When a friend gives you about 700g fresh picked blackberries (yesterday) what do you do?

This person was coming for dinner the next day, so I made him a blackberry mousse cake for dessert – very filling, no more than one piece per person so there’s still lots to share with anyone who drops in over the next couple of days.

Here’s the recipe if you would like to make it:

Blackberry Mousse Cake

For the base

250g plain sweet biscuit crumbs

100g butter, melted

For the filling

2 x 85g packets lemon jelly crystals, dissolved in 1½ cups boiling water

250g cream cheese, softened

½ cup icing sugar

Juice 1 lemon

1 tin evaporated milk, chilled in the fridge overnight

600g blackberries, approximately

For the topping:

125g (approximately) blackberries

½ cup water

1 packet port wine jelly crystals

1 cup boiling water

To decorate

300ml whipped sweetened cream

Extra blackberries

Method

Grease a 23cm round spring form tin. 

Mix the biscuit crumbs with the butter and press evenly into the base of the tin.  Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Allow the lemon jelly mixture to cool but not set.

Whisk the cream cheese with the icing sugar, then whisk in the lemon juice. Set aside.

In a large separate bowl, beat the evaporated milk with an electric beater until thick and creamy.  Gradually pour in the cooled jelly mixture and continue to beat until combined, then beat in the cream cheese mixture.  Fold in the blackberries.

Pour onto the set biscuit crumb base.  Place in fridge to set.

To make the topping

Place the blackberries and ½ cup water in a small saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes.  Strain off liquid and reserve.

Dissolve the jelly crystals in the boiling water and then stir in the reserved blackberry juice (which should amount about half a cupful).  Leave to cool and become just slightly “gloopy” in texture.  Spoon over the set filling. 

Leave to set, then decorate with swirls of whipped cream and dot with blackberries.

Serves 8.