As you probably noticed, last week there were some general grumbles about blackberries and the system going down for a few days. This obviously wasn’t the best timing for them as it coincided with the launch of the new iPhone and the sad death of Steve Jobs, driving those who were undecided firmly into the apple camp. Glitches or no glitches.

It also got me thinking, why on earth is technology named after fruit? Something as highly functioning and complicated as computers and phones seems in direct contrast with the humble simplicity of fruit, no? Anyhow, after all this negative press i decided to get back to the roots of things, back in the word where apple and blackberries are the best of friends and nowhere is this more obvious than in the crumble. It’s getting to that time of year when things like crumbles almost become a necessity to ward off the cold, and with friends coming over for dinner, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to whack one out.

Apple and Blackberry Oaty Crumbles

Filling:

4 Apples

1 Punnet Blackberries

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp red wine

Topping:

6 tbsp flour

4 tbsp oats

1 tsp caster sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp unsalted butter

This is so easy and so quick so no excuses from anyone on this one please. First up, peel and core your apples and chop them into chunks about the same size as the blackberries. Toss them in a bowl together along with the sugar and red wine and give it a shake up.

Next up, for the topping, put all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut the cold butter into cubes and rub it into the dry ingredients like you would do with pastry. Divide the fruit between 4 ramekins and top with the crumble mixture.

Pop into a 180C oven for about 20-30 mins until the top is crisp and golden and the inside is bubbling up round the edges. And that is literally it, all that needs to be done now is to serve them up with a nice dollop of vanilla whipped cream and you’re good to go. Now you don’t have to but i had just purchased some rocket shaped lolly molds so i had to try them out. We happened to have some apple and ginger juice in the fridge so i just used that and hey presto, instant ice lolly. It wasn’t really necessary but it definitely added and element of fun to the dessert proceedings.

There’s something about the sun in London that makes you lazy, i think it’s that fact that it happens so rarely that makes you want to do nothing other than laze like a cat, sprawled under a tree somewhere. You dream of ice cold glasses of pimms and picnics in the park (which never focus as much on dainty sandwiches and strawberries as i’d like) and it’s the only time when the city seems to smile. Everyone seems desperate to cling onto the last hours of sun, knowing that soon, there’ll be nothing but dull grey skies to look at. Sadly i haven’t seen as much of it as i’d like as i’ve spent the week frantically unpacking and cleaning the flat but now that we’re settled in to the flat nicely (apart from the sofa, hurry up ikea) we thought it was about time to venture out and discover some of the local retaurants. First on our list was The Harwood Arms, as, somehow, we’ve managed to move somewhere where our local pub has a michelin star. This obviously had absolutely nothing to do with the appeal of our flat whatsoever….
Anway, on sunday, with the sun shining, off we toddled round the corner to sample some of our local’s delights, and i have to say, delights doesn’t even come close.

Frst up, we went for a round of the specal cocktals, Alex and i opting for a gin fizz and Genie, the earl grey martni.

The gin fizz was the resounding success of the two choices, a thirst-quenching blend of gin, elderflower, mint, lime and cucumber, all rounded off nicely with a good splash of soda. Just the ticket for such a hot day. The martini was good but took an absolute age to arrive due to the tea needing to brew and it was unanimously decided that, whilst good, it probably wasn’t worth the wait.

Talking of waiting, the bread we were given whilst we waited for our starters was seriously worthy of note, so much so that Alex has already requested i somehow try and recreate one of the breads, a kind of dense, seedy sodabread.

Whilst our staters weren’t speedy to arrive, when they did come, they were so delicious, i would have waited all day for them, definitely our favourite course of the day. Being a sucker for game in all shapes and forms, i went for the partridge and parsnip soup, which came with the delightful surprise of a large crouton topped with a parsnip puree and a perfect little partridge breast.

This was one of the best dishes i’ve had in a very long time, definitely something to return for.

Something else worth going back for and one of those things you wonder why no one has done it before was the snails. Perfectly cooked before being added back to their shells along with tender braised oxtail and a parsley crust, they were the best snails i’ve ever had and a great introduction to them if it’s something you’re a bit iffy about trying.

Alex went for the special, which i must admit i’m struggling to remember the exact details of. I remember a poached duck egg yolk and bacon, chantarelles and a griddled spring onion (ok, so i got some help from alex here), and i remember it being good, but not as good as the other two dishes.

Again, the main courses didn’t exactly fly out of the kitchen but i was fairly thankful for that as my soup was quite filling and i was glad to have some time to let it go down. Also, i don’t think any of us were going to complain after the success of the first course, we were just excited to see what would come next. Luckily we, and especially me, weren’t let down.

I was the only one who went for a meat option but i think that’s definitely the way forward. The fish was good but the meat was infinitely better. To be honest, i was lost the moment i saw the words ‘slow cooked lamb shoulder’. You can keep your legs and your racks, give me a bit of slow cooked shoulder and i’ll just about love you forever. Especially when you add a little pearl barley and a bit of black cabbage, i’ll be a happy girl.

Alex again went for the special, this time it was the gurnard. The main reason for this choice was that it was accompanied by a razor clam, something that will lure him in time and time again. This was basically the snazziest fish finger you’ll ever eat. That isn’t meant as a slight, i’m all in favour of revamping the classics, especially things we loved as children but should probably shun as adults in favour of ‘proper’ food.

