Apple and Blackberry Muffins

I love this time of year as it's the start of the blackberry season! Blackberry picking is something I've done ever since I was little. At my dads I used to climb over this stone wall beside our garden, where there were the BIGGEST blackberry bushes. The blackberries were so juicy but often hard to reach, so out came the ladders and most memories of blackberry
picking involve balancing and nearly falling off. Unfortunately, the bushes were inhabited by wasps so I occasionally got stung in the process. Luckily there are loads of places to pick blackberries where I live, including a few in the garden. So really there's no excuse not to pick any. It also means I can make lots of delicious bakes using hand picked blackberries to distract me from the prospect that summer is over and it's time for school again. Although as I'm moving on to college now, I'm actually quite excited! 

My first blackberry bake is apple and blackberry muffins, as both me and my mum LOVE this flavour combination and I wanted to surprise her after her first day back at work (she works in a school). I know, call me the perfect daughter.. This recipe is from Maria's blog: The Godess' Daughter. It's a beautiful blog with so many lovely recipes. I suggest you take a look! 

This is the first time I've used oil instead of butter and although I think it would work in a denser, more moist cake, I thought that it was a little heavy for muffins, which as Mary Berry would say, should have a good crumb. However I still loved them! 

I halved the recipe, expecting it to make 9, but instead it made 11. 

100g Blackberries

1 and a half Bramley Cooking Apples

1 Egg

120ml Milk

60ml Vegetable Oil (I used sunflower)

100g Caster Sugar (Although I think 120-130g could be used)

180g Plain Flour, sifted 

2 tsp Baking Powder (If your mixture is looking quite dense or overloaded with fruit, use 3 tsp)

Half a teaspoon Cinnamon

Half a pinch of Salt

Demerara sugar to top

Preheat the oven to 200oC and fill a muffin tray with muffin cases. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, milk, oil and sugar until they are well combined. Add the flour and sift in the baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly. 

Core and dice the apples into small pieces and stir into the mixture along with the blackberries. Spoon the mixture into the cases and fill then to two thirds full. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top of each muffin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave in their tray for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling wrack.

Happy Baking

x

Apple and Raspberry Meringue Pie with Sweetcrust pastry

Isn't this weather gorgeous?! With weather like this I think there's nothing better than fruity dessert to satisfy the taste buds- and this one is certainly full of flavour. It's a recipe from my favourite cookbook-Jo Wheatley A Passion for Baking- and as always Jo didn't let me down. Whilst looking back at some older posts I realised that my bakes weren't very adventurous with flavour so I've made a vow to start branching out with more flavoursome bakes, hopefully this is more interesting. I also love making meringue so this was my perfect summer bake!

For the the pastry you'll need:

225g Plain Flour, plus extra for rolling out

100g Unsalted butter or margarine

25g Icing Sugar

Pinch of Sat

1 egg yolk (reserve egg white for later)

3-4 tbsp Milk

If you have a food processor, put the flour, butter (diced), sugar and salt into the bowl and whizz with the pulse button until you have a breadcrumbs consistency. If like me you don't have a food processor, putt he flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Before hand, freeze your butter/ margarine and then grate it into the bowl and use the "rubbing in" method to create a breadcrumbs consistency. Freezing the butter helps to keep the the butter/margarine from melting too quickly whilst using your hands. Add the egg yolk and 2 tbsp of milk and whizz/mix until the dough comes together. You may need more milk if mixing by hand. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and work briefly into a ball. Chill in the fridge for approx. 20 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 190oC/Gas Mark 5. Roll our your pastry into a disc with a thickness of about 2mm. I used a 21cm tart tin but this recipe is for a 23cm one. Line the tart tin carefully, being sure to push the pastry into all the corners. Trim off any excess. Prick the base several times. Screw up some baking parchment to line the pastry tin and fill with baking beans. (Screwing up the parchment helps the beans to sit easier.) Bake for 20-25 minutes until pale golden. Reduce the oven to 170oC/ Gas Mark, remove the beans and parchment and bake for further 5 minutes. 

For the filling:

3 Medium-Large Bramley Cooking Apples, peeled and sliced

30g Butter or Margarine

185g Caster Sugar

Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

1 tbsp Cornflour

2 Eggs, separated

Egg white from Pastry

200-300g Raspberries

Meanwhile, add the apples, butter, 60g of the caster sugar and lemon juice and zest to a saucepan. Cook teh apples until they have become soft and puréed. Stir frequently. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Add the cornflour to the apple along with the two egg yolks. I found that there was a lot liquid with my apples so had to add a bit more cornflour. Beat until smooth and combined.

