Crumpets with Blackberry Butter
Ingredients
Makes
- 1 cup blackberries
- 1.5 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 350ml milk
- 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 7g sachet dried yeast
- 375g plain (all-purpose) flour
- a pinch of salt
Blackberry Butter
- Place 1 cup blackberries, 1.5 Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until syrupy.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Place 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a bowl and whip with a wooden spoon until light.
- Fold through the blackberries to create a ripple effect.
- Spoon into one or more ramekins, cover and refrigerate until required.
Crumpets
- Pour 350ml milk into a saucepan and heat until just warm.
- Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and stir in the 1/2 tsp sugar and 7g yeast. (Do not have the milk too hot or it will kill the yeast.)
- Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until the milk starts to bubble.
- Sift the 375g all-purpose flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually add the milk to the flour and beat with electric beaters until completely smooth.
- Cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in volume and full of air bubbles.
- Mix 1/2 tsp bicarb soda with 200 ml water, and use electric beaters to combine with the batter.
- Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and brush with melted butter.
- Lightly grease 4 metal rings, 8cm in diameter and 3cm deep, and put in the pan.
- Spoon approximately 3 tablespoons of the batter into each ring. Cook over a very low heat for 5 minutes or until the surface is full of large bubbles and a skin has formed.
- Loosen the rings and turn over to cook the other side.
- Remove the crumpets from the pan and stand on a wire rack covered with a tea towel while cooking the remaining batter.
- Serve the crumpets fresh or toasted, spread with lashings of blackberry butter.