Having blackberry bushes — or maybe a wild strawberry here and there — in your garden or the local park is pretty much like having a free sweet shop on your doorstep. How many childhood memories involve being bundled off to a pick-your-own strawberry farm and returning with mouths stained with illicitly munched fruit?
There’s something rather special about bringing home a couple of punnets packed with juicy fruit you’ve picked yourself; somehow it makes every bite taste sweeter. Whether you use these to make a classic English summer pudding, purée them for ice lollies, bake them into a berry cheesecake or fold them into a fruit fool, you know these puddings will come alive, thanks to fruit that’s as fresh as can be.
As we reach the end of summer, what better time to celebrate the bursting flavours of our berries? Berries are at their best late in the season, when they’ve had a long summer to ripen and fatten up. I love to mix the tartness of redcurrants or raspberries with the sweetness of blueberries and strawberries. Don’t be afraid of sharpness: when balanced it gives real depth to some of the sweeter berries.
For the past couple of years we’ve had wet springs followed by hot summers, which is ideal for our berries, and all our supermarkets and delis are well stocked with ripe, juicy fruit.
The three recipes here showcase glorious dishes worthy of the finest patisserie.
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Kids will love making the berry jellies; with the summer tarts, there’s nothing quite like the surprise of basil with fruit — trust me, it really does work. As for the clafoutis, well, it may be French in origin, but it’s pretty similar to a big, fluffy pancake.
The ingredients are beautiful, the recipes are quick to prepare, bursting with flavour. These puddings are a real celebration of seasonal food.
Parisian strawberry tarts
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French patisserie windows filled with delicate, colourful tarts are a wonderful sight. This is an easy recipe to recreate that effect.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus resting
Cooking time: 20 minutes
For the crème patissiere
250ml milk
1 vanilla pod
80g sugar
3 egg yolks
25g flour
2tbsp crème fraiche
10 basil leaves, finely sliced
8 blackberries, sliced
4 raspberries, sliced
Small basil leaves, to garnish
4tbsp strawberry jam
For the pastry
200g plain flour
100g butter
60g ground almonds
2 eggs
120g caster sugar
1. To make the crème patissiere, pour the milk in a large pan and bring to an “almost” boil, when the edges of the pan start to bubble. Add the vanilla pod, then leave to cool. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl until ribbons form on the surface when stirred, then mix in the flour. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking all the time on medium speed, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
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2. Bring to the boil and cook for one minute until thickened, stirring constantly. You want to achieve a thick custard-like texture. Pour into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill. Stir in the crème fraîche and basil, then pop this back in the fridge to chill until needed.
3. To make the pastry, put all the ingredients and 1 tbsp water into a food processor and blitz until you have a soft dough. This should be fairly wet, but if it feels too soft, add 1 tbsp of flour. Form into a patty, wrap in clingfilm, and rest in the fridge for at least half an hour, preferably longer.
4. Heat the oven to 190C and grease six tart cases. Roll out the pastry to 5mm thick and line each case. Bake blind with clingfilm and baking beans for 10 minutes, then remove the film and beans, brush with a little milk and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Leave to cool on a wire rack, then fill with the crème patissiere, top with the berries and glaze each tart with 1 tbsp of the melted strawberry jam. Decorate with tiny sprigs of basil.
Summer berry clafoutis
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This is my version of a French classic normally made with cherries. A real taste of the end of summer.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes plus infusing
Cooking time: 40 minutes
For the berries
160g blackberries
130g raspberries
50g redcurrants
100g blueberries
100g cherries
4 tbsp pastis
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For the batter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
150ml double cream
4 large eggs
120g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tbsp vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
140g caster sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Soak the berries in the pastis, which will give the dish a lovely aniseed edge, and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, gently beat all the batter ingredients together and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Grease a 10in flan dish with butter, then sprinkle with a little sugar. Scatter the berries evenly over the base then pour in the batter.
3. Bake for 45-50 minutes until well risen and golden. Leave to cool to room temperature and serve with whipped cream.
Top tips: Leaving the batter to rest will help the clafoutis to rise and make it really fluffy.
Summer berry jellies with white chocolate sorbet
A grown-up version of jelly and ice cream, these are stunning to look at and very easy to make.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes plus 4 hours freezing and setting
For the sorbet
300ml milk
10g granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod split lengthways
175g white chocolate, chopped finely
For the jellies
12g gelatin powder
25g icing sugar
8 cherries, pitted and halved
175g raspberries
50g blueberries
75g blackberries
1. For the sorbet, bring the milk, 60ml water, sugar and vanilla to the boil in a large pan, then leave to cool.
2. Remove the vanilla pod, add the chocolate, then whisk until it melts. Churn in your ice-cream machine for 20 minutes and put in the freezer, or stick in a tub freezer and whisk every hour until set to prevent ice crystals forming. Leave for a minimum of four hours.
3. For the jelly, chill four dariole moulds in the fridge. Boil 115ml water in a pan and add the gelatine powder and icing sugar until dissolved.Add 350ml cold water. Set aside.
4. Divide the fruit between the moulds, ensuring they get an even mix. Pour the jelly mix between them. Leave to set in the fridge for at least four hours while the sorbet freezes.
5. To release the jellies, dip the moulds in hot water, then turn upside down. Serve with the sorbet and a few extra fresh berries.