Blackberry and Apple Pudding

A simple tray bake using autumn fruits to create a warming pudding. If you've been blackberry picking and have some windfall apples to use up, so much the better.

This is a pudding version of the Dorset Apple Cake recipe with the addition of blackberries and a crunchy sugary topping.

This is from my mother's recipe book with instructions for baking it in an Aga cooker. I have adapted it for an electric oven and omitted the pecans. I also served it with whipped cream, as it was easier and there were no instructions for making the recommended sauce!

75g unsalted butter, softened

225g golden caster sugar

2 eggs, beaten

150g self raising flour, sieved

½ tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

4 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used Bramley apples)

150g blackberries

Extra caster sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 160ºC.

Lightly grease and line a small roasting tin or dish, approximately 35cm x 23cm x 5cm.

Sieve the flour and mix in the nutmeg and a pinch of salt.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, adding a little flour in between the two. Then add the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix everything together. Lastly, fold in the chopped apples and two-thirds of the blackberries.

Pour into the prepared tin and level out. Sprinkle over the remaining blackberries and some caster sugar and put in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Also good with custard!

Chocolate Marquise

Sounds posh and it is posh! But it's so easy to make and has a definite wow factor! A rich mousse-like chocolate dessert that requires no baking. Made in a loaf tin, it is refrigerated overnight and served in slices with your choice of fresh fruit.

225g dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter

175g icing sugar

3 eggs

½ tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water

Line a loaf tin with cling film.

Sieve the icing sugar. Separate the eggs.

Break the chocolate into a small bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Melt and stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and icing sugar until pale. Add the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the coffee, and then the melted chocolate. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold one third into the chocolate mixture to lighten it (I used a metal spoon for this), then fold in the remainder making sure you combine everything together. Pour it into your lined loaf tin and spread out evenly. Put it into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Sauce

150ml water

100g caster sugar

50g cocoa powder

Put the water and sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, add the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Take it off the heat and allow to cool before putting it into the fridge to chill overnight.

The next day, lift the marquise from the loaf tin and invert onto a plate. Discard the cling film. Leave to stand for about half an hour and then cut into slices. Dip your knife in hot water to make slicing easier. Serve with a spoonful or two of the chocolate sauce.

The printed recipe shown here, found in my mother's book, serves this with glazed apricots steeped in rum which sounds wonderful. I just added a few strawberries for a bit of colour and to cut through the rich chocolate.

I also used a 900g (2lb) loaf tin which made the marquise quite shallow. I didn't mind this as it gave a smaller portion size which will suit some for this rich chocolate dessert.

If you want a larger and deeper slice, use a 450g (1lb) loaf tin.

Enjoy!

Custard Tarts

In Portugal, these are known as Pastéis de Nata, those wonderful small custard tarts made with crisp, flaky pastry encasing a delicious baked custard.

This recipe is from my own collection. It has been stuck on the fridge for years and I finally decided to give it a go. I used ready-made puff pastry as suggested.

A sheet of puff pastry

100g caster sugar

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp cornflour

250ml milk

200ml single cream

½ a vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract

Icing sugar to dust the pastry

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Grease a 12 hole muffin tray or cake tin.

Take your pastry out of the fridge about an hour before you want to use it, to allow it to soften slightly.

Unroll it and dust with icing sugar. Now roll it back up into a tight log and using a sharp knife, cut it into 12 rounds.

Sprinkle some icing sugar onto your board and using a rolling pin, dusted with icing sugar, roll each circle flat to roughly 11cm across.

I used the rolling pin to start with and then used my fingers to stretch the pastry, in a circular motion, until I'd got the right size for the tin. Mold the circles into your muffin tray and put them into the fridge.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until creamy.

Mix the cornflour with a little milk (taken from the 250ml) and whisk into the yolks.

Heat the single cream, milk and vanilla in a saucepan until nearly boiling. Take out the vanilla pod (if using) and whisk slowly into the yolks. Then pour back into the saucepan and heat gently, stirring continuously, for about three minutes. It will thicken.

Ladle or spoon into the pastry cases to about three quarters full.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

I made these twice, once in small cake tins and once in a muffin tray. A word of warning -

do not overfill with the custard or they will overflow! My attempts did, both times, so I simply trimmed off the excess custard with a knife. Always a solution and I'm not sure my family were any the wiser ...