Ready for a treat?

Hello again everyone.
Here I am late home from work again on Tuesday evening but just had to look at my blog and add some more to it. It is like an obsession, a really lovely obsession of the best possible kind. All the way home from London in the train I was thinking about what I should write about tonight.

Well, I think you are in for a treat, because I am going to share with you one of the most delicious recipes that I have come across in a long time and it is just perfect for the season (my apologies to my bloggy pal in NZ- Sarah, you might just have to store this recipe away for a few months!)

Firstly, a clue:

Yes, you're correct, blackberries! All picked fresh on Sunday afternoon from the fields and hedgerows near my home. Goodness the bushes were just laden with them, hiding among the nettles and prickles, and my hands and arms were a little scratchily worse for wear , but it was so worth the fun and satisfaction! As you can see our efforts (yes, my husband is an avid berry picker too) were worth it and we harvested 6 punnets full to the brim, even though there are only 4 in the photo.

What then to do with them? That was the question but it didn't take me long to work it out!

So, in between being totally mesmerised by the antics of the baby kittens and besotted with my new old sewing machine, I whipped up a big batch of blackberry jam. So much in fact that I ran out of jars!
Still, not a bad output- I now need to find somewhere to put it.

Even after all of this I still had a punnet or more of blackberries left so after a quick flip through the recipe books, I came across a recipe for Blackberry Crumble Cake. Believe me it is absolutely delicious! Here's the recipe:

What you need-

Melted butter, to grease the cake tin
200g butter, at room temperature
170g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
150g (1 cup) plain flour
185ml (3/4 cup) milk
about 2 cups fresh blackberries

crumble topping
75g (1/2 cup) plain flour
50g cold butter, chopped
60g (3/4 cup) shredded coconut
55g (1/4 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

Here's what you do-
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Lightly grease a springform pan with melted butter. Line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper.
Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each.
Add the combined flour and milk and use a large metal spoon to fold until well combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and use the back of the spoon to smooth the surface.

Arrange the blackberries, in a single layer, over the top.

Then

To make the crumble topping, place the flour in a bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the coconut and sugar.
Sprinkle the crumble topping over the blackberries.
Bake for 1 hour.
Then cover loosely with foil and bake for a further 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow it to cool and the the best bit- Cut the cake into wedges and serve!

Yummy! Here's what mine looked like-

And here's what it looked like on my lovely new china just waiting to be enjoyed with a nice cup of coffee

So, if you haven't made any plans for the Bank holiday Monday, grab a container and go and pick some blackberries!