Blackberry & Banana Cake

I picked up some large and juicy and delicious blackberries the other day. They sat on my counter begging to be used in something yummy, not that there already weren't yummy by themselves- because they were.

But, as you should know by now, I love to bake (my waistline groans in protest) LOL but I have to say, with me working out like a crazy mama and doing good with keeping my calories way- way under.

 So, those blackberries and some quite ripe banana's were going to be added into a cake. 

I used this recipe HERE although I omitted using the Cassis.

Here's what you will need:

Ingredients

Blackberry Filling

1 1/4  cups fresh blackberries (if frozen, thaw and drain well)

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3 medium bananas (mashed)

1 cup sour cream

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Grease bottom and side of 10-inch tube cake pan with shortening and lightly flour.

In a small bowl, mix all the blackberry filling ingredients and set aside. 

Blend the Sugar and butter till smooth.

Then add 1 egg at a time and beat well.

Add the Spices and beat.

Until your mixture is soft, fluffy and creamy.

Add your mashed Bananas & mix. 

This next step you're going to add 1/3 flour, then 1/3 sour cream

 Until you finish with the flour lastly. Beat well.

I didn't have a bundt pan so I used a larger spring loaded pan.

I used half of the mixture in bottom.

Then add the Blackberry/ nut mixture over the mixture.

Then spoon over the remainder of the mixture. Pop in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until when a pick is inserted, comes out clean.

Leave to cool completely.

Once your cake has cooled you can make the glaze.

Go slow with the water till, you get the right consistency.

It will stick on the fork and still drizzle down

Drizzle all over the cake. Then, as i'm sure your tummy is grumbling with how yummy is looks and smells, cut yourself a slice and enjoy!

Blackberry & Banana Cake.

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Blackberry & Apple Crumble In Mason Jars.

Growing up, we had a huge blackberry bush at the end of our back garden. I can't recall how many times  when the blackberries were in season, I'd walk down the garden path and pick, beautiful  big, ripe and juicy blackberries off and eat as many as I could... Yep, eat right away, I know...Yuk! What about bugs and washing them, well if I did eat a bug, then it didn't do me any harm, although, I don't ever recall eating any. Plus my mother never used any sort of bug spray or chemicals on the blackberry bush, so I didn't have to worry about any of that.

Just eating them.

I do love Blackberries and when our blackberry bush was overflowing with blackberries, my mother would give us big bowls and send us out to ..'Get picking', so we could make jam and delicious blackberry crumble.

So with my new love of  what you can do with 'Mason Jars' at the moment, I decided to make so single serving blackberry crumble in mason jars. 

Here's what you'll need to make

Blackberry Crumble

6 cups Blackberries

(Pre washed and soaked in a little sugar, to get some of the juices to seep out)

 3 Braeburn Apples peeled & chopped

2/3 cup Brown Sugar

2 cups Flour

1/4 tsp All Spice

1 cup Butter

Whipped Heavy Cream for topping

Or pouring cream.

4 smaller mason Jars.

Oven temp 425 deg.

Grate the cold stick of butter into the flour. Until it resembles fine breadcrumbs

(Grating the cold butter makes it easier and quicker to mix into the flour)

Add the sugar and mix well.

Add the allspice.

Divide blackberries and apple into the mason jars, make sure you get some of that yummy blackberry juice in there too.

Sprinkle a large spoonful of sugar, between  2 of the jars, then do the same for the rest.

Spoon over the crumble mixture on top of the fruit.

I only filled 4 mason jars, the rest I made a large dish of Blackberry Crumble.

Pop the crumbles in the preheated oven and bake for 35- 40 minutes until the crumble top is golden brown and the blackberry juice bubbles over. Once they're cooked take out and cool for 5 mins, then serve warm with freshly whipped heavy cream or serving cream

 And 

Enjoy the yummy deliciousness of the mixture of tart and sweetness of 

Blackberry & Apple Crumble

Or maybe wrap the single serving of Blackberry Crumble, up in Christmas fabric and with some fresh whipped cream and give as a gift.

Mmmm.... So Delicious!

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