There are loads of blackberries around at the moment and it’s a shame not to be using them. My girlfriend had me cleaning out the space behind our garden shed that I’ve been trying to ignore for ages. And lo and behold there was a massive bramble bush loaded with just ripe blackberries. I’ve now got a belly and freezer full of blackberries.
Ingredients
- 400ml double cream
- 250g blackberries
- 100g sugar
- 1 teaspoon icing sugar
- For the sugar thins; –
- 225g butter
- 225g caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 290g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
Method
- Cream the butter and sugar together, now add the egg, the baking powder. Beat for a few seconds and then add the flour and work together.
- Roll in to a 2 inch diameter roll, wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.
- Cut the sugar thin into 3mm thick slices, place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 160°c for 6-7 mins. Allow to cool slightly and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow 4 sugar thins per person.
- Whip the cream and half the sugar to soft peaks.
- Add the remaining sugar to the blackberries and lightly crush with a fork, now fold through the whipped cream.
- Spoon a little of the cream and berries on to a plate, place a sugar thin on top and lightly press down, repeat the process twice more, place a sugar thin on the top and dust with icing sugar.
From Jim Hamilton. Head Chef at the Kings Arms Hotel, Abergavenny.
