Sloe Gin Remove the stalks and leaves from the Sloes and put them in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer overnight. Give them a light roll with a rolling pin while still in the bag and decant into a bottle using a funnel. Add the sugar and then the gin using the funnel. “Give the bottle a good shake every day for three weeks”. Justin says, “After three weeks, allow the sloe gin to settle for a couple of days without shaking, then decent into a clean bottle through a sieve. You can keep the sloe gin for a year, but it’s a great drink at Christmas time. Hedgerow Martinis “When using the cocktail shaker, always avoid trying to make too much in one go, as overfilling the cocktail shaker means it doesn’t mix well” Justin Advises. “Mixing two martinis per cocktail shaker works best. Put all the ingredients (except for the frozen blackberries) into the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Chill the Martini glasses by putting them in the freezer or leave a few lumps of ice in them for a few minutes. Pour the Hedgerow Martini through a cocktail strainer into the glasses. Garnish with one frozen blackberry per martini glass. And enjoy!

Lay the raspberries out flat on a dish. Sprinkle on the caster sugar and allow to macerate for 1 hour. If you are using frozen berries this should be long enough for them to defrost. Puree the fruit in a liquidiser or blender. Pass the puree through a sieve to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds. Gently fold in the whipped cream. If you wish to create a ‘swirly’ effect just be a little light handed with the folding in of the cream. The fool is now ready to be served or can be chilled for serving later. Serve with shortbread biscuits. Jane’s Biscuits (Shortbread Biscuits): Put the flour and sugar into a bowl, rub in the butter as for shortcrust pastry. Gather the mixture together and knead lightly. Roll out to 1/4 inch (7mm) thick. Cut into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6cm) cutter or into heart shapes. Bake in a moderate oven 180°C/350ºF/Gas Mark 4 to pale brown, 8-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the biscuits. Remove and cool on a rack. Serve with fruit fools, compotes and ice creams. Note: Watch these biscuits really carefully in the oven. Because of the high sugar content they burn easily. They should be a pale golden – darker will be more bitter. However if they are too pale they will be under cooked and doughy. Cool on a wire rack.