Blackberry and Raspberry Galette

With an abundance of blackberries growing in the hedgerows at this time of year, this rustic autumnal pud is a quick, easy and delicious way of using them up - get picking and you'll have yourself an (almost) free pudding! A galette is somewhere between a pie and a tart, though I'd argue better than either as it is freeform so doesn't require a tin or dish, and folding over the edges ensures maximum delicious crusty pastry. This one has a few raspberries thrown in as well but it works just as well with only blackberries, or some finely chopped apples instead.

To make a galette to serve four you will need…

100g plain flour

50g butter

1 dessert spoon icing sugar

A pinch of salt

3 tbsp cold water

300g fruit (blackberries, raspberries, chopped apple or a combo)

1 dessert spoon caster sugar 

1 dessert spoon cornflour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg for egg wash

A little extra caster sugar to sprinkle on top

You will need to...

- Make shortcrust pastry by combining ingredients in a food processor (if lazy) or by hand by rubbing cubed butter into the mixture of flour, icing sugar and salt until fine breadcrumbs form. Add enough cold water and combine until the pastry just comes together, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for minimum 1 hour. 

- Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greased baking parchment. 

- Place fruit in a bowl then gently stir in the cornflour, caster sugar and vanilla until combined - try not to squish the berries too much.

- Roll out your chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a rough circle. Transfer onto the prepared baking tray.

- Spoon fruit into the middle of the pastry, then fold up the edges as pictured.

- Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl, then brush over the pastry and top with a sprinkle of caster sugar.

- Bake for about half an hour or until pastry is golden and crisp.

- Serve warm with a generous helping of single cream.

 Enjoy! C x

Ginger, Apricot & Chocolate Spelt Cookies

These sweet little cookies are perfect for spring - fresh, fiery and fruity. This recipe is based on Heidi Swanson's Ginger Cookie recipe from her brilliant book Eat Natural Every Day, although I've adjusted a couple of the more obscure ingredients slightly to make them more student-friendly. The combination of flavours may sound a bit intense, but surprisingly they work really well together - with the fiery ginger, fruity apricot and bitter chocolate balancing each other out. The spelt flour gives the cookies a nutty, earthy flavour which tones down the sweetness too, and also makes them a little more dense and filling than your bog-standard biscuit - they're kind of like posh gingernuts. Enjoy fresh from the oven with a mug of something warm and comforting. 

To make approx. 30 small cookies you will need...

35g demerara sugar

85g dark chocolate, finely chopped

115g spelt or wholemeal flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 heaped tsp ground ginger

A pinch of salt

60g butter

30ml black treacle

50g caster sugar

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 small egg, beaten

85g dried apricots, finely chopped 

You will need to...

- Put the demerara sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Chop your chocolate and apricots finely.

- Heat the butter in a medium sized saucepan until just melting, then stir in the treacle, caster sugar and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm but not hot. Add in the beaten egg, then the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground ginger - mix well. 

- Stir in the apricots and chocolate. 

- Chill the mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes, until it firms up a bit.

- Preheat the oven to 180C and line two trays with baking paper.

- Scoop the dough out in level tablespoons, then tear those pieces of dough in two and roll each piece into a ball.

- Drop the little balls one-by-one into the bowl of demerara sugar and roll around until the outside is well covered in sugar crystals. 

- Place the sugary balls onto the prepared trays, leaving plenty of space between them to allow for spreading. 

- Bake in the oven for 7 - 10 minutes, until the cookies have puffed up a little and are dark, fragrant and cracked on top. They will still be a little soft so allow to firm up a bit on the tray before serving.

Enjoy! C x

Summer Strawberry Tart

Inspired by the sunshine, this is a quick and easy but impressive looking pudding from the Great British Chefs website. Marinating the strawberries in rosé, sugar and Honey makes this tart irresistible. A sweet pastry and delicious crème patissière complement the sharp taste of rosé coated strawberries. Only a small amount of preparation is needed for the marinating and pastry making. This is a simple and straightforward recipe to follow with an impressive and tasty outcome. As you can see from the photos, I tried using both a rectangular and circular tin, both of which I think worked equally well.  

Sweet pastry

You Will Need...

125g of butter

60g of icing sugar

1 egg yolk

125g of plain flour, plus more for dusting

75g of ground almonds

2g of baking powder

1 pinch of salt

3 sprigs of lemon thyme, leaves picked

Crème patissière

You Will Need...

200ml of milk

40g of sugar

2 egg yolks

14g of cornflour

1 vanilla pod, cut and deseeded

Marinated strawberries

18 strawberries, roughly quartered

30ml of rosé wine

1 tsp of caster sugar

1 tbsp of clear honey

You Will Need To...

1. Mix the butter and sugar together to form a smooth paste. Add flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder. Rub the mixture between your fingertips to form a sand-like texture

2.Add the egg yolk and the chopped thyme and continue to work the mix until it comes together to form a dough. When your dough is ready, wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for 2 hours

3.Once the dough has rested, preheat the oven to 160ºC/gas mark 3. Lightly dust a workspace with flour and roll the dough to 1/2cm thickness. Place the dough into a shallow spring form tin, and use the excess dough to build a 1cm side for the tart

4.Bake for 13 minutes until lightly golden. Once cooked, leave the pastry to cool in the tin

5.For the crème patissière, put the milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil

6. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and the egg yolk in a separate bowl until you reach a creamy, smooth consistency. Add the cornflour and continue to whisk

7.Once the milk has come to a steady boil, pour half of the milk into the bowl, whisking thoroughly. Whisk the milk and the eggs in the bowl then return the mixture to the pan and continue to whisk on a low heat, returning to a steady boil. Continue to cook for 3 minutes after boiling

8. Put the crème patissière in the fridge in a cold bowl, and cover it with cling film. Once chilled, gently whisk until smooth and return to the fridge until ready to serve

9. For the marinated strawberries, place the cut strawberries into a bowl. Add the caster sugar, rosé wine and honey. Mix until glazed

10.Before serving, spread a generous 1cm layer of crème patissière across your cooked tart and cover with the marinated strawberries. Once covered, spoon the excess marinade on top of the tart to glaze.

Enjoy! Z x