Blackberry Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 12

Ingredients

60g Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature

150g Caster sugar

1 Egg

10g Raw Cocoa Powder

20ml Blackberries, blended and sieved 

10ml purple food colouring

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

120ml milk

150g Plain flour

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate soda

1 Tablespoon rice wine vingear

For Frosting:

300g Icing Sugar

50g Butter

125ml Cream Cheese 

1 Tablespoon Milk

5ml Food Colouring, of your choice

12 blackberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale.
3. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
4. In a small bowl add the cocoa powder, food colouring, vanilla and blackberry juice. Mix until combined. Add to the egg mixture. 
5. Add the vinegar to the milk and add in alternation with the flour to the batter. 
6. Finally put in salt and the bicarb.
7. Mix until everything is combined. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
8. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. Add the icing sugar and butter and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs.  Add the cream cheese and mix, add the milk to allow everything to combine.
9. Use a star tip in your piping bag. Stripe your food colouring of choice on the sides on the piping bag,  and spoon in the frosting.
10. Swirl the frosting over the cooled cakes and add a blackberry to each.
11. Enjoy!

Fail Safe Sunday Crumble

Apple, Blackberry and Cherry Crumble

Ingredients

For the filling:

60g Butter

60g Demerara sugar (plus extra to sprinkle)

2 large Bramley apples

20 cherries 

250g blackberries

For the crumble:

100g butter

75g rolled oats

50g caster sugar

200g plain flour

50g barley flakes (You don't have to add this, just gives it another texture)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Melt the butter and sugar in a pan slowly.  Until it turns a light caramel colour.
3. Core the apples and chop into chunks.
4. Core the cherries and chop into half.
5. Add the apples to the melted butter and sugar and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the blackberries and cherries.  Cook for a further 1 minute.
7. Put the filling into an ovenproof gratin dish. Allow to cool while making the crumble
8. Put the flour, oats, sugar and butter in a bowl, rub in with your fingers until it combined.  At this stage you can add a sprinkle more of oats.
9. Spoon the crumble mixture over the fruit.  Make sure no fruit is visible as it could make the juices of the fruit overflow. 
10. Sprinkle over some Demerara sugar.
11. Cook for 40-45 minutes... or until the crumble is crisp and you can see the juices of the fruit bubbling over.  

A Summer Decadent Pavlova

Pilled high with fresh summer berries, this pavlova is the ultimate show-stopper.  Great for any special occasion and easy to cater to your preference! 

Ingredients 

4 large egg whites

8oz caster sugar

1 tsp of vinegar

1 tsp of cornflour

1 Large carton of whipping cream (600ml)

Summer fruit, e.g. Strawberries and raspberries 

Mint leaf for decoration

Icing sugar

Instructions

*Top Tip

1. Place a sheet of grease proof paper on a baking sheet and mark a large dinner plate on it as a guide.  Roughly 12 inch or 30 cm.
2. Preheat oven to 150 C / gas mark 2. In a bowl  * ( I always use a stainless steel bowl, wiped out with half a lemon and then rinsed and dried with a paper towel)  I do this because the slightest speck of grease will make your meringue collapse. With the electric mixer on  full speed, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
3. Now add the caster sugar a table spoon at a time, beating well to each addition.  The mixture will start to look firm and glossy.  Before the last spoonful of caster sugar is incorporated
4. Mix the cornflour and vinegar into a paste.  Add to the egg whites and when incorporated add the last of the caster sugar and beat.  Don't over-beat.
5. Pile to meringue mixture onto the baking sheet and try to keep to the outline circle. The mixture should be stiff, glossy and form peaks on the back of your spoon.  Peak the mixture up, build the sides up and hollow out the middle slightly for the filling.
6. Reduce the oven to 140 C / gas mark 1, pop the meringue into the oven and bake for 80 to 85 mins or until pale cream in colour.  * I usually put the meringue in last thing in the evening,  on a timer, so the oven switches off after baking and then the meringue can dry out overnight.
7. In the morning remove from the oven and carefully peel off the grease proof paper and place onto a service platter.
8. Whip up the cream into soft peaks, but be carefully not to over whip.  It should still have some slackness in it.  I then put a little icing sugar into the mix to take off the cream taste.  This is entirely personal preference but I have found most people really like it as it doesn't taste obviously sweetened.
9. Prepare the strawberries by hulling, rinsing and drying.  Raspberries by rinsing and drying.
10. Pile the cream into the centre of the meringue and then pile the fruit on top.
11. It you want a little extra height then put a second, smaller layer of cream onto of the fruit and decorate with the last of the fruit and then a sprig of fresh mint.
12. When you are ready to serve.  Dredge icing sugar lightly over the top.

Other summer fruit can be substituted if your not keen on strawberries or raspberries.  Why not try kiwi!