The first local strawberries start to appear at the end of May or the beginning of June. My birthday is in early June and my mother always made a whicked sponge cake filled with whipped cream and fresh, locally grown outdoor strawberries. These days the strawberry season is longer but nothing beats local and preferably outdoor-grown strawberries.

There are many wonderful recipes to make and in my Summer Baking Class I will be making the most of summer fruits including making a Pavlova, a whisked sponge with strawberries and cream and a strawberry and lemon sorbet, a superb recipe form the River Cafe in London which was often on the menu in Summer when I worked there.

Strawberry Jam

And of course there is always Strawberry Jam, ideally made with outdoor-grown strawberries ( for many years I got mine from a man on the shores of Lough Neagh who sadly has stopped growing them now) and as my mother always says it must be made before July 12th as the strawberry season is traditionally then coming to an end. Homemade strawberry jam can be tricky but is worth the effort and my twin boys just love it.

You can find my recipe for whisked sponge cake with strawberries and cream which will feature in the Children’s summer baking class and the adult’s summer baking & desserts class.