The Excitement of Blackberries Ripening at Pumpjack & Piddlewick

The blackberries are in season! The hot days of summer have ripened these hedgerow fruits. They are plump and juicy, glistening by the paths and roadways, just waiting to be collected and eaten. With basket to hand, I wander out to collect as much a I can.

A Basket Full of Berries

There is something immensely satisfying about a full basket of blackberries, and dreams of what they can become. I personally love blackberry muffins, cakes, crumbles, smoothies and ice cream. But often, simply some creme fraiche and a wonderfully large bowl is my first taste of the height of summer as I sit in the garden enjoying the late afternoon sun.

As the days build in summer heat, early mornings are the time to go for a walk, basket in hand. I discovered several bushes of them on one of my walks between the fields and river. They hang over the fencing, laden down with big juicy blackberries.

To some, maybe because of its thorns, it is a weed needing to be eradicated. To me, far from it. I have even planted one of my own in my garden and hope in the ensuing years I can find a way to train some of the brambles to keep producing regular and easy to reach fruit.

Ice Cream!

What will I make with my hauls? The thought of blackberry coconut ice cream has my taste buds tingling. I love making ice cream with coconut milk. It just adds an extra yummy flavour. And, I can make it without an ice cream maker. It is very easy to do.

Ingredients: 1 tin/can coconut milk, 2 cups/500 ml fresh blackberries, juice of 1/2 a lemon, and 1/4 – 1/2 cup/50 – 100 ml sweetener of your choice. I recommend maple or agave syrup, but you can use what you like or have to hand. Quantity depends on how sweet you like your ice cream.

To make: Whizz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. If you like fairly smooth ice cream, eg not lots of fruit bits, whizz until smooth. Pour it into a freezable container. Freeze for 1 hour. Take out and stir. Repeat until you get a nice thick consistency. Then eat.

This can also be done using an ice cream maker, if you have one. It will give you a creamier texture, less sorbet like, but both taste absolutely delicious.

(And note, this recipe is vegan, should you ever have to feed a vegan or vegetarian.)

More Ice Cream!

Speaking of Vegan (paleo, etc.) I have been experimenting with making banana based ice cream. That is using frozen bananas instead of cream bases. It is super, super easy! And you have ice cream ready in literally minutes.

Ingredients: You need to have super ripe bananas, so if you have a couple of browning bananas sitting about, this is a recipe to try.

To Make: Peel and cut up the banana into bite size pieces. Freeze. (I recommend freezing on a tray, or they get stuck together, but it’s not completely necessary if you don’t have the space for this in your freezer.) You can freeze for as little as 2 hours, or simply leave in freezer until you are ready.

Take the equivalent of 2 frozen bananas and put them in a blender, or something that will whizz and cut them up. Add a cup of blackberries. Add a teaspoon of vanilla (optional). Whizz. Et voila! You have blackberry ice cream ready to eat in minutes.

Depending on how stuck together your banana pieces are you may have to stop and start your machine a bit, or scrape down the sides. But don’t worry just keep at it until you get the consistency you like.

If you are one for an actual recipe rather than experimentation, I link it here.

Baking Blackberries

If you fancy something warm rather than cold, try making a Blackberry Galette. If it’s hot out, I may use a pre-made pie crust for simplicity, or of course you can make your own.

Ingredients: Pie crust, blackberries (frozen or not), sugar, cornstarch/flour or other thickener such as arrowroot.

To Make: In a bowl, mix your blackberries with sugar to taste. You can make it as as sweet or not as you prefer. Mix in a spoonful or two of cornstartch/tapioca/arrowroot. This will thicken the juices as it bakes. You can experiment with adding lemon zest, or cinnamon or other flavourings if you are feeling daring.

Roll out your pie dough and put on a baking sheet. Put your blackberry mixture into the centre of the rolled out dough, leaving about 5cm/2in around the edges. Fold the dough edges up and over the blackberries, leaving the centre open. How much of the centre you leave open is up to you, as long as you are encapsulating the berries so the juices don’t run free.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F and once ready, bake your galette for 40-45 minutes. The crust will go a golden, flaky brown. Some juice may have escaped, such is life. Let cool for about 10 minutes, as hot fruit is very hot. Serve with vanilla ice cream, or your own homemade ice cream as above.

I keep mine super simple, but there are many recipes out there to help you make your own crust or a more complicated filling, such as this one.

And for Those Extra Blackberries

If you are like me, I always collect way more blackberries than I can eat. (Honest, it does happen.) Don’t be frightened of freezing any excess. Lay your fruit as a single layer on a tray. I use an old pizza box, lined with cling film. Put it in the freezer for an hour. After the hour you can pour into a bag or container for easier storage. By fast freezing first on a tray it stops your fruit from clumping together into a solid frozen lump. I do the same thing with over-ripe bananas.

If you like blackberry picking and foraging (or the idea of foraging), do read my (8 reasons why you should try) Foraging post.

Continuing the theme of blackberries, a recommended read is Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat). Reviewed in my Vive le Livre Book Club.