Strawberry & baba dessert

• Mix the water with the sugar and heat it up to dissolve the sugar.
• Once dissolved turn off the heat and let it cool down in your fridge.
• Meanwhile clean enough lilac flowers for 50 grams. You only what the flowers and not the green stems. These are bitter, so be sure to double check them.
• Once the sugar water has cooled down add the lemon juice and the 50 grams of lilac flowers. Make sure all the flowers are submerged in the sugar water and then let it infuse for at least 24 hours in your fridge.
• The next day you can drain the syrup on a fine sieve. Be sure to let it drip for at least 30 minutes so you don’t waste a single drop. Keep it in your fridge for later. 

• Spread the flowers on an oven tray and let them dry at 45 °C.
• Give it a little mix every now and then to prevent them from sticking to each other. The drying process will take a couple of hours. I always leave them for at least 10 hours to insure all the moisture is gone.
• Once they’re dried I covered them with a strawberry powder. Now keep them dry and airtight for later.

• The pine blossoms season is short, but so worth it and very easy to prelong by pickling them. You want to pick them before they start to open up and release the pine pollen. Just give the branch a slight tap to double check this. If the yellowish pollen comes off just leave the branch alone. Just pick the ones that are still closed and packed with flavor!
• Now fill up a preserving jar with the pine blossoms.
• Then mix the white wine vinegar with the water and the sugar. Bring this to a boil.
• Once it’s boiling turn off the heat and then directly pour it on the blossoms. Insure everything is submerged.
• Then close the jar with a sealing ring and turn it around. Let it cool down out of the fridge. After that you can keep it closed in your fridge for many months and once opened for a couple of weeks.
• Just before serving I slice them in half so it's not overpower if you eat multiple in one bite. 

The baba dough

• Mix the milk with the cane sugar and the dry yeast. Mix it well and then heat it up till it’s 30 °C.
• Mix the flour with the salt and the egg. Start mixing it on a medium low speed and then also add the yeast mixture. Continue kneading the dough for 10 minutes on a low speed, so a lot of gluten can form.
• After that add the butter and knead it till all the butter is incorporated. Now transfer the dough into a bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 8 hours in your fridge.
• Once it’s well rested dust some flour on your worktop and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough till it’s a centimeter thick. Then cut it with a big cutter and cut the center with a small cutter. Now spray a thin layer of baking spray in a couple small savarin tins. Place the dough in the tins and gently press it down to insure they proof evenly.
• Then cover it with another tray and let it proof till doubled in size. I do this at 25 °C.
• Once doubled in size bake them at 180 °C for around 8 to 9 minutes till golden brown. After that take them out of the oven and let them cool down before taking the baba’s out of the baking tins. 

The rum syrup

• Mix the lilac syrup with the rum and place your baba’s in there. Let them soak for 15 seconds before soaking the other side for 15 seconds as well.
• Then take them out and keep them in your fridge for later. You’ll end up with a beautiful moist baba, so good!

• First we need to clean enough strawberries for 500 grams. You can also use frozen strawberries, but when in high season the price is actually cheaper then frozen.
• Slice the 500 grams of cleaned strawberries in four and transfer them into a pan. Also add the syrup or sugar. Now cover the pan with a lid and heat it up on a low heat for about an hour. You’ll end up with a beautiful broth and soft strawberries floating in there.
• After that pass the broth through a sieve that’s lined with some kitchen paper and let it drip for at least 30 minutes so you don’t waste a single drop.
• You can season the soft drained strawberries with a touch of lime zest. The texture is great and it’s a lot like a strawberry compote. Give it a good mix and then it's ready to be used.
• Now pour the strawberry broth into a pan and add a gram of agar powder for every 100 grams of broth. I had 300 grams, so I added 3 grams of agar powder. Give it a good mix and then bring it to a boil for at least 30 seconds.
• After that pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge.
• Then transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth.
• Once you have a smooth gel you can pour it into a bowl and vacuum the gel a 100% to remove any air bubbles. This will result in a clear gel with a more intense flavor.

• Mix the milk with the cream and the sugar. Then cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add both the empty pod and seeds to the pan and then bring this to a simmer on a medium heat.
• Meanwhile mix the egg yolk with thecornstarch . Give it a good mix till it’s a smooth mixture.
• Then slowly while stirring add the hot vanilla liquid to the yolks. As you can see I put a kitchen towel underneath to bowl to prevent it from spinning around.
• Now pour it back into the pan and while stirring cook it till the cream has thickened.
• Then pour it into a bowl, cover it with some wrap and let it cool down in your fridge.
• Once it has cooled down you can remove the empty vanilla pod and give it a final mix to create a lovely smooth and thick cream. Now transfer it into a piping bag and keep it in your fridge for later.

• First lay a piece of plastic foil on a tray and flatten it. Now soak the gelatin in cold water.
• Mix the cream with the sugar and start beating it with a whisk. The consistency needs to be a bit thinner than normal yoghurt.
• Now transfer the 60 grams of Greek yoghurt into a pan. Then cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the pan and slowly heat this up till steam starts to form.
• Once that’s the case turn off the heat and dissolve the gelatin. Now add the 150 grams of Greek yoghurt to the pan and mix it well. The second quantity of yoghurt will cool everything down and your gelatin will start to work instantly.
• Directly while mixing add it to the whipped cream and fold everything together to create a light airy mousse.
• Transfer the mousse into the tray that’s lined with plastic foil and level it using a pallet knife. Now tap the tray a couple of times and then let it set in your fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Then let it freeze for about an hour. It should not be a 100% solid.
• Now take the mousse out of the freezer and cut it with a big round cutter. If the mousse is already too hard let it defrost for a couple of minutes.
• Then keep them covered in your freezer for later. I serve them defrosted and this takes around 20 minutes. 

• First place the baba in a bowl or glass and drizzle some of the baba syrup on top. I’ve cut of the top so the baba would fit my glass.
• Fill the middle with the strawberry compote and pipe the vanilla cream on top. Then drizzle the strawberry gel on there.
• Place the yoghurt mousse on top and let it defrost for around 15 minutes.
• Once it’s defrosted pipe some of the gel on there and decorate it with the pickled pine blossoms, some fresh lilac flowers and the crispy lilac flowers.