Blackberry Season

In just another week or two and until the end of January, blackberry season will be in full swing. It is a common misconception however that blackberries are actually berries. They are, in fact, an aggregate fruit - a bunch of tiny fruits fused together at the base, unlike real berries including surprisingly, citrus, cucumber and papaya. Well, that's about as far as my knowledge spans on blackberries unfortunately. After washing they deteriorate rather quickly so it is preferable to give them a rinse just before you use them. Fresh berries will last about 2-3 days in the refrigerator but can be frozen for a good period of time for later use in baked goods, creams and preserves. Using frozen blackberries instead of fresh in baked goods will prevent much streaking and result in a lighter, fresher flavour. Yesterday morning I thawed out some blackberries and made an apple & blackberry jam which will be my contribution to this months 'Eating with the Seasons' and a homemade Christmas gift to a lucky someone later on. I like to use hermetic jars.

Apple & Blackberry Jam

220 g Granny Smith apple (approx. 2)
200 g water
185 g blackberries
320 g castor sugar
8 g lemon juice
4 whole cloves

Peel, core and chop apples, discarding peel only.
Combine apples, blackberries and lemon juice.
Chop up the cores and in a small saucepan, boil with water and cloves for 20 minutes.
Strain out the cores and add liquid to apples.
Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Wizz in a blender until smooth then return to heat with sugar, scraping the bottom with a spatula.
Continue cooking until it reaches 105ºC.

Chocolate Overdose

".. Antonio Raimo, sat slumped forward, his head on the table, the victim of an apparent heart attack.
Brad rushed over and felt in vain for a pulse. "Did the waiter present Mr. Raimo with the bill?" Brad asked.
"No, we were just having dessert," Jennifer Raimo, Tony's wife, answered.
"Death By Chocolate," said Antoine in a dazed monotone. It was the first time Brad noticed how suspiciously thin and fit Antoine was for a world-class chef.
"That was what Tony ordered," Jennifer explained. "He's not much around the kitchen, and he tried in vain for the last two months to make the dessert from a recipe in the Death By Chocolate cookbook. Seeing a slice of it perfectly prepared apparently was too much for his system."
"We'll have to rule out poison," Brad said, wrestling the fork from Raimo's clenched fist. "I'd better have a taste."
"I'll help," Jennifer replied.
Charles Cadbury, the homicide detective, came five minutes later.
"What happened here?" he asked.
"Death By Chocolate," Antoine replied.
But by then the evidence had disappeared .." John Ballinger

Consuming passions are too often also our demise. I recently discovered a 1992 publication of Marcel Desaulniers Death By Chocolate. On page 42 you will find a recipe for "Simply The Best Chocolate Brownie". Moist, fudgey, a chocolate indulgence. An adaptation best served with a very generous dollop of sour cream.

Chocolate Overdose Brownies

60 g unsalted butter
85 g dark chocolate
50 g milk chocolate
160 g/ 3 eggs
227 g castor sugar
42 g flour
28 g unsweetened cocoa
2 g baking powder
3 g salt
56 g sour cream
5 g vanilla extract
45 g milk chocolate, chopped
17 g cocoa nibs

Melt butter, dark and milk chocolate over baine marie.
Cream eggs and sugar until pale and doubled in volume.
Slowly add chocolate to egg, beating continuously.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt 3 times.
Fold flour into egg mix.
Fold through sour cream, vanilla and chopped chocolate.
Pour into a greased and floured 6 x 10 x 1.5" pan.
Sprinkle cocoa nibs over the top and bake at 170ºC for 25 mins.
Cool for 10 minutes in pan before removing.

choco brownie cookie sandwiches

My apologies for the recent lax in posting. I have of course been working hard behind the scenes (although obviously not on my lack of photography skills). Y of lemonpi is an inspiration to me. I really have no idea how she manages to blog almost daily around the incredibly stressful working hours. I can't seem to manage anything very well myself especially this time of the year. Just this week I have walked into an open cupboard door, slid across the kitchen floor after stepping into a pile of gunky calamari skin, pushed over bottles of fish sauce, smashed a stack of drinking glasses, wiped chicken onto my face and splashed hot peanut oil all over my sous chef's hand. Here's to something I can't fuck up.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

..which are now chocolate brownie cookie sandwiches, glued together with espresso buttercream and sprinkled with cocoa nibs.