Nigel Slater’s recipes for lemon sherbet mousse cake, and cucumber and pea soup

A chilled green soup and light, zesty cake to serve on long, lazy summer afternoons

A long, lazy summer afternoon and I am making a cake. A citrus-scented summer cake, with layers of barely there sponge holding a deep and fluffy lemon mousse. I take my time, as I tend to do with cakes, and during the time the filling takes to set, I will make a soup of cucumber and green peas to eat chilled, the very essence of a summer’s afternoon.

There will be a few other plates on the table – crisp toasts with a cargo of roasted aubergine and basil, a jug of elderflower cordial, and wild strawberries from the garden – just a handful for each of us. Crimson fruits the size of Jelly Tots, tumbling on to a plate of strawberry leaves. The very best of summer days.