I had to have a wee chuckle at all the whoo haa surrounding the Blackberry phone server going down this week. As an Apple fan it’s nice to not get any grief for a change!
The best way to use a blackberry is in baking! Especially at this time of the year when they are coming into season. This week I made blackberry cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and blackberry puree topping. They were lovely!
First of all you make a blackberry puree by putting 2 punnets of blackberries in a pan with a bit of booze – I used half chambord liquer and half creme de cassis, about half an american cup measure in total. Cook on a gentle heat for five minutes then strain though a sieve to get all the pips out. You should have a smooth velvety red puree.
For the cakes above I used the classic Hummingbird bakery vanilla recipe (works every time!) to which I added a few drops of Lorann cooking oil in blackberry flavour. I’m not sure if you can get these oils here in the UK as I got them on my last trip to the States. But you could always add a tablespoon of the blackberry puree. I used my favourite swiss meringue buttercream recipe with a bit of pink food colouring and used a large star nozzle tip to pipe the buttercream on. I then drizzled on the blackberry puree, sprinkles and of course the glitter!!
I suppose the next recipe should be blackberry …..and apple!!
Thanks for reading!
