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

Fruit crumble

Any fruit works in a crumble, but I love tinned fruit as you don't need to stew it first. On this occasion I used peach and pineapple.

Ingredients (serves 4)
120g plain flour
80g butter
80g caster sugar
20g porridge oats
Ground nutmeg or other spice
1 tin sliced peaches, drained
150g pineapple chunks

* put the flour and 1/2 tsp of your choice of spice in a mixing bowl and add the butter, chopped into cubes.
* using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs
* stir in the sugar and oats
* tip the fruit into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the crumble topping
* bake at 190C for 30 minutes
Best served with custard or cream

Christmas cake 2

Glazed fruits make a pretty alternative to the traditional marzipan and royal icing. I used cherries, pineapple and apricots, but any dried or glace fruits would work.

Ingredients
1 heaped tbsp apricot jam
2 tbsp brandy
Dried or glace fruits of your choice

* in a small pan mix together the jam and brandy and gently heat
* brush the top of the cake with about 1/2 the jam mixture
* arrange the fruits over the top of the cake and glaze with the rest of the jam.

Mincemeat Pinwheels

I know I could make my own puff pastry, but frankly I can't be bothered when you can buy it ready made!

Ingredients (makes 12)
1 sheet ready made puff pastry
1/3 jar mincemeat

* cut the pastry into squares, approx 8cm
* place 1/2 tsp mincemeat in the centre of each square
* make diagonal cuts from the mincemeat out to the corners of the square
* fold in alternating corners over the mincemeat to create the pinwheel shape.
* transfer to a greased baking sheet and bake at 220C for 10 minutes or until golden
* dust with icing sugar to serve

Christmas cake

I always used to make a really dark, rich cake with the traditional marzipan and royal icing. It tasted great, but it was a bit much. Last year I decided to try something different and came across this recipe from DeliaOnline which is lighter in colour and flavour. The apricots and pineapples make it really fruity.

Ingredients
100g glace pineapple, chopped
175g glace cherries, chopped
225g sultanas
110g dried apricots, chopped
3 tbsp brandy
110g walnuts, chopped
110g candied peel
75g crystallised ginger, chopped
225g butter
80g light muscavado sugar
145g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g plain flour
1tsp ground nutmeg
1tsp ground cinnamon

* mix together the apricots and sultanas with the brandy and leave to soak overnight
* add the other fruits to the bowl and mix well
* cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy
* add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one
* sift in the flour and spices, and fold in, then fold in the fruits and nuts
* tip the mixture into a lined 20cm round cake tin and level the top
* bake at 170C in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, then cover the top with a double layer of Brown paper, lower the oven temp to 150C and bake for another 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
* leave to cool in the tin

Pineapple and Apricot Quinoa Bake

Ingredients
90g uncooked quinoa
2 tsp cinnamon
250g chopped fruit (I used tinned pineapple and dried apricots)
250g semi-skimmed milk
1 egg
2 tbsp golden (or maple) syrup

* heat oven to 180C and grease and line a loaf tin
* mix the quinoa with the cinnamon and pour into the base of the tin
* arrange the fruit over the quinoa making sure it's well covered
* beat together the milk, egg and syrup and pour it over the fruit layer
* bake for about an hour, or until set 

Great served warm with cream