What do you do with your blackberries? I’m asking as I don’t think we’ve really eaten any of the ones I’ve picked on their own, raw and am just interested to know what other people do with theirs.
So far I’ve made 3 batches of blackberry crumble muffins, 3 jars of blackberry and bramley jam)I haven’t had time to research and develop a sugar-free version yet but am in the early stages of that at the moment) and the easy dishes I’ve made below…
My daughter made these and it took at least 4 hours for the lollies to freeze. If you want to use less blackberries and/or have smaller lolly moulds use 100g blackberries and 100ml apple juice
You will need…
200g blackberries
1 ripe banana
200ml apple juice (I had to use my juicer as we didn’t have any apple juice in 1 apple produces about 100ml apple juice)
How to…
Just whizz them up in your food processor or handheld blender
This gave us enough for 4 large smoothie lollies and left some over for us to drink as mini-smoothies.
I think our lollies took about 4-6 hours to freeze.
Try making this by just stewing the fruit in a little water for about 5 minutes.
I used about 300g of fruit. Take about a third to a half of the fruit out and blend it a little and then add back in.
Or mash it if you don’t have a blender.
Try it and if it’s sweet enough then keep it as it is.
But if it needs a little sweetening then add a tablespoonful or two of maple syrup.
I had mine with greek yogurt and home made granola which was very moreish.
It’s yummy with home made pancakes and also as a pudding with yogurt or ice-cream.
You can freeze what you don’t need in ice cube trays.
Blackberries are quite sweet which is why this works really well with Bramley (cooking apples) because of their tartness.
This is an updated version of a crumble recipe I posted a couple of years ago. I bake the crumble mixture separately to the fruit mixture because I like to keep the crumble mixture dry.
You will need….
…for the crumble
200g spelt flour
40g hazelnuts
30g oats
70g brown sugar
100g unsalted butter cut into cubes
… for the filling
200g blackberries
2 medium sized bramley apples
Juice of half a lemon
2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup or brown sugar
How to…
First pre-heat oven to 190˚C (170˚C fan oven) / gas mark 5 / 375˚F.
If you have a food processor whizz all the crumble ingredients together until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs.
It’s easy enough to do by hand and doesn’t take long.
In a bowl, rub together flour, sugar and butter with fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Shake the bowl to get big lumps to the top and rub these in to get an even texture.
Chop the nuts so they are in quarters or smaller. Or you could make an envelope with parchment paper and put the nuts in the middle, fold it over at the edges and then bash the nuts with a rolling pin. Letting out any pent up aggression from the day!
Mix in the oats and chopped nuts.
Put on a big baking tray.
Wash the blackberries through well, checking for any signs of life.
Wash, peel, core and cut the apple into cubes and put in an ovenproof dish .
Cover and mix through the lemon juice to stop the apples from going brown.
Spoon over and mix through the maple syrup.
Cover with foil or lid.
Put the apple mixture and the baking tray of crumble in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Take the crumble out and mix through and put back in so it is all evenly browned.
Take the apple mixture out of the oven, add the blackberries, mix well and put back in.
Bake for a further 10-15 minutes.
Take out of the oven and serve with ice cream or home-made custard.
JuggleMum, Nadine Hill
I like your ideas! My mother always bakes a blackberry and apple crumble with any berries she picks at home… She has them growing in the garden!
JuggleMum, Nadine Hill
I like your ideas! My mum has blackberries growing in her garden and always uses them to make blackberry & apple crumble!
Annie's Dorset Kitchen
Hi thanks for the comment, can’t think of a better combination, we seem to have lots of Bramleys this year too to make crumble!
Kate Veggie Desserts (@veggie_desserts)
What a great selection of blackberry ideas. We have so many growing at the bottom of the garden, so this is perfect! I’ll start with the smoothie lollies!
Annie's Dorset Kitchen
Thank you – the littlest in the family loved them and they are v messy!
The Free From Fairy
I love all three recipes! I haven’t picked many blackberries this year…and the ones we have picked haven’t made it back to the house! If they did I would make a compote too…unsweetened…to have on my porridge. Delish!
Annie's Dorset Kitchen
Thanks! Yes I think it’s sweet enough without 🙂
daydreamingfoodie
No blackberries in Northern Ireland yet – it is usually late September before we see much of anything! We usually make jam, and compote. But should make more of an effort to experiment this year 🙂 The lollies look fab!
Annie's Dorset Kitchen
Thank you! The lollies went down really well with the littlest in the family and were very messy as you’d expect with a toddler!
Lucy @ BakingQueen74
I love these blackberry ideas! There are bushes groaning with them nearby (also a PYO farm with a good crop) so I might have to try your compote out very soon!
Annie's Dorset Kitchen
Thank you Lucy! I was on a mission to make lower sugar recipes with them and really I suppose, fruit based recipes don’t need much sugar as can overpower the natural flavour.