with coffee may sound an unlikely combination to those as yet unaware of this dream marriage of tastes. It was very popular during the early 20th century, with just cause. These days, however, chocolate seems to have taken coffee's place – with, for me at any rate, a complete lack of appeal.

Chocolate accentuates the acidity of strawberries, which, in turn, negates the flavour of the chocolate. But coffee is a wholly successful accompaniment, in a range of different recipes.

Within days, the best strawberry variety, Jubilee, will be in fruit. It tastes as strawberries should taste and so rarely do. The indifferent Elsanta, sadly, is the prevalent variety stocked by most supermarkets. Ava is a good second to Jubilee, but I do urge you to check what variety is named on the punnet when you are buying, and be selective.

When it comes to coffee, the best complementary taste would be the latte strength rather than the espresso. And you can use this however you choose – coffee ice-cream with strawberries, for instance, or a coffee cake with a coffee glacé icing and filled with whipped cream and chopped strawberries.

For those conscious of their intake of animal fat, a coffee sorbet gently spiked with cinnamon and accompanied by sliced strawberries in a lightly spiced cinnamon syrup is very good. Here are three more ideas for maximising this combination of strawberries with coffee.

COFFEE AND STRAWBERRY BRULEE

SERVES 6

1lb/450g strawberries, chopped quite small
11/4 pints/710ml single cream
6 large egg yolks
3oz/85g soft brown sugar
2 fairly level teaspoons instant coffee granules
a tiny pinch of powdered cinnamon
12 teaspoons granulated sugar – I use golden granulated and golden caster

Divide the chopped strawberries between six ramekins. Heat the cream.

In a Pyrex bowl, beat the yolks with the soft brown sugar, coffee granules and cinnamon. Pour the hot cream onto the yolk mixture, mixing very well. Return the mixture to the saucepan and, over low heat, stir until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of your wooden spoon so that when you trace down the middle of the spoon with your finger, it leaves a clear path.

Pour this evenly over the chopped strawberries in each of the ramekins and set aside to cool.

When cold, scatter 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar on each ramekin to make an even coating atop the coffee custard. Heat a grill, put the ramekins under the pre-heated grill and watch like a hawk, until the sugar has dissolved and become a molten amber. Remove from the grill, and leave for several hours to cool to a crisp.

ALMOND MERINGUE WITH COFFEE ICING AND STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM

This is my version of the classic Japonais.

SERVES 6

6 large egg whites
12oz/340g caster sugar
4oz/110g whole or flaked almonds, dry-fried for several minutes to refresh their taste, then cooled and pulverised in a food processor until they have the texture of fine crumbs – this is so very much better than buying ready ground almonds

For the icing:

6oz/170g sieved icing sugar
1 level teaspoon coffee granules, mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water

For the filling:

1/2 pint/285ml double cream, whipped with
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8oz/225g strawberries, chopped quite small
6-8 strawberries, whole – preferably with their stalks and leaves on – to use as a garnish

First, make up the meringue. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl. Whisk until stiff, then, whisking continuously, add the caster sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking in each spoonful before adding the next. When all the sugar is incorporated, fold in the almond crumbs – easiest done using a flat metal whisk.

Either divide the meringue evenly between two marked circles on baking parchment-lined baking sheets, or pipe the mixture through a wide, plain bag nozzle into two circles. Bake in a low oven, 110C/225F/Gas Mark 1/4, for 21/2- 3 hours. Lift the meringue rounds carefully off each tray and cool, face down, on a wire rack.

For the filling, whip the cream, but not too stiffly, and add the vanilla extract and chopped strawberries. Put a blob of cream onto a serving plate – this serves as an anchor – and put one meringue round on this. Spread with the strawberry cream, then cover with the other meringue.

Make the icing by mixing two tablespoons of the coffee into the sieved icing sugar – you may need the third tablespoon. Spread this coffee icing over the surface of the meringue.

Put the whole strawberries around the edge of the meringue cake, stalks facing outwards.

Assemble the meringue cake four to five hours before serving, to make slicing it easier. A sharp serrated knife is the best cutting utensil.

COFFEE AND STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE

This is a luxurious drinkable feast.

SERVES 2

8oz/225g strawberries, chopped into a blender
2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream
1/4 pint/140ml boiling water, mixed with 1 rounded teaspoon coffee granules, then mixed into
1/4 pint/140ml milk

Whizz the strawberries, adding the vanilla ice-cream, then the coffee milk, and whizz till smooth. Divide between two glasses and drink or sip, appreciatively, straight away!