Blackberry & Orange Cake

Hedgerow Farewells

As the season begins to rapidly transition into Autumn browns, hot chocolates & brisk evenings (& lots of pumpkin posts), before we bid our last farewell to summer & dig out the comfort of wool quite yet, there is one last hope for us sunshine idolisers.. hedgerows.

Wander to the bottom of the garden, veer off down that country lane & you’ll find the glorious abundance of blackberries that September brings to our hedgerows. Juicy, purple jewels eagerly awaiting foraging.

Of course, you could just as well cheat & use shop-bought blackberries (I won’t judge). If you do indulge in a little foraging though, prepare your blackberries by filling a large bowl with cold water & 1tsp of salt. Gently tip them in & leave undisturbed for a couple of hours (this will kill off any little nasties). Rinse them very gently & drain well until dry.(Be sure to pick before October 10th, folklore suggests that the devil spoils all blackberries after this date, it’s either that or the weather..).

Juicy blackberries lend themselves well to many dishes, pies, crumbles, jams , they’re the perfect partner to crunchy apples. Today however, I offer it in humble cake form. The slightly tart but sweet taste of blackberries paired with the freshness of orange really works well together in this cake, both flavours shine through perfectly. It’s not a large, towering cake but one that is small & has a simple, rustic charm (I did manage to devour this cake by the quarter in a rather unhumanly timescale). Serve with a heavy handed pouring of double cream for pure comfort eating joy.

Dust with icing sugar for that finishing touch