Verdict: Apple and blackberry flan

Sadly, it looks better than it tastes. On the plus side though, that's more because it looks amazing, rather than it not tasting good. And it does taste good... but I don't think it's better than (or even quite as good as) a tarte tatin. The sweetness is absolutely perfect - and there's a lovely gradation from the sweet pastry through the medium apple to the sharp blackberries. There's a nice soft texture to the apples; the texture of the blackberries is not so nice (but exactly as you'd expect from blackberries). But the problem I have with this one is that there's something missing in terms of flavour - it's all perfectly pleasant, but it needs just that little bit more zing. Perhaps it needs some citrus - maybe some orange zest or a squeeze of lime; I'm not convinced that this is actually what it needs, but it's just a little boring in its current form. Perfectly pleasant, but unexciting. Oh dear, I think I've just baked the Hardys wine of the flan world...Incidentally, if anyone's wondering why the first two photos in this post are so much better than the others from today, it's because those two are courtesy of Kenny!

'Tis the season for blackberrying

Blackberries are in season right now - so go to your nearest hedgerow and grab an armful! (Mind the thorns!). Here's what I did with mine.

Apple and Blackberry Flan
Ingredients
For the pastry

• 290g Plain flour
• 165g Butter
• 95g Caster sugar
• Very cold water

For the filling

• 50g Butter
• 75g Dark muscovado sugar
• 500g Diced Braeburn apples (3 good sized apples)
• 445g Blackberries
• 100g Honey
• 1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Method

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub the butter in until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Mix in the caster sugar.
3. Add just enough water to bind into a dough.
4. Roll out and line a flan ring and a sandwich tin, reserving some dough for decoration.
5. Prick the base both all over with a fork.
6. Refrigerate for 10 mins.
   
7. Line and weigh down both cases with baking beans.
8. Bake blind for 15-20 mins at 190C, remove the baking beans and bake for a further 5-10 mins. Allow to cool in the tin.
   
9. In a saucepan, melt the butter, and mix in the sugar.
10. Add the diced apples and cook over a moderate heat for 15 mins to soften.
11. Add the blackberries, honey and cinnamon and stir well.
12. Pour the mixture into the prepared cases.
13. Roll out the reserved dough and decorate as desired.
14. Bake at 190C for 25-30mins.
    

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted that this is basically a modified upside-down tarte tatin. Why reinvent the wheel?! Here are the flans at the end of step 12. I think they look supremely pretty, personally.
Ready for the oven! I had intended to make them both lattice tarts, but I hadn't left enough pastry to do the big one - so I made an apple and a blackberry instead (yes, that is supposed to be a blackberry!).Finished! The pastry on each could probably have done with a little bit longer in the oven, but I was worried about the top of the filling burning. I think it's okay though. It came out of the oven bubbling and just generally looking gorgeous - I can't help but think that this would simply be fantastic served hot with a big dollop (that's a technical term, by the way) of good vanilla ice cream...

Verdict: Bacon and walnut cookies

Weird. But most definitely in a good way. I'm utterly perplexed - this shouldn't work, but it most definitely does. And not in a novelty way - they really stand up on their own merit. The bacon tastes exactly like you expect bacon to taste - salty and meaty. The cookies taste of bacon. But they're definitely sweet. And it just works.

I don't think the walnuts really added anything - I thought they'd provide an interesting distraction from the bacon, but they're just completely overpowered by it. And now, having tried them, I don't think that caramelising the bacon would work. But it really doesn't matter - these are pretty darned awesome in their own right.

The question is, where will it end? If bacon cookies works, how about bacon cupcakes? Or bacon cake? Bacon sorbet???!

Everything's better with bacon

Almost any food can be improved by the addition of bacon. For some foods, this is obvious; salads, burgers and chicken are clearly better with bacon. Some foods don't take much imagination to see that this might be true - for example, a good steak is perfectly good alone, but a nice slice of crispy, streaky bacon would add a lovely counterpoint to it. But the argument that all food is improved by bacon is generally derailed by desserts; certainly, I don't want any bacon with my Black Forest Gateau thank-you-very-much.

But I don't see why this should be true of cookies. Well, let's see, shall we?

Bacon and Walnut Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 Rashers unsmoked bacon (25g cooked weight)
• 40g Butter
• 80g Caster sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1tbsp Honey
• 1tsp Vanilla extract
• 75g Self-raising flour
• 40g Walnuts

Method

1. Rinse the bacon to remove excess salt.
2. Trim off all the fat from the bacon and finely chop.
3. Fry the bacon until crispy. Set aside to drain.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
5. Beat in the egg, honey and vanilla extract.
6. Finely chop the walnuts.
7. Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in with the bacon and walnuts.
8. Spoon onto greased baking trays and bake at ~190C/Gas Mark 5 for 10-12 minutes until golden.
9. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Here is the bacon after frying (end of step 3). It looks surprisingly like the artificial bacon bits you can buy.

Ready for the oven (step 8).

Fresh from the oven - I slightly overcooked them, but I think I've gotten away with it.

I had (what I thought was) a genius idea just before I baked this, but I couldn't be bothered effect it - that of caramelising the bacon bits after frying. If this turns out well, maybe I'll give that a go next time around...