Cooking with Kids: Making the berry best of the end of the summer
Pic: iStock
Blackberries signal the end of summer; they appear every year at back-to-school time.
Berries are good for us, and it is nice to have such a healthy food growing so abundantly in Ireland.
There is very little that we get for free in life, but blackberries truly are, the hedgerows are overflowing with them this year. Once you find a safe and clean spot away from traffic you can pick your fill.
Other berries can be used in the crumble instead of blackberries if you like, it is delicious with raspberries. I would however cut the sugar, which is added to the fruit, by about half as raspberries can be much sweeter. The children can of course make one larger crumble if small ramekins are not available.
The children can of course make one larger crumble if small ramekins are not available... Servings Preparation Time Cooking Time Total Time Course Ingredients 60g cold butter, cut into small cubes 120g plain flour 20g of porridge oats 80g light brown sugar, 50g for the crumble and 30g for the fruit 280g apples 150g blackberries 1 tsp of ground cinnamon Method Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Cut the cold butter into little cubes. Put the flour, oats and 50g of the sugar into a big bowl and mix them together with your hands. Add in the cubes of butter. Put your two hands into the bowl and rub the mixture between your palms This will mix the butter and the other ingredients together. Keep rubbing until it is all mixed and it looks like breadcrumbs. Leave this aside in a cool place while you get your fruit ready. Carefully peel the apples and cut out the core from the inside. Now cut the apples into small pieces. Put the apples into a bowl and add the blackberries and sprinkle them with the cinnamon and sugar. Mix everything together. Scoop this mixture between four small ovenproof ramekin dishes. Next cover the top of each dish of fruit with the crumble and press it down slightly. Ask an adult to place the ramekins into the heated oven. Bake for about 25 minutes until the crumble is golden and the apple is soft. Ask an adult to test them and take them out of the oven if they are ready. Allow your crumbles to cool down before eating.Blackberry Crumble
Tapioca is available quite inexpensively in most large shops. It was traditionally used as a dessert. Its texture is quite unusual, in fact it is very similar to some sensory play toys for children.
But, the beauty of using tapioca is that there is no harm done if they decide to put a handful of it in their mouth.
Pour about a tablespoon of the tapioca pearls into a cup and then cover them with warm water. You can do a selection of cups, adding some food colouring to each if you like.
I often use beetroot powder and turmeric, but you can use any edible colouring you like. After half an hour the pearls will have soaked up the water and become soft and slimy, like little beads in water.
Lots of fun for little ones to play with.
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