Step into the August garden
And inhale summer’s final breath,
Fruits bulging, plump and ripe
Alive, but close to death.
–
Pick the ripe berries as you pass
And let their blood stain your hands,
Skin sweetened by purple juice
Fruits of life, given by the land.
–
Watch as summer begins its end
And see how the leaves start to die,
Green burning into fiery gold
Threads of golden sun in August’s last sigh.
–
Feeling in an uncharacteristically poetic mood (it must be the weather, the sun’s out for a change!) I just wrote this little piece about August. I’m certainly no Wordsworth but it just sums up how I feel about this time of year. From the blackberries bejeweling the hedgerows and the furious buzzing of the wasps as they hunt for food; everywhere is ripe with life. However, with ripeness comes the knowledge that soon these things will disintegrate and ultimately, die. In a few weeks the blackberry bushes will dry up and the wasps will give up the fight. However, before you decide that you might as well kill yourself while the goings still good, I want to say that I actually love this time of year! Yes, winter may be just around the corner but in terms of food offerings, August has it all. It offers apple crumble and plum chutney; the return of the Sunday roast and the promise of a new start – uni for me but the beginning of the school year for many others.
It also offers maize. Now maize, as we all know, is rubbish for eating. However, it does make rather good mazes. So last weekend, with the summer sun on our backs , my family and I headed to our local Maize Maze. It’s surprisingly difficult and if it wasn’t for the map they gave us (come to think of it, doesn’t this defeat the object?) we might have been stuck in there for quite a while.
August is also the perfect time for blackberry picking – my favourite pastime. I love getting food for free (that’s my stingy nature coming through) and the idea of collecting an ingredient that will make a cake of deliciousness, for absolutely nothing gets be just a little excited.
So with the help of my little nephew and niecelet I created this Apple and Blackberry Crumble Cake with our loot. Whilst being made with the ingredients of August – Bramleys and Blackberries – this cake tastes of Autumn, especially when heated and served with custard. Therefore, this little delight is the perfect epitome of late August, whereby we’re holding onto the threads of summer whilst being gently teased into the depths of Autumn.
Crumble Cake
– 225g softened butter
– 225g castor sugar
– 4 beaten eggs
– 175g self-raising flour
– 50g ground almonds
– 1tsp baking powder
– 2 peeled and cored Bramley apples
– 225g blackberries
For the Crumble Topping
– 90g plain flour
– 40g butter
– 40g demerara sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line a 23cm spring-form cake tin
2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale
3. Gradually add the beaten eggs, then fold in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder
4. Transfer to the cake tin and arrange the apples on top. Scatter with the blackberries
5. Top with the crumble mix and bake for 50 minutes.
To The Table 