Blackberry Season; Apple, Blackberry and Nutmeg Tray Bake

It's definitely Autumn, and apart from a few scattered days of sunshine, it definitely feels like it. I've been back in Cheshire for the weekend, where my mum's vegetable patch has been (mostly) ready to harvest.

And it is blackberry season!

So I thought I would give you a few ideas of things you can do with blackberries this time of the year.

My mum grows loads of fruit and vegetables, but she just can't get rid of her apples quick enough. She even has a sign on the corner of the house advertising her free cooking and eating apples.

So this is my mum's amazing orchard. It has all types of trees and bushes, from cooking and eating apples, to plums and raspberries. Inside the fence is her vegetable patch where she grows pumpkins, squash, beetroot and potatoes, among other things like salad ingredients.

It's damson season and every year my mum likes to make damson gin for Christmas time. While we were out picking apples to refill the apple buckets, I also made a start on the vast number of damsons that are perfectly ripe.

So now back to the blackberries...

I headed out on my bike down the lane to try and find some blackberry bushes. A tip from my mum before I left was to avoid the blackberries close to the ground. Dogs pee down there so even though most of the best blackberries were down there when I went, I definitely avoided them!

This was my granny's vintage Raleigh bike and is in high demand from all her female grandchildren! We are currently 'looking after it'!

The blackberries are a bit smaller than the huge ones you get in the supermarket but so much sweeter, and free, of course!

By the time I was home after some intense blackberry picking, my mum had made good headway with an apple and blackberry tray bake. All we needed to add were the blackberries I had just collected.

And here's the recipe!

You will need;
140g unsalted butter, softened
140g golden caster sugar
1 egg and 2 yolks, beaten together
Half a tsp vanilla extract
100g self raising flour
100g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 large Bramley apple, about 200g (we picked this from the garden)
125g blackberries (picked by me!)

. Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan.
. Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm tin, leaving some overhang
. Using electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until very pale and creamy, then beat in the egg and yolk, followed by the vanilla
. Mix the flour, almonds, baking powder, nutmeg and a pinch of salt, then fold into a fluffy mix to make a very thick batter
. Fold in the sliced apple, then spoon into the tin and smooth over the top
. Scatter with blackberries and poke them in a little bit

. Bake for 45 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean

(FYI - we baked this in an Aga so it has gone a darker colour than it would do in a conventional oven)

Soooo delicious!

And with the distinct taste of nutmeg and gooey blackberries in the middle, it makes the perfect warm dessert with cream, or a great treat with a cup of tea.

Is there any fruit growing in your garden? Have you got any good ideas for me? Please let me know!

Enjoy x

Summer Berry and Soft Vanilla Sponge Cake

I have been desperately trying to hold onto summer. When it starts going dark before 9pm and sunglasses are no longer a commuting staple, you know the end of summer is here.

So it was Saturday and I had friends coming over for tea, and a hungry boyfriend soon to return from playing rugby, so thought I would try and crack the perfect vanilla sponge with home made berry coulis, vanilla buttercream and fresh berries.

It went down an absolute storm, and it was probably the most delicious cake I have ever made. I will make cupcake versions of it next time, perhaps with the coulis piped into the cakes, because unfortunately this cake was too big to be finished! 

To make this cake you will need;

330g plain flour, sifted

320g caster sugar

1 and a half tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

175g unsalted butter at room temperature

3 eggs

190ml whole milk

1 and a half tsp vanilla extract 

For the berry coulis you will need;

200g fresh raspberries and/or blackberries

50g caster sugar

50ml water

250g fresh fruit to decorate (I used strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)

For the vanilla buttercream you will need;

100g unsalted butter, softened

300g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

75ml double cream

To make the cake;

. Preheat the oven to 180C

. In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Beat in the butter until it is incorporated and the mixture appears to be evenly coated and looks like a fine crumble mix. This should take 2-3 minutes on a medium speed

. Add the eggs and beat them first on medium, then on high, until just incorporated

. Add the milk and vanilla and beat (again on medium, then high) until the mixture is smooth and combined; it will appear a bit lighter in colour and normally takes 2-3 minutes

. Divide the mixture between two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

For the buttercream;

. Beat the butter alone for 4-5 minutes on high speed

. Add the sugar, vanilla and cream and beat on a low speed to bring it together, then turn up and beat on high for another 2-3 minutes

For the coulis;

. Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized heavy bottomed plan and bring to the boil over a gentle heat, stirring continuously. Reduce to a summer and heat for 15 minutes, or until thickened

. Allow to cool, then transfer the coulis to a liquidiser or use a hand blender to puree. Finally pass it through a sieve, pushing through as much of the pulp as possible and discarding any seeds

To assemble the cake;

. Put a layer of buttercream on the flat side of one half of the cake. Cover it with some of the coulis and a small amount of fresh fruit

. Then put the top of the cake on, and top it with the rest of the buttercream, coulis and the fresh fruit.

