Blackberry Vodka

The allotment/field is still yielding plenty of blackberries and there's only so many pies you can eat so I decided to try making something to give as gifts this coming Christmas.

Ingredients
1 bottle of cheap vodka
100g caster sugar
Lots of blackberries

* pour out around a quarter of the vodka and save to drink later
* tip the sugar into the bottle and shake to mix
* add blackberries to the bottle until full
* shake well and store for a few months, shaking occasionally

In December I plan to filter out the blackberries and decant into nice bottles. I might add a bit more sugar if it doesn't seem sweet enough. It's a bit experimental!

Lemon Curd Cupcakes

I got a Hummingbird Bakery cookery book for my birthday, and this recipe is my version of their cupcake recipes

Ingredients (makes 20)

For the cake:
70g unsalted butter, softened
210g plain flour, sifted
250g caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
210ml milk
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon

For the icing:
250g icing sugar, sifted
160g unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp milk
2 tsp lemon juice

Approx 60g lemon curd for filling

* heat oven to 170C
* put the flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest in a big bowl and beat together with an electric mixer until the mixture looks like crumbs
* mix the eggs and milk together, then slowly beat into the flour mixture until it is smooth and free of lumps
* spoon the batter into muffin cases. I use my smallest measuring cup to portion out the mix so the cakes are all evenly sized
* bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown and springy to touch
* leave on a wire rack until completely cool
* put the icing ingredients into a big bowl and whisk together with an electric mixer until well combined, light and fluffy
* with a sharp knife, cut a hole in the top of each cake. Fill the hole with a couple of grammes of lemon curd then replace the plug of cake to seal the hole
* top each cake with the icing

Paprika Chicken and Chickpeas

Ingredients (serves 2)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 chicken breast fillets
1 tin chickpeas, drained
120g baby plum tomatoes

* heat the oven to 180C
* mix together the oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper
* put the chicken in an ovenproof dish and rub 1 tbsp of the oil over them
* put the chickpeas and tomatoes in a bowl, add the rest of the oil mixture and mix together
* pour the chickpeas and tomatoes all around the chicken and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, but still moist

Nutritional info
Cal: 470, Fat: 11.9g, Carbs: 23.7g, Protein: 48.1g

Blackberry and Apple Pie

My husband and I have decided to start a vegetable plot on a field which his family owns. At the moment it's mostly covered in brambles, so before we started to clear the ground we picked as many ripe blackberries as we could find. It's early in the season, but we ended up with over a kilogram! Time for pie! :-)

Ingredients (makes a 9 inch pie)
150g cold butter, cubed
275g plain flour
30g icing sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 tbsp cold water
1 cooking apple, cored peeled and chopped
400g blackberries, washed
75g brown sugar
Beaten egg to glaze

* rub the butter into the flour and icing sugar until it looks like breadcrumbs and there are no big lumps of butter left
* add the egg and water and mix by hand until it forms a dough. Shape into a ball and chill for 30 minutes
* heat the oven to 180C and lightly grease a 9inch pie tin. I bought a disposable foil one since I don't currently own a pie tin
* roll out half the dough to line the tin. Try not to handle it more than you need to
* mix the fruit and brown sugar together and fill the pie base, then roll out the remaining pastry to put on top
* cut off any excess pastry and crimp round the edges of the pie with your fingertips. Make a couple of small holes in the lid to allow steam to escape and glaze the top with beaten egg
* bake for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp

Nutritional info (per 1/8 pie)
Cal: 330, Fat: 16.4g, Carbs: 41.7g, Protein: 4.9g

Gingerbread

Great British Bake off is back on TV tonight, so I felt inspired to do a bit of baking myself.

Ingredients (makes 18)
225g plain flour
2tsp ground ginger
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
50g soft brown sugar
100g unsalted butter
150g black treacle
75g golden syrup
150ml semi skimmed milk
2 eggs, beaten

* heat oven to 150C and grease a brownie tin
* sieve together the flour, ginger, spice and bicarb and stir in the sugar
* melt together the butter, treacle and syrup, then beat in the milk and allow to cool
* add the eggs to the mixture and beat in well, then beat the treacle mix into the flour
* pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 75 minutes

Nutritional info
Cal: 146, Fat: 5.3g, Carbs: 20.8g, Protein: 2.3g