What a scoop!: Elderflower, cucumber and gin granita

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What a scoop!: Elderflower, cucumber and gin granita

By Jacob Kennedy

Published: | Updated:


This is a very English granita, if such a thing is not contradictory – three flavours that, above all, scream of Queen and Country.

MAKES about 1 litre and SERVES 5–8

4 large cucumbers

100ml gin

75ml elderflower cordial

180g caster sugar

possibly a little water

  • Juice the cucumbers (with their skins): if you have a juicer, so much the better. If not, grate them finely or purée them in a food processor, then strain through a sieve or muslin into a bowl, twisting and squeezing hard to extract all the juice.
  • Stir together the cucumber juice with the gin, elderflower cordial and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Check the volume is a litre – if it’s short, make it up with water.
  • Transfer the mixture to a wide dish and put it in the freezer. Once it starts to freeze at the edges, every 10-15 minutes stir it with a fork or whisk it, until the mixture is almost completely frozen and icy (this will take a long time – perhaps 4 hours). It is ready to serve in this slightly wet, slushy state.
  • To keep it longer, let it freeze solid, and take it out to thaw for 20 minutes or so, breaking it up with a fork before serving. (Chill your serving glasses for at least 20 minutes in the freezer before you serve.)