It’s been a busy busy month, i know it’s no excuse, i’ve been totally useless but i’m making a resolution to be better, more reliable and to post at least once a week. This is my aim, and by golly, i’m going to try and stick to it. Once we’d sorted everything out for our flat, you know, all the fun stuff like references and deposits etc, we decided that the only sensible thing to do was have a quick escape to the bahamas for 2 weeks. This was partly because Alex had left all of his winter clothes there and was concerned that he would freeze to death on our first cold day. The main reason of course was that England was miserable and we wanted to go back and see everyone before locking ourselves into jobs that would keep us away for a considerable amount of time. So, on the 10th of september, off we flew, we landed in the afternoon to be greeted by hayls, tarquin and a very much needed rum dum (one of my all time favourite cocktails and a nassau staple).
The first few days were a haze of jet lag and trying to see everyone all at once, but after a few days, we settled back into our usual routine of having big dinners every night. It was as if we never left. I know i should have documented more and posted whilst i was away but somehow i never seemed to get around to it. One night however i did decide it was time for a bit of Indian and so embarked on a particularly yummy Madras curry (well, my take on it at least) with some garlic and coriander naan, neither of which i’d ever made before. This definitely will be repeated on here before too long so dont worry, you won’t have to wait long for it. Sadly all too soon it was time to come home. We landed on Monday morning and had to move into the new flat on tuesday morning so that first day was very hectic, shoving everything we might possibly ever need into bags and boxes, loading up the lorry and the car and off we set for London. It took me a full day to unpack the kitchen, this is probably not normal. Needless to say, it’s a very well stocked and well equipped kitchen, and the dishwasher is already very loved.

However, before i went away, i did remember to photograph one of my little forays in to cooking. It was my friend sarah’s birthday on the 8th September and a cake was in order. Now last year year the cake was a little more elaborate, consisting of layers of caramelised pears and chocolate mousse and other delicious things. Things went a little pear shaped (sorry, had to) when we decided to pipe on the top after we’d had a bottle or two of prosecco, be warned, this is not a good idea, it looks like a 3 year old has done it. Anyway, this year, we decided something simpler but a little more well done was in order, which leads me to the following cake. It’s nice and easy but it’s delicious and looks impressive once it’s decorated properly.

I didnt want to make huge one so this is technically a half recipe for the cake batter, if you want it bigger, or if you can’t be bothered to cut the sponge in half then just double it, if you do, i’d also make more ganache as you wont have enough to cover it with the amount i’ve reccomended here.
So, here it is:

Genoise sponge filled with fresh berries and robed in dark chocolate ganache

For the sponge:

2 eggs
60g caster sugar
60g plain flour
10g unsalted butter, melted

As always, first things first, preheat that oven to 180F/350C. Then butter the cake tin, put a circle of parchment paper on the bottom, butter the parchment and dust with flour, shaking out any excess. For the sponge i would really reccomend you use either a stand mixer or at least a handheld electric whisk as this will take forever if you try and do it by hand. Put the eggs and sugar into the mixer and whisk until they are light and fluffy and doubled in volume- don’t panic, you can’t really overwhip them. Next, detach your bowl from the stand mixer and gently fold in your flour, making sure you really get it all out of the bottom, next up, fold in the melted butter, if you drizzle this round the edge of the bowl it’s easier to fold in, not sure why, it just is.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and and bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean when you give it a poke, this should take about 20/25 minutes. Once that’s done, unmold the cake and leave it to cool on a wire rack, hopefully it’ll come out looking like this

if it doesn’t, well, never mind, you’ll be covering it up anyway. Cut the cake in half, horizontally and leave the two pieces on a rack.

Next up, make the ganache, basically you just need equal parts double cream and dark chocolate. For this sized cake i used 100g of dark chocolate and 100ml of double cream, this did just about cover it but it was a bit of a stretch, to make things a lot easier, do 150g/150ml, you’ll thank me. This also means that if you have any left over, you can dip some spare strawberries in it….. If you you want to do things properly, you melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (a bowl placed over a pan of simmering water, not touching). You bring the cream to the boil then take it off and let both the chocolate and the cream cool to 40C before combining in 3 stages. Feel free to do this, really do. However, i can’t be bothered with the frankly unneccessary washing up, so i do it this way. Break the chocolate into small pieces, bring the cream to the boil, pour the cream over the chocolate, stir. Doesn’t that seem like a better plan? I think so.
Once you’ve made your ganache, leave it to cool until it’s spreading consistency. Meanwhile, prepare your fruit. The amount you use is totally up to you, as is what fruit you actually use. I like a mix of strawberries and raspberries as they’re really good with chocolate but you could really use anything. I think i probably went through about half a punnet of each, i cut the starwberries into chunks and the raspberries in half but they could be left whole just as easily.

Spread a thin layer of ganache over one of the cut sides of one of the sponges and top with your choice of fruit:

Top with the other half of the cake and cover the whole thing with ganache. It’s best if you do this in 2 layers, so do a thin one just to cover everything and then chill it in the fridge.
Once the 1st layer has set, do the top layer more carefully, to smooth it out once you’ve covered it, warming your palette knife will help. Pop it back in the fridge to firm up again and then all you have to do is decorate it. I used some melted chocolate and some cream whipped with vanilla.

After all that hard work, i think it’s probably best to cut yourself a big slice and enojy with a healthy dollop of whipped cream, don’t you?