Fear not, last Sunday my hushand and I drove to Newbridge House & Demesne and went in search of some viable candidates. We were a little disappointed to find the same story here. Lots of red berries and only a handful of ripe beauties. The hubs got stuck in and was determined to harvest enough for the pot of blackberry jam I had promised him. He fearlessly climbed in among the brambles and other than the odd swear word when the thorny branches got the better of him he plucked away until he had filled his little bag.
The next day I sailed into unchartered waters and set about making my very 1st jam. I was under the impression it was a long and complicated process. I was very, very wrong. It took just a few minutes and the help of my trusty sugar thermometer, and then Bob's your uncle I had a lovely jar of jam. Simlpes! Having researched some recipes online I decided to live life on the wild side and just chuck a few things into the pot and hope for the best. The result was a really delicious jam. I will definitely be making my own in future and snubbing supermarket offerings.
Here is my recipe, I hope you enjoy it.
Blackberry Jam
2 cups (measuring cup size) of Blackberries, washed
2 cups (measuring cup size) of Sugar
2tbsp Lemon Juice
2 small Apples, washed, peeled and diced.
1. Place the blackberries in a large bowl and crush roughly or blitz in a food processor.
2. Transfer the blackberries to a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Set over a medium heat and stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
4. Allow to simmer until the temperature on the sugar thermometer reaches 'jam'.
5. While still hot pour into the hot sterilised jar, place a wax circle on top and seal the jar.
6. Store in a cool, dark place and refrigerate once opened.
The apples in the recipe provide natural pectin to help set the jam.
I had a few blackberrys left over so thought the hubs would appreciate a nice apple and blackberry tart. I decided to try out a new recipe and had a Catherine Leyden one to hand so gave that a bash. I was very glad I did. It was such a simple recipe and I had the pastry whipped up in minutes. It uses a technique I have seen before but had quite forgotten but makes such complete sense. Grate the cold butter! I can't believe I banished this from my memory. This is genius. Grating the butter leaves long strands of cold 'fat' that can be easily distributed throughout the flour, and because they butter is so fine there is no need to over work the mixture to incorporate it. I will most definitely be doing this again to take the stress out of pastry making. The tart was a huge success, and the pastry just perfect, exactly the texture my mams used to be. Enjoy!
Apple & Blackberry Tart
225g/8oz Plain Flour
125g/4oz Butter, make sure it is cold and not room temperature
150ml/ 0.25 Pint Cold Water (approximately)
4 Large Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
100g/3.5oz Blackberries
Sugar to sweeten apples
1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
2. Sieve the flour into a bowl.
3. Grate the cold butter into the flour. (You may need a little flour on your fingers to do this)
4. Using a knife, mix the grated butter into the flour.
5. Slowly add the water and mix to a soft dough with the knife.
6. Turn onto a floured board and knead lightly. (If you feel your pastry has become warm from kneading place it into the freezer, wrapped in cling film, for 10 minutes)
7. Roll out half of the pastry to the size of an oven proof plate.
9. Arrange the apples on the pastry, leaving a 1cm edge. Sprinkle each layer with sugar.
10. Scatter the blackberries on top of the apple.
11. Roll the remaining pastry out to a size sufficient to cover the apples.
12. Dampen the edge of teh base pastry with cold water to seal.
13. Press the top pastry over the apples to make the tart. Seal the edges by using the back of a knife to form a crust. Press around the edge with the tines of a fork.
14. Pierce the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape and bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes.
