A Blackberry Pudding

Something to follow boiled ham - blackberries (also from the freezer).  Some ground almonds which have probably passed their 'best before' date were languishing in the cupboard so this seemed ideal.

I made these in individual portions in 1.5 cup ramekins - 8 of them.

Blackberry Puddings

Frozen blackberries - say 2-3 cups and no sugar. 

125 g butter
125 g caster sugar (I used about half that and we didn't miss it)
3 large eggs
50g ground almonds
100g self raising flour

Cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs one at a time (with a little flour if it starts to curdle).  Fold in the ground almonds and sift in the rest of the flour.

Put the blackberries in a prepared 22cm round tin (or 6 ramekins) and pour the batter over.  Sprinkle with flaked almonds.  Bake at 140 degrees C (fan oven ) for 15-20 minutes.

No 43 - Cherry Almond Biscuits

Mothering Sunday - while my other half was entertaining 'sa mere et sa soeur' following his maginifient roast pork 'lunch', I took my turn at doing the dishes and turned the kithen to my own use to bake something a little bit special for a meeting at work tomorrow morning.  I needed to hunt out a biscuit recipe that I hadn't made before (for my personal challenge), and I've found this which fits perfectly with my current obsession for recipes with ground almonds.

And this one is really easy.

Cherry Almond Biscuits

200 g butter
90g caster sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
25g ground almonds
200g self-raising flour
glace cherries

Melt the butter, stir in sugar and essence, sift in the flour and add the ground almonds. Mix the lot to a smooth dough,

then roll teaspoonfuls into balls and space them out on baking sheets (aim for 25-30).  Stick half  cherry on top of each, flattening the ball slightly. 

  Bake 15-20 minutes at 160 degrees C (fan oven)/180 degrees C (conventional).  Leave them 5 minutes on the trays before transferring them to a wire rack.  They are very buttery and will crumble if you move them too soon.

No 41 - German Plum Cake

The inspiration for baking something new often comes (in my kitchen at least) from having something I want to use up before it wastes.  So it was with plums I had bought cheaply and in large quantity a couple of years back.  The answer was Plum Cake, and although I suspect it is meant to be made in a shallow rectangular baking tin, and cut into squares (a 'slice' I suppose), it works well for us like this - particularly if we intend to spoon it out still warm and eat it for pudding with lashings of custard.


The plums are a refreshing tart contrast to sweet cake, and the ground almonds ensure a moist firm texture.

German Plum Cake

150g golden caster sugar
150g butter
3 large eggs
75g sifted plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
75g chopped walnuts
16 plums (depends on size - use 8 of those big ones we get in supermarkets these days)

Cut the plums into quarter and remove the stones.  (I slice the really big plums into smaller pieces than quarters.)

Cream the butter and sugar until it looks like french vanilla ice cream.  Beat the eggs lightly and add them bit by bit to the creamed buter/sugar mixture and beat in well.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold it in with a metal spoon.  Fold in the ground almonds and walnuts chopped to about pea-sized pieces.

Spread the mixture into your chosen baking tin (well greased beforehand of course), and throw the plum pieces on top.  The mixture rises up through the plums as it cooks.

Bake 40-45 minutes at 170-180 degrees C (depending on fan or conventional oven).

PS. I also put a dash of vanilla in the mix

No 16 - Sticky Lemon Cake

This recipe first saw the light in my kitchen for my partner’s 50^th birthday.  There was a huge party, 2 roast shoulders of pork, 2 shoulders of mutton in a Moroccan stew, gallons of chilli beans, and a table groaning under salads and bread, fruit, cheese and a roasting dish sized banana cake.  (I’ll get onto banana cake eventually.)  I wanted something  that was sharp and flavoursome in small servings and settled for this cake.

I love cakes with ground almonds.  I love cakes with yoghurt, and I love lemon sweets (Lemon ice-cream, lemon baked cheesecake) so this ‘ticked all the boxes’.

Sticky Lemon Cake

175 g (6oz) unsalted butter
250 g (9 oz) castor sugar
2 lemons
3 eggs
75 g (2.5 oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
150 g (5.5 oz) ground almonds
150 g (5.5 oz) natural yoghurt

Preheat the overn to 170 C.  Grease and line an 8" deep spring form tin
Cream the butter and 150g (5.5 oz) sugar.  Add grated zest of both lemons.
Gradually beat in the eggs one at a time.
Mix the dry ingredients, then fold in the creamed mix.  Stir in the juiceof one lemon and the yoghurt.
Bake for 40 minutes (till the cake is firm to touch).  Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes.
Leave the cake to cool.
Heat the remaining sugar and lemon juice, skewer the cake a few times and pour the syrup over the cake.
Leave it to cool completely before removing it from the tin.