Wayne Carville, head chef at Mourne Seafood Bar in Northern Ireland, has created a lovely trio of berry puddings that will is sure to impress.
Ingredients
Before you start...
Freeze blackberries whilst they are in season, so you have a supply to use in dishes like this throughout the year. Always use the ripest berries available as these will give the sweetest, deepest flavour. Frozen berries are a good alternative but will require some extra sugar.
For the pastry:
- 125 g4½ oz butter, softened
- 85 g3 oz icing sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 170 g6 oz plain flour, sifted
For the berry mixture:
- 250 g8¾ oz blackberries
- 75 g2¾ oz caster sugar
- ½ small lemon, juiced
For the meringue:
- 90 g3¼ oz caster sugar
- 1 egg white
For the curd:
- 1 egg
- 90 g3¼ oz caster sugar
- 55 g2 oz unsalted butter, diced
- 1 tsp cornflour
For the blackberry crumble:
- 50 g1¾ oz plain flour
- 25 g1 oz butter
- 25 g1 oz caster sugar
For the blackberry mousse:
- 100 ml3½ fl oz whipping cream
- 12 blackberries
- 6 mint sprigs
To decorate (optional):
- Popping candy
- Micro herbs
Method: How to make Trio of blackberry puddings
To make the pastry:
Cream together the butter and icing sugar in a bowl until soft and pale. Gradually beat in the vanilla extract and enough egg to make a smooth dropping consistency. Mix in the flour and bring together to form a dough. Knead until the dough is smooth. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5. Roll out the pastry to line six 5cm-diameter dariole moulds, then line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, take out the paper and beans and return for 5–6 minutes until the middle is cooked. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/Gas 4.
To make the berry mixture:
Put the blackberries into a pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Cook on a high heat for 4–6 minutes until soft.
To make the meringue:
Put the sugar in a pan with 35ml of water and boil until the mixture reaches 110C. Meanwhile, beat the egg white in a large bowl with an electric hand-held mixer until the temperature of the sugar has reached 116C. Then slowly pour the sugar into the white and continue to beat until they have cooled.
To make the curd:
Cook 50g of the berry mixture with the egg, sugar, butter and cornflour in a pan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until well thickened and the cornflour is cooked.
To make the blackberry crumble:
mix the flour with the butter and sugar in a bowl. Set aside a further 50g of the berry mixture and then divide the remaining mixture between another six 5cm-diameter dariole moulds. Top with the crumble and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes until golden.
To make the meringue pie:
Remove the pastry cases from their moulds and almost fill with the curd mixture, top with the meringue and toast with a blow torch or put under a hot grill for about 30 seconds.
To make the blackberry mousse:
Whip the cream and fold in half of the reserved 50g of the berry mixture. Layer in six shot glasses with the remaining berry mixture and top each with blackberries and a sprig of mint. Pass the remaining berry mixture through a sieve to make a small quantity of coulis.
To serve:
Swipe some of the coulis across each plate with a teaspoon, then place each of the three puddings in a line and sprinkle with popping candy and micro herbs (if using).
