Yet more about loganberries...

Our loganberries are still going strong & we have found some other uses for them. They made a wonderful topping for a fruit pavlova a couple of weeks ago - even at their most ripe, loganberries still have a very tart quality so they work well with the sugary meringue & rich cream of the pavlova.



For that same quality of tartness loganberries make a fabulous ingredient in fruit muffins. Here's my recipe:

Loganberry & almond muffins

225g self raising flour (we prefer wholemeal)
1tsp baking powder
50g butter
40g roughly chopped almonds
75g sugar
250ml buttermilk (or milk if you don't have buttermilk)
2 large free range eggs
175g loganberries
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 190C/gas 5 & prepare a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

Sieve the flour & baking powder into a large bowl & then rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs (I use my food mixer to do this bit). Stir in the sugar & the chopped almonds.

In a jug, measure out the buttermilk & then add the 2 eggs & beat them together gently with a fork.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry & stir very gently with a metal spoon. Add the loganberries (reserving 24) at the last minute & stir very gently just to distribute them in the mixture.

Distribute the mixture evenly between the muffin cases, top with 2 loganberries on each muffin & sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top.

Gorgeous for breakfast or for a teatime snack. Eat on the day you make them, preferably warm from the oven.

Rumtopf
We have used up any excess loganberries in our rumtopf which we started a couple of weeks ago. The basic premise of rumtopf is that you take equal quantities of fruit (especially soft fruit) & sugar, cover with rum or brandy and keep in a large crock or preserving jar until Christmas time when you eat & drink the contents (hic!). Traditionally fruit is added as it becomes available through the season - we have found that raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries & plums have worked very well. This year, so far, we have used raspberries, tayberries, loganberries, blackcurrants & blackberries. It is already smelling tremendous.