As I opened my freezer a few days ago, I noticed a couple of punnets of blackberries I had been keeping for a rainy day.

Rainy it was indeed. In fact it had been so wet in Sydney that I was starting to wonder whether we’d have any dry days at all this year!

The decision of devouring those dark, gleaming gems had been promptly made, but how to turn them into a heart-warming, scrumptious delight?

With the aid of a few usual suspects, flour, sugar, almonds and perhaps the citrusy kick provided by a splash of Cointreau, I felt sure I could give it my best shot.

INGREDIENTS

(this will yield 8 cakes baked in large muffin tins and there with some left over batter for mini cakes)

190 gr (just under 1 cup) of castor sugar

1/8 teaspoon  of salt

200 gr (just under 2 cups) of self-raising flour, sifted

50 gr (just under 1/2 cup) of almond meal

3 eggs

70 ml (1/3 cup) of grape seed oil

4 tablespoons of Greek yogurt

3/4 cup of blackberries

3 tablespoons of icing sugar

juice and zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon of Cointreau (or any other orange flavored liquor)

HOW TO

Put the berries in bowl and dress with the juice of 1 orange, the Cointreau and the icing sugar. Macerate for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cream the eggs with the sugar and the salt until they are pale and fluffy.

Add the yogurt and the oil and mix well with a wooden spoon.

Gently incorporate the sifted flour and the almond meal.

Add the berries and their juices, pour batter into a greased and floured 8-hole muffin tin and bake at 180 C (340 F) for 20/25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Take the tin out of the oven and cool for 30 minutes before taking the cakes out.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with fresh berries and a flute of Moscato, for extreme pleasure!

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