Blackberry jelly

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Home-made blackberry jelly in jars | H is for Home

Wild fruit has been bountiful this year. During the month of August we foraged over 4 kilos of blackberries. We could have had much, much more; but it was all we could fit in our freezer. Besides, we didn’t want to be greedy – we left lots for other people and hungry birds.

We make blackberry jelly and mixed berry jelly every year; along with a few jars of wild raspberry jelly if we harvest enough of those. Blackberry jelly isn’t the kind of thing you can normally pick jars up of in the supermarkets. I’ve no idea why, it’s dark and delicious and doesn’t cost much to make. All you have to fork out for is some white sugar and a few lemons!

I normally use a recipe in my old Cordon Bleu Preserving recipe book, but this time I found the dead easy Quick Bramble Jelly recipe in Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course.

Next week Thursday, our Cakes & Bakes post will be about what we’ve been eating our jelly with… stay tuned!

Blackberry jelly

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo blackberries
  • 1 kilo granulated sugar
  • 3 lemons un-waxed

Instructions
 

  • Rinse & drain the blackberries in a colander in the sink
  • Put the berries into a heavy-based saucepan or preserving pan with 400ml/14 fl oz of water and cook on a low heat with a lid on for 20-25 minutes
  • Occasionally give them a mash to reduce them to pulp and squeeze as much juice out of them as possible
  • Still on a low heat, add the sugar and squeezed lemons (the entire lemon - seeds, juice and actual lemon!) to the pan and stir until all the sugar has dissolved completely (about 10-15 minutes)
  • Turn the heat right up and boil fairly rapidly for 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent it from sticking to the base of the pan
  • Carefully pour or ladle the blackberry mixture into a jelly strainer set over a large heat-proof bowl or saucepan (you could also use a square of muslin set into a strainer over the bowl/saucepan)
  • Using a wooden spoon, get all the liquid through as quickly as possible, squeezing the remaining pulp as much as you can - but do be quick, as the jelly sets if you take too long (if it does begin to set before you've had a chance to put it into the jar, just gently reheat it)
  • Decant the jelly into sterilised jars, cover with waxed discs and allow to cool before screwing the lids down tightly
  • The jars should store for a year or more
Keyword blackberries, jelly, preserves

Cakes & Bakes: Rhubarb and berry shortcake pie

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Rhubarb and berry shortcake pie | H is for Home #recipe #rhubarb #baking #pie #shortcake

We have a rhubarb plant growing in a dolly tub our garden that hasn’t done at all well this year. The stalks normally stand tall and to attention but they seem to have lost their va va voom. They’re thin and bendy from the weight of their huge leaves. I decided to chop them all down today in the hope that they’d revive with more vigour next year.

We also still have an ice cream tub full of frozen blackberries that we picked late last summer. We kept some back when we did our jam & jelly making to use in compotes, crumbles etc. Ripening fruits are already in evidence on this year’s bushes so I thought I’d clear out the freezer in readiness for the new crop.

I found and adapted a rhubarb, blueberry and strawberry shortcake pie recipe found in Pie: Delicious sweet and savoury pies and pastries from steak and onion pie to pecan tart by Dean Brettschneider. It’s very much like a cobbler and is delicious hot or cold with vanilla ice cream, cream or – my favourite – a dollop of Rodda’s classic Cornish clotted cream!

Rhubarb and berry shortcake pie | H is for Home #recipe #rhubarb #baking #pie #shortcake

