Blackberry, Apple and Carob Cheesecake Bites

I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a little while and we are now well past the end of blackberrying season (although the fat little purple fruits do seem to nestle amongst the hedges a bit longer here over in Northern Ireland compared to England). But after making apple and blackberry granola muffins a few weeks back I had enough blackberries left to make something a little less healthy. Although I did replace any chocolate in the recipe with carob to ensure there was a little something missing from this tray bake recipe.

If you haven’t got a stash of locally picked blackberries or don’t want to wait until next year before trying out this recipe any variety of frozen berries could be used instead.

INGREDIENTS

100g fresh blackberries

100g bramley apple (peeled and chopped)

15g caster sugar

1 tablespoon water

140g butter

150g caster sugar

75g carob powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

120g plain flour

200g cream cheese

1 egg

100g caster sugar

30g corn flour

Place the blackberries, apple, 15g of caster sugar and water into a saucepan and place over a medium heat until the apple begins to soften and the juices are released from the blackberries (this will probably take about 10 to 15 minutes). Then remove from the heat and place to one side.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Grease a 20cm x 30cm baking tin and line with non-stick baking parchment.

Place the butter into a saucepan and place over a medium heat until melted. Then add the 150g caster sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and sift in the carob powder, cinnamon, baking powder and flour. Once fully combined add the eggs one by one and stir again until a smooth batter is formed.

In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth before adding the egg, remaining caster sugar and corn flour. Then mix in the blackberry and apple mixture to the cheese until distributed throughout.

Spread 2/3 of the carob mix into the lined tin and then spoon the cream cheese mix on top. Spoon the remaining carob mixture in blobs over the cheesecake mix and using the tip of a sharp knife swirl the 2 mixtures together.

Bake for 40 minutes until the cake is firm and the carob mixture is set.

Allow to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Then slice into squares and serve.

This recipe was inspired by this recipe from Beantown Baker.

Gluten Free Granola, Blackberry and Apple Muffins

This blog post is a first for me….a product review. I was fortunate enough to be sent a couple of packets of ‘Nice and Nobbly’ Gluten Free Granola from Nature’s Path. As a newbie to this opinion-casting web entry I should probably start with the little official bit and say despite being sent this product for free the comments I make are all my own and not influenced by anyone else.

Anyway moving on from the Ts and Cs I was sent 2 varieties of the Granola. A Strawberry, Rasberry and Blueberry versions and a Pumpkin Seed, Raisin and Almond version. The berry granola had a real fruity punch and as the description may suggest there really are some generously sized nobbly chunks of granola within the mix. The pumpkin granola is a little less sweet than the berry version with subtle cinnamon flavours in addition to the hidden gem of large coconut flakes that I found lurking within the mix and which I loved. Both of these granolas are a great gluten free product that use organic ingredients and provide a good addition to the breakfast table.

But if you fancied doing something a little more exciting than just adding the granola to a bowl with an addition of milk or yoghurt ‘Nice and Nobbly’ can also be used in this recipe for gluten free blackberry and apple breakfast muffins.

INGREDIENTS

2 bananas

Juice from 1 lemon

80g butter

80g sugar

1 egg

100ml milk

320g gluten free flour (I use Dove’s)

2tsp gluten free baking powder

115g blackberries

1 medium apple (80g), cored and chopped

50g gluten free granola (plus a little extra for sprinkling on top of muffins)

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.

Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases.

Peel and mash the bananas in a small bowl with the lemon juice and set to once side.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and then add the egg and milk and stir until combined.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and fold together.

Fold in the mashed banana along with the chopped apple, blackberries and granola into the mixture until distributed well throughout the mixture.

Spoon evenly between the 12 cake cases and sprinkle each muffin with a little extra granola before transferring to the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden in colour and springy to the touch.

Allow to cool before tucking in….these are great served with a big blob of homemade blackberry jam on top!

Dairy Free Russian Apple Cake

It was recently my housemate’s birthday and in my book any birthday has to be accompanied by a cake. The problem is my housemate isn’t the biggest cake fan. Last year for her birthday rather than a cake I made her a loaf of bread as a celebratory substitute. But this year I didn’t think I could repeat the bread trick so wanted to make a cake that my housemate would enjoy, which basically involved a cake that isn’t too cakey!! A bit of trawling of the internet and I came across a Russian Apple cake or ‘Sharlotka’ recipe over at Smitten Kitten. This is a recipe where layers of apples are covered in a batter and then baked to make a cake that is more apple than anything else…so a perfect non-cakey cake. And as a bonus there is no added fat so this is a great dairy free addition to the blog.

I adapted the original recipe I found over at Smitten Kitten to include some blackberries from our garden along with some ground almonds to add a more English autumnal twist to this Russian recipe.

INGREDIENTS

500g tart eating apples e.g. Granny Smith (8 small)

½ cup blackberries

4 eggs

250g caster sugar

Seeds from ½ vanilla pod

150g flour

20g ground almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C or 360°F and line a 25cm diameter, loose bottomed tin with non-stick baking parchment.

Peel and core the apples and slice into 2cm thick chunks.

Fill the lined tin with layers of the apple interspersed with blackberries.

In a large mixing bowl beat together the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy.

Fold in the vanilla, flour and almonds until fully combined, being careful not to overwork the mixture.

Gradually pour the batter over the apples and blackberries ensuring the mixture fills all of the gaps between the fruit.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour until firm and golden brown on top.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before removing and transferring to a cooling rack.

This cake can be served warm with cream or custard or cold as an afternoon teatime treat.