Enjoy!

Street Feast, Dalston Yard

I have been wanting to go to Street Feast since the start of summer when it first opened. I haven't managed to find the time to go yet, so last night I dragged my boyfriend up to East London. I think he was more keen to come just to shut me up! However as always, it turned out to be an awesome evening.

It's starting to go dark at around 7.30/8pm now, so by the time we got there it was already pitch black, but definitely worth the effort to get to! It is based in Dalston Yard, surrounded by shipping containers and graffiti-covered walls. 

We grabbed a beer and an Aperol spritz (my new favourite summer drink) and headed round to look at the stalls, and with a very hungry boyfriend in tow, it wasn't long before we were making our first purchase.

Of all the things I imagined myself tucking in to last night, it definitely wasn't Egyptian street food.

Koshari Street have a shop near Leicester Square in London. We had a Koshari which has a base of rice, lentils and pasta topped with a spicy tomato salsa, chickpeas, doqqa (a spice blend), da'a (not sure what this is!) and crunchy caramelised onions.

It had a heavily spiced flavour, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't until he had nearly finished the whole pot that I asked my boyfriend if he had missed the fact there was no meat in that dish, but it turns out he didn't even think about that until I mentioned it!

Next up it was my choice, and I am a sucker for Mexican food since travelling there 2 years ago and experiencing some amazing street food there.

Unfortunately they had no beef left, but they still had chicken left and I was far from disappointed. It was absolutely delicious marinated pulled chicken on mini nachos, with salsa, grated cheese, chilli drizzle, mango salsa and sour cream, topped with a couple of slices of fresh radish.

There really isn't much more I can say apart from that they were absolutely spectacular. They had a real hit to them from the chilli sauce, but I wouldn't change that! I did think the price was quite steep at £5 for 2, but after tasting them it was well worth it. I even got a congratulatory comment from my boyfriend on my choice here!

However, he had chosen a small dish of the Egyptian street food to make sure he still had room for something else later. As he is a sucker for spicy food, we headed to Mamas Jerk Station.

Only an idiot tells a Jamaican man he likes it HOT. And that is exactly what my boyfriend did.

After 2 bites, he had to have a sit down. Another 2 bites later he was walking around, and the sweating had begun. By the end he was absolutely gagging for ice cream! I am going to write a review from what he said, as I was too petrified to try it after what it had done to a spice-fiend!

The taste was epic, and everything he wanted it to be. Sweet, succulent chicken, salad and hot sauce, with a dash of mayo. He said the kick came after each mouthful had been swallowed, so hopefully his account of how great it was isn't hindered by his burning mouth!

I am super keen to try Mama's Jerk Station, but perhaps not with as much hot sauce! The queue was really long for the whole evening, so I think that definitely says something about how great the chicken is there.

I'm really glad I finally got to go, but I was slightly disappointed as I was REALLY in the mood for a burger, and there were none there last night. 

Other dishes on offer were BBQ'd meat from The Suya Man, pulled pork rolls from The Joint, burritos from Burrito Mama, pizzas from Born Raised (and cooked in an oven in the back of their Land Rover Defender), and hot dogs from Dogtown Hot Dogs. 

Unfortunately I didn't get to try as much food as I had liked, as this usually happens when there is a bigger group of people and we can all try each others.

However, a really enjoyable evening, sitting around wood burners and chatting, with a great atmosphere and good music.

2 Weeks of Eating Out

 So my blog posts haven't been very consistent recently, but to be honest, I haven't taken enough photos to warrant blog posts for everything I've been up to. Here is a post about a few places I have been to recently.

(Just a warning that I haven't had my usual camera on me for these trips, so the quality of the photos isn't as good as normal!)

  Cafe Fleur, Wandsworth

This cafe is owned by a friend of a friend, and it is newly opened. It is nestled on a street corner in Wandsworth, and is the perfect place for a delicious breakfast or a lunch with friends.

