Mini Eve's puddings and blackberry ice cream...seasonal heaven!

These cute little puddings were a must what with the glut of apples and all those lovely free blackberries waiting to be picked from the hedgerows. So, one Tuesday I peddled round the lanes of Norfolk scanning for the juiciest blackberries I could get my hands on, already having in mind a recipe for blackberry ice cream! The apples were picked from the garden so it would be criminal not to include a seasonal recipe making use of them.

A really good combination: mini Eve's pudding with blackberry ice cream

The blackberry ice cream recipe was so simple it was literally a case of quick preparation and then chucking it all in to the ice cream maker. Last year I had made a blackberry custard ice cream which was a creamy concoction of blackberries and yes, you've guessed it custard. But in the spirit of my challenge I thought I better not replicate it and chose a different recipe. So the one I selected was from another book I had not yet had the pleasure of cooking from: Rosemary Moon's Ice cream machine book (1997) Page 36 http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Ice-Cream-Machine-Book/dp/1840923172/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349035760&sr=8-2  I bought this book from a charity shop in Rochester, Kent whilst on holiday there ( and certainly didn't pay anywhere near the price a new copy is on this link!) The book is pleasing on the eye with lovely colour photography and doesn't seem that dated despite being first published in 1997. Other recipes that have caught my eye are the mint chocolate chip on page 34, Tangerine Sherbet page 62 and Cafe Con Leche (made using evaporated milk so slightly less fattening) page 90. In fact, there are so many others too, (including a section on tofu ice creams), I feel I'm going to have to try something else soon and post it on here!

The Eve's puddings took a little more thought as I had decided to adapt the recipe from one large pudding to make 4 - 6 smaller versions. I used a recipe from Great British Menu (2006) page 83 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-British-Menu-traditional-recipes/dp/1405316500/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349036914&sr=1-2, some of you may have seen the different series on the BBC featuring a whole host of celebrity chefs pitting their culinary wits against each other. Again, this is another fantastic book and it seems a shame to adapt the Eve's pudding recipe and not showcase something else as well, so I might yet return to this book as I've spied a Sea Bass in coconut milk recipe...

Eve's pudding (copyright 2006 Dorling Kindersley Limited)

Serves 4, you'll need 4 buttered ramekins

6 Bramley's apples, peeled.cored,sliced
100g sultanas (optional)
50g brown sugar
Sponge mix
100g caster sugar
100g margarine
2 large eggs

Deciding on how many ramekins to use,  don't need any more than four

100g self-raising flour

Sliced apples

Mixing up the sponge ingredients

Ensure ramekins are well buttered to assist in easy removal!

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
2. Place the apples in the buttered ramekins, scatter on sultanas. Sprinkle with the brown sugar.
3. To make the sponge mix, cream together sugar and margarine. Beat in the eggs, then fold in the flour.
4. Spoon the sponge mix over the fruit. Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes until the sponge is golden brown and cooked through. Serve with the blackberry ice cream - see below!

Blackberry ice cream (copyright 1997 Quintet Publishing Limited

450g blackberries
juice of 1 lemon
150g sieved icing sugar, or to taste
3 tbsp blackberry liqueur (optional)

Sieving the blackberries to remove the seeds

300ml double cream

Blackberry puree

1. Blend the blackberries with the lemon juice, then stir in the sugar until dissolved.
2. Sieve the fruit to remove any seeds. Add the blackberry liqueur if using.
3. Stir in the cream and chill for a few hours before churning in your ice cream maker*

Stirring in the cream

Ready to chill for a few hours

Churning in the maker

Ready to be stored in the freezer

*If you haven't got an ice cream maker, there is no reason why you can't make this by hand. It does mean stirring every few hours about three or four times whilst freezing in order to prevent ice crystals forming.

Yum, yum - half way through eating after lunch on Sunday!

This was another winner in our house! It made a change from your bog-standard blackberry and apple crumble and custard. The sponge on the Eve's puddings was light and the apple shone through nicely. The contrast of hot pudding and cold ice cream is always a treat in my eyes too. So give it a go if you've managed to get out there blackberry picking before it's too late!

Next time: I've already made the promised veggie recipe so hopefully I'll get that written up soon. Some kid's cookery is in the pipeline and I'm also in the process of sourcing some important ingredients for some Greek cookery - watch this space...