Rhubarb and berry shortcake pie

Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • For the shortbread
  • 125 g butter softened & cubed
  • 125 g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 225 g plain flour
  • 25 g cornflour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • For the filling
  • 3 –4 stalks rhubarb
  • 3 tbsp Demerara sugar
  • 250 g fresh or frozen blackberries
  • 125 g fresh or frozen blueberries
  •  
  •  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF/Gas mark 6
  • Line a shallow 20–22cm round cake tin or flan dish with baking/parchment paper
  • Put the cubed butter and caster sugar into a medium mixing bowl and, using a hand-held electric whisk, combine until light and fluffy
  • Add the egg before sifting in the flour, cornflour and baking powder. Combine until just mixed
  • Press the dough evenly over the bottom of the tin/dish
  • Set aside the remainder of the dough, covering it with cling film
  • Trim & slice the rhubarb before putting it into a large, non-stick frying pan
  • Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar
  • Put the pan over a low heat shaking the pan occasionally, until fruit is almost tender
  • Add the blackberries & blueberries to the rhubarb, gently mix for a few seconds before turning off the heat and allowing the fruit to cool
  • Spread the lukewarm fruit over the shortbread base before carefully dabbing pinches of the leftover dough over the top, allowing a little of the fruit to peep through
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the shortcake top turns golden brown
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack and then onto a serving plate
  • Sprinkle the top with icing sugar, slice and serve!

Cakes & Bakes: Apple & blackberry pie

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apple & blackberry pie with a slice removed

Every year around this time we are given a bucketful of home-grown apples from the neighbour of Justin’s parents. Because they’re generally tiny and malformed I’ve usually turned them into apple cheese (no peeling, no coring).

red, vintage wire bucket filled with small, misshapen apples

There were about half a dozen biggish ones this year, so I combined them with some of the remaining bramble offerings that I had stored in the freezer and made an apple & blackberry pie. I may have confessed in some previous post that I’m not the greatest pastry maker – but I was going to give it another go!

Home-made apple & blackberry pie with a slice removed | H is for Home #recipe #pie #applepie #fruitpie

Apple & blackberry pie

Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • For the pastry
  • 350 g/12oz plain flour
  • 80 g/3oz butter or margarine cubed
  • pinch of salt
  • 4-5 tbs cold water
  • For the filling
  • 450 g/1lb apples about 4 medium-sized apples
  • 225 g/½lb blackberries
  • 100 g/3½oz granulated sugar
  • For the glaze
  • 3 tbs milk
  • 25 g/1oz caster sugar

Instructions
 

  • Start by making the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, holding the sieve up as high as possible to give the flour an airing
  • Add the cubed butter/margarine to the flour
  • Using your fingertips, lightly & gently rub the pieces of fat into the flour, lifting your hands up high as you do this (again, to incorporate as much air as you can) and being as quick as possible
  • When the mixture looks uniformly crumbly, start to sprinkle roughly 4 tablespoons of cold water all over
  • Use a pastry blender or round-bladed knife to start the mixing
  • Carefully add more water as needed, a little at a time, then finally bring the mixture together with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough that will leave the bowl clean (if there are any bits won't adhere to it, you need a spot more water)
  • Divide the ball of dough in half and make 2 smaller balls
  • Put the balls into a zip-lock bag or wrap in cling film or foil and put them in the fridge for half an hour while you prepare the filling
  • At this point, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
  • Wash & drain the blackberries and peel & slice the apples into 1cm chunks. Mix them together and set aside until the pastry is ready to come out of the fridge
  • Lightly grease a pie/flan dish (I save my butter wrappers for just this job!)
  • Take one of the balls of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it's about 4cm/2 inches wider than the pie dish
  • Carefully lift the rolled out pastry onto the pie dish using your rolling pin. Press the pastry down gently into the pie and up the sides
  • Spoon the apples & blackberries onto the pastry and sprinkle the granulated sugar on top
  • Take out the other ball of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it is large enough to form a lid on the pie
  • Using a pastry brush, dampen the edge of the bottom pastry case with water
  • Fix the pastry lid into position pressing it very firmly all round
  • Trim the edges with a knife
  • You can use these trimmings to make shapes to decorate the top of the pie - just affix them with a little brushing of water
  • Brush the top of the pie with a little milk then sprinkle on a dusting of caster sugar which will give a crisp surface when the pie is baked
  • Make a small hole in the centre of the pie for steam to escape
  • Put the pie on to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes
  • Allow to cool a little on a wire rack, slice and serve
  • Serve with a little cream, vanilla ice cream or just on its own - although I think it's gorgeous with a dollop of clotted cream!