This is a column born of a hot kitchen and a little desperation. Even in springtime a rough and rowdy child will still melt, and every good thing you would want for a proper pudding, the flour and the sugar and the cream, has gone off the shelves entirely. What we do still have, thanks to a deep cold cellar, is ice, more of it than three children and one tired mother know what to do with. So I set myself a challenge, and I am pleased to report that a clever cook and a good block of ice can go a long way indeed. Here are five that my three children still beg for every afternoon.
Brindle Snow. Shave a block of ice as fine as you can with the back of a spoon, heap it in a cup, and pour over it a spoonful of Dorran honey loosened with a little warm water. My youngest calls it snow and eats it until her teeth ache and she cannot feel her nose.
Frozen Berry Crush. Mash a handful of whatever berries you can still find together with a spoon of honey, spread the pulp thin across a cold plate, and set it on the ice until it stiffens. Scrape it up in ribbons. It is tart and cold and gone in a minute, which is rather the point.
The Shaken Cream. If you can beg a cup of cream, seal it in a small jar with a little honey, pack that jar inside a larger one full of crushed ice and a good fistful of salt, and shake it, or hand it to a bored child and swear to them it is a game, until the cream sets soft. It is as near to true ice cream as this season will let us come.
Petal Cubes. Freeze a single berry, a mint leaf, or an elderflower into each cube of ice, and even a cup of plain cold water becomes something you can set proudly in front of a guest. It costs nothing and it charms everyone, which is my favourite kind of trick.
Cold Honey Cake. Should you be lucky enough to have a slice of honey cake going stale, do not despair of it. Wrap it, lay it on the ice overnight, and eat it cold the next day. It becomes a different cake entirely, dense and slow and, I will say it, even better than the morning it was baked.
Stay cool as you can, and if you find a sixth, you know where to send it.