Borrago Newsletter #12 Honeycomb giveaway and blackberries galore.

I can’t believe it is September already, but it certainly feels like it. The hedgerows have been groaning under a bumper crop of blackberries and we have apples galore. The bees have been busy and we have some fresh honeycomb to give away. We celebrate these traditional gateways to autumn and the familiar back to school feeling with a delicious cocktail and the warm home comfort of a pie. 

Borrago blackberry bramble

We have had a lot of fun picking and eating blackberries. There are so many, that we even manage to bring bowlfuls back. They have the most wonderful vibrant colour, a lot of which stains the hands, but it is worth it. Blazing red and very delicious, this is a great autumnal treat. See the video of how to make it here and get the recipe here! 

They say as busy as a bee and ours have certainly been busy. We have five pots of our very own honeycomb in a jar to give away. Email your details to hello@Borrago.com if you would like some and make sure you follow us on Instagram and Facebook @BorragoDrinks. First come first served. This is our own raw honey, so it is not processed.

Blackberry and apple pie.

Blackberries and apples are ready to eat at the same time and are a match made in heaven. I like a really deep filled pie and you are going to want plenty of this delicious filling. The mixture of cooking and eating apples gives a great texture that holds this up and really hits the spot. If it is getting a touch colder, a warm blackberry and apple pie more than makes up for it. Serves: 8-10. 

Ingredients

750g sweet shortcrust pastry  3 medium cooking apples, peeled and chopped  5 eating apples apples, peeled and each cut into 12 wedges  150g golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling  1 tsp ground cinnamon  75g butter  250g blackberries  1 egg beaten or milk to glaze

Method

Split the pastry in half and roll out to line a deep 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Let the pastry hang over a little, prick the base with a fork and line with greaseproof paper and baking beans. Chill in the fridge for an hour.

While this is chilling, put the apples, sugar, butter and cinnamon in a pan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring up the heat and simmer for about ten minutes, or until the cooking apples have broken down and the cooking apples are soft. Stir in the blackberries and put into a bowl to cool.

Remove any excess liquid from the fruit mix and spoon into the tart case. Roll out the rest of the pastry out and cut it into ribbons about an inch wide. Arrange this on the top of the apple mix in a lattice pattern. Glaze the top and between the two pastry layers and trim the edges to make them look neat with a serrated knife. Sprinkle the top with some caster sugar and bake for another 45 minutes.

This can be served warm (let it cool for at least fifteen minutes to make it easier to get out of the tin), or it can be served cold. Perfect with a spot of cream or vanilla ice cream.

We hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and look forward to chatting more next month. Say hello on social media with @BorragoDrinks.

Thank you for making it to the end, until next time, all the best Tom TH