Dessert

Blackberry Pavlova

/ Claire / Leave a comment

August is when the blackberries are ready and there are some epic ones this year – probably because of all the rain!

I love to go blackberry picking and I’m very happy its not been as hot as last year. I love blue skies, warm breezes, but NOT all the bugs that come with it!

I’m lucky to live very close to the river Trent where its quite rural and there are lots of hedgerows, full this year, of lovely, big blackberries.

I decided to have a go at making a pavlova with my harvest and fill it with whipped cream, lemon curd and the big juicy (washed!) blackberries. I soak my berries briefly in salt water and then rinse with lots more water to get rid of anything lurking in them…

Ingredients

5 egg whites – I use room temperature eggs
250g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1tsp of vanilla extract
Lemon – you can use vinegar too
1tbs corn flour
Filling:
500ml double/heavy cream
vanilla extract
Lemon curd
1-3 tbs sieved icing sugar
Blackberries
Mint and icing sugar to garnish

Method

Make sure the bowl and whisk are really clean and there are no bits of yolk in the egg whites. I rubbed the bowl and whisk attachment with half a lemon to make sure there was no grease residue and the acid helps stabilise the egg whites too.

Draw a circle on some baking parchment – I used a bowl that was around 6/7 inches and then turn it over so the pencil won’t end up on the pavlova. Pre heat the oven to 150°C fan/130°F

Place the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl and whisk until soft peaks

Then gradually add the sugar a spoonful at a time, giving it plenty of time to whisk into the egg whites.

Once the sugar is all in, the mixture will be full of volume and really glossy. Stop whisking and fold in the vanilla a teaspoon of lemon juice and corn flour – this will make the inside chewy and marshmallowy.

Use a little of the mixture to stick the paper to a baking sheet, this will not only stop it moving around when you shape the meringue, but also stop it blowing around in the oven and sticking to the pavlova

Spoon the meringue onto the baking parchment and using a palette knife or offset spatula, mould into whatever shape you like, leaving a dent in the middle for the filling to go into.

Bake for around an hour and don’t open the oven door. The surface will look dry and become crisp. After an hour, reduce the temperature to 120°C/250°F and leave it for another hour. Once this time is up, turn off the oven but leave the fan on, still not opening the door and leave again for another hour. Turn the fan off and leave it to fully cool, you can leave it overnight at this point.

It should be soft and a little chewy in the middle, but not wet and eggy! The centre will collapse a little which creates a pocket for all the berries and cream. Leave it on the parchment until you are ready to decorate as its quite fragile, mine has a few cracks.

To make the filling, whisk the cream, a tsp of vanilla and 1-2 tbs of icing sugar until it thickens into very soft peaks. Taste for sweetness and take care not to overwhip.

Take a couple of tablespoons of lemon curd and loosely fold into the cream so you have a marbled effect and gently pipe into the centre of the pavlova, along with a layer of berries, top with more cream and lots of blackberries, sprigs of mint and a light dusting of icing sugar.

Buckeyes

/ Claire / 1 Comment

We all love peanut butter in my house, especially Reece’s peanut butter cups.  Not overly keen on the chocolate though, sorry!  These are very similar to a peanut butter cup, but homemade and – well, nicer chocolate too!

Buckeyes2

I’ve seen buckeyes around on the internet for a few years now and they are traditional in Ohio as they resemble the buckeye tree nut – basically just like a conker.  They are traditionally served around Christmas time, so I thought I would have a go and bring buckeyes to the UK.

They are really easy to make and take no time at all to make a batch.  I have a double recipe here, which makes practically a whole tree full, but you can halve the recipe, or halve the dough, freeze it and make some another time.  They are really rich and indulgent, so you wouldn’t want to eat too many anyway, but great for a crowd.

Buckeyes3

I have used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate, but you could go all dark to offset the sugar a little if you wish.

Ingredients:
500g smooth peanut butter – I used Skippy
120g softened butter
pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla extract
450g icing sugar – seived
200g dark 70% chocolate
100g milk chocolate

Method:
Beat the peanut butter, butter, salt and vanilla in bowl until smooth. I use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but this is easily done by hand.

On low speed (and with a towel wrapped around the mixer) beat in the sugar until combined. You are looking for a fairly stiff and mouldable mixture that you can easily roll into balls without getting in a mess. If it looks too sticky, add in a little more icing sugar. Similarly, if it is too dry and turns into crumbs, add another spoon of peanut butter. Its a very simple mixture, you can’t really go wrong.

Taking around a tablespoon of mixture for each one, roll into balls and place on a non stick liner, or waxed parchment. Skewer each one with a cocktail stick and chill, or freeze until firm.

Buckeyes

When you are ready to dip, break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in the microwave, stirring the last few lumps in the residual heat to completely melt.

I like to transfer to a smaller bowl at this point as you want to dunk the balls to coat them.

Buckeyes1

Dip each ball into the molten chocolate and let the excess run back into the bowl and place back onto the non stick liner. As the peanut butter balls are so cold, the chocolate will set immediately and leave you with a nice, thin, crisp shell.

Buckeyes5

Finish coating all of the balls, tipping the bowl as the chocolate runs out and leave to set.

Pull out the cocktail sticks and leave the chocolate to completely set, before smoothing out the hole with a clean finger, or the back of a teaspoon.

Buckeyes4

I prefer them kept refrigerated, but you can place them into little paper cases in a festive box and give them as gifts.

Apple and Blackberry Cobbler

/ Claire / 1 Comment

The weather is getting cooler and the nights are starting to draw in, thoughts are turning to recipes baked with seasonal fruit and spices.

Apples and blackberries are a classic combination and I often make apple and blackberry pies and crumbles.  For a change, this is a cobbler and uses buttermilk and melted butter in the ‘cobbles’ which makes the topping very tender and moist.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler2

The sweet fruit and spices all baked together makes the kitchen smell wonderful.  The finished cobbler has sweet, juicy fruit on the bottom and the gently spiced topping is soft on the inside and a little crusty and golden on the top.  It’s the perfect alternative to a crumble or a pie and really easy to make.

Although the temptation is to dive straight in the finished pudding, it’s best to leave it to cool a little before serving as the filling is incredibly hot straight from the oven.

Filling:
3-4 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 punnet of sweet blackberries, washed
Juice of half a lemon
150g brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
A pinch of ground cloves
1tbs cornflour

Topping:
250g self-raising flour
150g butter, melted
240g buttermilk
100g sugar
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp cinnamon
A little melted butter for brushing

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F and butter a baking dish

Place the sliced apples, spices, cornflour, lemon juice and sugar in a pan and heat gently.  When the sugar has melted and the juices thickened a little, place into a bowl and gently stir in the blackberries.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler

Place into the buttered dish and prepare the topping.

For the topping, place the flour, salt, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and mix together.  Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted butter and buttermilk.  Stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler1

Using a medium-sized ice cream scoop, or two spoons, drop spoonfuls of the batter over the fruit and top with a little extra brown sugar.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler3

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the cobbler is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cobbles comes out clean.  When the cobbler is removed from the oven and still hot, brush the top with a little melted butter.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler5

This is best served warm and is good with ice cream, custard, whipped cream, or just on its own.  It’s also good cold the next day.

Apple Blackberry Cobbler4