Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Amongst and under all the mint that has spread throughout the garden are last year's strawberry plants in flower and showing promise of another crop.

he luscious strawberry synonymous with the celebration season, floating in champagne or on top of homemade pavlovas seem to be in at the moment and I notice they sell out fairly quickly at the market every Sunday.

Lots of people I know are growing their own and unlike me are enjoying them already. With lashings of cream or ice cream and icing sugar, strawberries are the taste of summer for many of us and sometimes we just can't get enough. So with this in mind I thought it appropriate that I share an old favourite recipe from many years ago that still works for me to this day. You need a bit of time to make this, but it's a stunning dessert to bring out when everyone is celebrating summer.

Strawberry and vanilla custard pancake stack
Makes a cake that serves 12 people

Ingredients
Fresh strawberries – heaps of them, 3 to 4 punnets.

For the pancake
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 beaten eggs
2-3 cups milk
1 Tbsp melted butter

For the custard
1/2 litre of full cream milk
1 decent sized vanilla pod
150g castor sugar
8 egg yokes
1 Tbsp flour
Icing sugar for dusting

Method

Place the flour, salt in bowl, make a batter by forming a well in the middle of the flour and gradually adding the beaten eggs and milk. Add enough milk to from a thin batter, whisk well, add melted butter and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Cut the strawberries up while you're waiting.

Cook the pancakes as thin as you can by swirling the mix around the pan, cook ten about the size of a spring form cake tin – which you will need to make the stack/cake. Make the custard by heating the milk, half the sugar and the split vanilla pod. Slowly beat eggs slightly with remaining sugar and flour. When milk is nearly boiling add a little to the egg-flour mix then whisk. Add a little more then add all together, carefully stirring with a flat spatula on gentle heat, lift off heat and whisk well, back on heat, whisk once more then remove from heat. You will either have scrambled eggs or vanilla custard, usually if you are gentle with the heat success will ensure.

After the custard has cooled, but before it sets (about 10 minutes) assemble the stack in a spring form tin. Lay a layer of gladwrap over the tin then a pancake. Dot with custard, sprinkle with strawberries and dust with icing sugar. Continue until you have used all available strawberries or you think it's impressive enough. Top with a pancake then wrap up with glad wrap weigh down with a plate and a heavy weight. Chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving.