Blackberry Crumble Cake

Well actually it should be Gooseberry Crumble Cake but after seeing the cake over at Gina's at Fan My Flame I decided that a swap of fruit was ok and it turned out great and taste's even better!!

This is a Nigel Slater recipe and referred a lot to a food processor but I do not have one of those so I just got my hand whisk out and kept my fingers crossed.  

The juice of the blackberries, which Sophie and I picked during the summer holidays, made the sponge go a lovely purple and did not make the cake soggy.  

You basically make a sponge mixture, put the blackberries on top then add the crumble topping and bake in the oven.  The sponge goes up and the crumble keeps it all under control.  I smells great and I have had to really restrain myself not to eat it all!

As you can see we have been sampling it in our lunch packs this week.

I may have found another recipe for apples which may well go on to Baking To Do list in the coming weeks.

I am pretty much up to date with work for the day job so tonight I am going to colour plan my Granny square blanket and tomorrow we are off the the Creative Stitches Exhibition in Exeter.

Have a lovely weekend.

xx

Have a good weekend.

A bit of This and That and a letter.

 Well, I chickened out yesterday when Sophie suggested we take of the bandaging etc on my hand as I was advised to do that on the third day.  But this morning after a pain free night with no painkillers needed I decided to go for it!!

I was in doubt when I got to the last layer and rang up my local surgery who were no help at all so I decided to solider on with the option of going to our local non emergency out patients tomorrow when Hubby gets back if I am do anything wrong.  So I found some clean new scissors and removed the crepe bandage.  Then used the scissors to snip the white tape holding two fingers together and removed the gauze pad.  My hand is still a funny colour due to the bruising and iodine it was covered in and the actual cut is a bit...........well it looks ok so I shall leave it there (no pictures as I do not want to upset anyone).  Sophie did not know what to make of the stitches, this is a new experience for her.  The next question was what to put back on it.  I did buy some non-adherent dressing earlier in the week so I picked a small one and trimmed it a bit.

With Sophie's help we carefully wrapped this dressing and taped it round my finger.  My poor little finger is HUGE and is the same thickness as my index one.  It is a lovely colour mind you, purpley.  It is now hurting a bit due to being handled but not too much.  I think that at bedtime I might put the crepe bandage back on as I am really worried about catching it on my pillow  as I tend to put my hand under my pillow and bending it etc and opening it all up again. I am now waiting for an appointment for some one more qualified to look at it next week.  Could be awkward seeing as Hubby is off on his travels again so  hopefully it is not too far to drive if I have to.

It is bliss having most of my hand back again and I am able to type here with most of my fingers.  So on the mend.  Still no sewing or painting yet but hopefully tomorrow................?

So a little cooking from last week.

I had one more tub of blackberries to use so I decided to look at Nigella Express.  I like this book and I really do need to try more ideas from it but for now I have post-its in our favourites.

It is a bit like crumble but without the crumble topping.  Instead you use large porridge oats.  I think less sugar too and you can make the topping as thick or thin as you like.

No matter how much the juices ooze through it still stays crunchy and lasts in the fridge for a week.  Freezes well too.

Lovely with a bit of Emlea cream and so easy to make.  You could use any fruit really.  My apples are growing like mad so it will not be too long before I make one of these with my homegrown apples.  I shall also see what else I can make as I think that I am going to have a bumper crop this year.  I hope to trade for some tomatoes with my neighbour as well.

Does anyone have any apple based recipes I could try as Sophie is now old enough to do quite a bit as well.

It really is yummy and if you do not have this book then I am sure it will be on her website.  You could also make mini ones for a party, just leave a bit of space for the cream/ ice cream.

Back tomorrow.

xx

PS

Just had a letter through for a hospital follow up appointment and guess what?  It is scheduled for the first day of school, typical, but I have just managed to move it for after school on the same day.  Would not look good if I took Sophie out of school early on her first day!