One of the joys of autumn is to go ‘brambling’ in the country, and this blackberry pudding with crème de mûre and sticky toffee sauce is a great way to enjoy the harvest.
Blackberries start to ripen in August and can continue fruiting until October. Pick them when they’re almost ready to burst and oozing burnt-purple juice. They are rich in vitamins and, weight for weight, contain as much fibre as wholemeal bread.
Crème de mûre is used in this recipe, a blackberry liqueur made from blackberries, red wine, sugar, and vodka or gin. BBC Good Food has a recipe for making it from scratch.
Learn more about identifying wild fruits, with foraging recipe ideas.
For the blackberry sauce, heat 2tbsp sugar and 2tbsp water in a pan until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is bubbling. Add 2tbsp crème de mûre and simmer until reduced by half. Stir in 450g of fruit, coating it with the syrup. Pour into a greased ovenproof dish.
For the sponge topping, put 250ml soya milk, 4tbsp vegetable oil, 1tsp vanilla essence and 2tbsp crème de mur in a bowl. Add 250g wholemeal flour, 100g raw cane sugar, 3tsp baking powder, 1⁄2tsp salt and mix. Pour over the sauce. Bake at 200°C for 25 minutes.
For the sticky toffee sauce, heat 50g brown sugar, 30g margarine and 25g honey until the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and add 2tbsp crème de mûre and 50ml cream. Invert the cake and serve drizzled with the sauce and a scoop or two of ice cream.
