To be Mrs. Marv…

I love blackberries. I’ve been a little bit obsessed by them since visiting Portland last summer and eating them growing wild straight off the bush. It was so perfect. (Insert big sigh here.)

It just so happens that I have some blackberries. I have quite a lot of them. Oh gosh, I get to play. Crumble. I want crumble. Doesn’t blackberry crumble just sound beautiful?

A funny thing happened while I was making the crumble though. At the time, I was also making cheese. I’d been wanting to make fresh cheese and turn it into cheesecake for awhile. I decided that now was the time. (That was a really awkward sentence. Sorry for inflicting that on you.) And really – if the blackberry crumble happened to be as good as it turned out to be then why not re-create it as a sauce for the cheesecakes? Oh many x yum.

So that’s what I did.

Blackberry Crumble

2 – 3 T butter, very soft
1/3 c flour
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c oats
pinch salt

1 pt blackberries, room temp
1 t vanilla
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c wine jelly *
1 – 2 t corn starch
1/2 pt blackberries, frozen (keeps them whole through cooking)

vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350°f.

Pinch together crumble ingredients with your fingers and set aside.

Mix together vanilla, sugar wine jelly and cor starch. Add to the berries and toss gently until berries are coated. Divide them into ramekins and top with the crumble.

Put them in the oven and bake for 25 – 35 minutes, until berry mixture is bubbling and topping is browned. Let cool for a few minutes, topped with some vanilla ice cream and enjoy the heck out of it.

Sauce Version

1 1/2 pt blackberries
1 t vanilla
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c wine jelly *
1 – 2 t corn starch

Combine all ingredients except blackberries in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until all ingredients are liquid and combined. Lower heat and fold in blackberries. Let simmer gently until sauce thickens up. Cool and top something with it.

* Wine Jelly
4c wine
2c sugar
juice from one lemon
1 packet low sugar pectin

Cook sugar, lemon and wine together over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add pectin and stir to dissolve. Ladle into jars, seal and refrigerate. (You can also prepare the jars for canning, but storing them in the refrigerator or freezer is just fine.)

As for the cheesecake, you’re just going to have to wait for that.

xoxo

- Kris