Blackberry and apple geranium swirl

My lovely blogging friends, Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janice who blogs at Farmers Girl Kitchen are currently running a campaign to encourage us all to enjoy seasonal blackberries and have created #GBBR or Great British Blackberry Recipe Round Up. So I'll be linking up this post to there linky.

                                                    

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will have no doubt noticed that along with courgette, blackberry recipes are quite common. I regularly post blackberry recipes as we have a large plant of the thornless variety "Loch Ness" in the garden, its a fabulous reliable variety and routinely spurs new plants, the plant I am currently picking from is a spur of a spur of a spur we moved from our previous home. The plant crops very well most years and produces large juicy berries so beloved for inclusion in jam, preserve and crumble recipes.

This recipe came about as I wanted to utilise the beautiful subtle flavour of a new scented leaved pelagonium for this year, "apple scented" and what better combination than apples and blackberries. I was aiming for a fool but decided to substitute the cream for yogurt instead to lighten the dish.

I have also been experimenting with my new camera too, not that I am trying to surpass Mr LF but just handy for when I am in the kitchen or he's not available. So far I am pretty pleased with the results. Anyway on to the easy recipe.

What you need

• 1 cup of blackberries (retain a few whole ones for decoration)
• A few Apple pelagonium (geranium) leaves (optional, still tastes great without them)
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (0% fat works well)
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• Qty of dinky glass pots or dishes to serve 

What you do

• Whiz up the blackberries, sugar and pelagonium leaves in the food processor until you have a puree
• Sieve the puree to remove the seeds,leaves and stalks.
• In another bowl mix the vanilla, yogurt and creme fraiche to combine
• Simply place alternate layers of the yogurt and puree into your glass pots and swirl using a cocktail stick
• Chill a little before serving

Rhubarb, tonka bean and yoghurt fool

I have been intrigued for several weeks with the Tonka bean after coming across them on the Steenbergs website. Originally originating from the Orinoco area of South American the tonka bean is a member of the pea family, the tonka bean is used in food and cosmetics. Its flavours and fragrance is a mix of vanilla, cloves, cinnamon and bitter almonds, it also has pagan and mystical associations. I plan to experiment with the tonka bean more as the season progresses.

I have choosen to use the tonka bean in a simple fruit fool layer using seasonal rhubarb from the garden. I have utilised Rhubarb compote from my earlier post but with the addition of a grating of tonka bean, this is then topped with crushed digestive biscuits ( you could use amaretti, shortbread or ginger nuts) and the a layer of yoghurt with a grating of the bean on top. If you want a more decadent finish you could use cream or custard of you wish.

I am entering this post in to the #oneingredient cooking challenge hosted by Working London Mummy.