Spoon the apple into the pastry case and place the raspberries evenly on top. 

For the meringue, whisk the 3 egg whites in a clean, oil-free bowl until stiff. Gradually beat in the remaining 125g Caster Sugar, whisking well between each addition. The meringue should be stiff and glossy. Spoon the meringue on top of the apple and raspberries. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how cooked you liked your meringue. I cooked it for 15 minutes but the meringue was very soft. I would be inclined to cook it for longer at a lower temperature to get a crunchy outside and chewy middle. Make sure you leave the pie to cool and then chill in the fridge before serving. I was too hasty when eating mine, so the filling hadn't set properly! 

I'm entering this into Tea Time Treats held by Lavender and Lovage and What Kate Baked with this month's host being Karen at Lavender and Lovage. This months theme is fresh fruit! 

Happy Baking! 

x

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Strawberry Pavlova

Now if someone asked me what my favourite pudding was, it would be Strawberry Pavlova every time. It's perfectly summery and really tasty! Strawberries have always been one of my favourite fruit so I love nearly anything with them in and the crunchy meringue complements the softness of the cream and fruit. This was my first time at making meringue and was really happy at how it turned out. I'd always thought of meringue as a bit of challenge when people talk about "Stiff peaks" but now I love making it and am going to make a Lemon Meringue Pie for my Auntie at the weekend (post to follow!) And did you know that this pudding is originally from New Zealand- me neither! 

This recipe is from my Mum's trusty Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course.

You will need:

3 Large Fresh Egg Whites

175g (6oz) Caster Sugar

275ml (half a pint) Whipping or Double Cream (I used a 300ml pot)

Strawberries (Or any other fruit you want to add)

Preheat the oven to 150^oC/300^oF/Gas Mark 2.  Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper and grease lightly with oil/butter/margarine. 

Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. This will be when the mixture looks like it has little mountains in it. Start to whisk in the sugar, a little at a time until all the sugar is combined. By now the peaks will have become stiffer- when you tip the mixer upright, they should stand up. 

Spoon the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet forming a circle with a little dip in the middle. (This will be where the fruit sits) To make the meringue look decorative, you can take a skewer or fork and create swirls and peaks around the edge. 

Place the baking sheet in the oven and immediately turn it down to 140^oC/275^oF/Gas Mark 1 and leave to cook for an hour. After an hour turn the oven of but keep the meringue inside until the oven has completely cooled. This is to allow the meringue to completely dry out and can take from 2 hours. 

When the meringue is ready, gently peel it off the baking paper and put it onto the serving dish. In a bowl whip up the cream- personally I like it quite thick. Spread the cream onto the meringue and arrange the strawberries on top. Serve with a little icing sugar on top. 

Happy Baking! 

x

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I am entering this into my first Blog Event- Simple and In Season by Ren at Fabulicious Food. 

I am also entering this into Calendar Cakes by Dolly Bakes and Laura Loves Cakes because it's the perfect summer pudding! 

And into Let's Cook With Fruits by Simply Food

P.S Earlier on in August I went to the Bristol Hot Air Balloon Fiesta with my friend Sarah. (She also appears in Pretty Pink Wedding Cake) We saw some amazing sights but we particularly like the Churchill one! 

       

                

Saucy Lemon Puddings

The sun has got his hat on! Hip hip hip hooray! Finally, some well-deserved sun! Having broken up from school for 6 weeks now (lucky, I know) it was great to start off the holidays with such lovely weather. 

Now, I am someone who defiantly has a sweet tooth and I love my puddings. But in this heat, you don't often want a heavy, stodgy dessert to make you feel bloated. This pudding is perfect for that sweet summery satisfaction but without the guilty feeling after. It has a gorgeous saucy base with a light sponge topping so it feels satisfying and refreshing. 

For 4 puddings, You will need:

50g (2oz) Butter/Margarine
125g (4oz) Caster Sugar
Zest and Juice of 2 lemons 
2 Eggs, separated
40g (1½oz) Self Raising Flour, Sifted
300ml Milk
1 tbsp Icing Sugar


Preheat the oven to 180^oC/160^oC Fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease 4x200ml oven-proof dishes. 


Put butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the egg yolks and then fold in the flour. Stir in the milk and lemon juice.
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are softly peaking. Gently fold them into the mixture. 


Spoon the mixture into the greased dishes and stand them in a roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with boiling water until it reaches half way up the sides. Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden. Dust with icing sugar to serve. 


An alternate option is to use 1 lemon and 1 lime to give it a different citrus flavour! 

Happy Baking! 

x

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