72 - Elderflower Foraging & Garden Bouquets / Spring in my French Countryside

Bonjour and welcome back, In today’s video I am foraging elderflower in the French countryside, making homemade elderflower liqueur, gathering garden bouquets and preparing an elderflower infused crème anglaise as early summer slowly settles in here in Charente Maritime. Thank you so much for spending these gentle seasonal moments with me Elderflower Liqueur Recipe (Makes approx. 1 litre / 34 fl oz) * Ingredients 300 ml spring water (1¼ cups / 10 fl oz) 300 ml dry white wine, such as Chardonnay (1¼ cups / 10 fl oz) 400 ml fruit alcohol / eau-de-vie (1⅔ cups / 13½ fl oz)   (or vodka as an alternative) 200 g brown sugar (1 cup / 7 oz) Juice of 1 lemon 12 elderflower heads Method Gently remove the elderflowers from the thicker stems. In a saucepan, heat the water and brown sugar until dissolved into a light syrup, let it completely cool. Pour the syrup over the elderflowers into a large jar. Add the white wine, fruit alcohol and lemon juice. Stir gently, seal the jar well and leave to macerate in a cool dark place for at least 1 month. Once ready, strain the mixture to remove the flowers and bottle the liqueur. Serve well chilled. Elderflower Infused Crème Anglaise * Ingredients 8 egg yolks 2 fresh elderflower heads 130 g sugar (⅔ cup / 4½ oz) 500 ml milk (2 cups / 17 fl oz) Method Carefully remove the tiny white elderflowers from the green stems, as the stems can be bitter. Bring the milk to a gentle boil, remove from the heat and add the elderflowers. Leave to infuse until the milk has completely cooled. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Strain the infused milk through a sieve, then slowly whisk it into the egg mixture. Return everything to a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The cream should never boil. Once the custard coats the back of the spoon, remove from the heat and continue stirring for a few minutes. Transfer to a cold bowl and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Delicious served with cakes, strawberries or simply on its own. ☕️ If you wish to show your support, you can buy me a coffee :) : https://buymeacoffee.com/frenchcountr... My Amazon Storefront : https://www.amazon.com/shop/audreyfit... Stay in My Airbnb : https://bit.ly/4fxFxg0 Join Me on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/audreyfitzj...