Wild bramble mousse

INTRODUCTION

Pick your own blackberries in the late summer for this perfect light pudding – and freeze some to use later in the year as well. You can purée the blackberries in a food processor after cooking, as this makes it easier to pass them through a sieve.

INSTRUCTIONS

SERVES 6

1. You will need a 1.1-litre (2-pint) glass dish or 6 small dishes.
   
   
2. Tip the blackberries, lemon juice and 75g (3oz) of the caster sugar into a saucepan. Stir, cover the pan and simmer for 5–8 minutes until soft. Pass the blackberries through a sieve back into the pan, then discard the seeds. Reheat until piping hot.
   
   
3. Put the gelatine leaves into a bowl of cold water and leave for 5 minutes. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add them to the hot blackberry juice. Stir until dissolved. Set the mixture aside until it is cold and has thickened slightly.
   
   
4. Whip the cream to soft peaks. In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites, adding the remaining 100g (4oz) of caster sugar a teaspoon at a time. Keep whisking until all the sugar has been incorporated and the whites are stiff and look like a cloud (as for a meringue). Take care not to overwhisk or it will be tricky to incorporate the egg whites into the blackberries.
   
   
5. Add 2 large tablespoons of the whipped cream to the blackberry and gelatine mixture and stir in gently. Carefully fold in the rest of the cream and the egg whites until the mixture is smooth and light, with no white bits visible. Pour into the dish or dishes and place in the fridge for about 6 hours, or ideally overnight, to chill and set.
   
   
6. Decorate with a few blackberries, dust with icing sugar and serve with some whipped cream.

PREPARING AHEAD - Can be made up to 2 days ahead.

This recipe is taken from: Simple Comforts