There are a huge range of dishes on the menu, from full blown breakfasts, to salads and sandwiches, and a hot dish of the day, or tea and cakes.

I had a gorgeous 'Power Salad' with betroot, spinach and gorgonzola with a honey dressing. A great lunch, and it was followed by the gigantic slice of rocky road at the top of this post! Amazing.

It's conveniently placed for local schools, businesses and the 'yummy mummies' of Wandsworth. It has a great atmosphere and will definitely be going back soon!

Next I've been at Pizza East with a big group of friends, sipping on cocktails and eating pizza, of course. Espresso martinis are my favourite, and in my books almost any occasion calls for one!

We had a super delicious sharing plate of burrata, swiss chard and olives. Delicious creamy cheese, perfect for dipping pizza crusts in.

And we then cracked on to the passionfruit martinis which were so delicious we ended up having 4 each... Oops.

Although I won't rant and rave about the pizzas, the cocktails are amazing here. I love going and sitting at the bar area and drinking cocktails and ordering small platters to share.

Finally, I organised for a group of us from work to go to Trishna, in Marylebone. It is a michelin-star Indian restaurant, and it was really fantastic food. Having travelled around India, I am definitely a huge fan of Indian cuisine, and this meal ticked all the boxes for me.

We had a set 5-course menu, which consisted of prawn tempura, duck rolls with mango puree, sea break in a coriander marinade, paneer tikka (above - incredible) or duck curry, and cardamom rice pudding.

The sea bream was definitely one of my favourite dishes. It was perfectly cooked and light and fresh. I could eat this over and over again!

The paneer tikka (2 pictures above) was surrounded with one of my favourite vegetables - sweet corn. It was absolutely delicious, and there was dahl on the table too, which was a great surprise as I love dahl.

Finally, we had a choice of mango sorbet, or cardamom rice pudding. The rice pudding had to be tried, and it was cold which surprised us, but still exceeded our expectations. Scattered with crushed pistachios, it was a nice light ending to what had been a pretty epic meal!

If anyone has any recommendations for me in London, I have a group from work and we go out for dinner quite often. There are about 15-20 of us, and we love trying new places in London, so please do let me know any suggestions!

Mallorca Part 2

The rest of the holiday in Mallorca was pretty amazing. People came and went, and the wedding party arrived in full force. So here's a little slice of some of the rest of my Mediterranean holiday.

Drinking

'Why do people chooses to adulterate fine spirits? For variety's sake. It's the very spice of life'... is the motto from Hemingway.

Caipirinhas (and passionfruit daiquiris) at Hemingway Mixologist on Carrer de Fabrique in Palma

Evening beer and rose with the sunset (Spoon, Puerto Portals)

Seafood

Sea bass cervice with avocado, tomato, red onion, coriander and sweet corn paste with vegetable crisps (Duke, Palma)

Smoked salmon parcels with potato rosti (Spoon, Puerto Portals)

Spiced tuna tartar with avocado (Wellies, Puerto Portals)

 Meat

My favourite; beef carpaccio with parmesan and rocket salad (Spoon, Puerto Portals)

 Herb crusted rack of lamb with red wine jus (Spoon, Puerto Portals)

Prime t-bone steak fillet (Wellies, Puerto Portals)

My hangover cure; chilli con carne nachos with cheese, salsa and guacamole (Diablito, the best pizza place, Puerto Portals)

Tapas

Padron peppers coated in salt

Dates wrapped in bacon

Sitting in the famous tapas square in Palma. 6 different restaurants in a tiny square all competing with one another for business

And of course, freshly baked bread, home made aioli and green olives.

It was a long trip, but a really great one. I explored a lot more of Palma than I had previously, even if I did head back to my favourite restaurant, Duke, a few too many times! It just has a great atmosphere, friendly staff and great value, tasty food. The brothers who own it have travelled the world and there are dishes from every different culture on their menu.

Spoon in Puerto Portals was a real treat, and as it is new we hadn't had the chance to try it yet. The food and service were great, even if she did push the sales of limoncello at the end of the meal...

Hemingway cocktails really were spectacular. They had strong flavours, and the choice was extensive. The tapas choice there was excellent and we loved the pork belly and cod-stuffed baked red peppers, but the main courses did let us down slightly.

Much as I have loved the most difficult choice of the day in Mallorca to be where to eat dinner, I know I have definitely eaten well the last 2 weeks, and I am quite looking forward to cooking again!

A great trip, great food and great company.