ELDERFLOWER MOJITO

If you're blessed with an abundance of elderflower in your garden, on your street, or just in your area, then I highly recommend making it into an elderflower cordial. So you can make a Friday night mojito, of course.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 1 serving, with leftover syrup

Ingredients

4 lime wedges
40 ml elderflower cordial
50 ml good-quality white rum
10 mint leaves
ice smaller cubes are better here!
soda to top

Elderflower cordial

800 g caster sugar
2 lemons
30 heads of elderflower
1 tsp citric acid

Instructions

Start with making the elderflower cordial. Combine the sugar and 1.2L of water in a large saucepan. Gently bring to a simmer over a medium heat, and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 minutes.
Use a speed peeler to peel the zest from one of the lemons into long strips, then juice both. Add the zest and juice of the lemons into the pan, along with the elderflower heads and the citric acid. Give everything a good stir, then cover the pan with a lid and let it rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours to let the elderflower flavour infuse into our sugar syrup (further towards 48 hours is ideal!).
When you are ready to decant, place a muslin cloth into a sieve over another pan, and slowly pour your cordial through it to catch all the flowers. Give the muslin cloth a little squeeze, then you can discard everything within it. Transfer the cordial into a glass bottle and store in the fridge for up to three months, to use however you wish. I like to use it for cocktails… as below.
To make your mojito, muddle the lime wedges with the elderflower cordial at the bottom of your glass, to release the lime juice. Add the white rum and mint leaves, and give them a gentle muddle too, to help release their flavour. Fill the glass with ice, and finish by topping with soda water. Garnish everything with a sprig of elderflower, or mint.

Recipe Notes

Elderflower cordial recipe edited from a Riverford one!