Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Farmers all over the country are praying for rain, and it's not surprising that Watties has announced a bumper crop of stone fruit and tomatoes this year.

There are also increased levels of berry fruits this year, as I noticed with the amazing amounts of heavily laden wild blackberries while fishing down at the lakes earlier this year. The wild blackberry takes over the countryside, invading anywhere it can with a dense tangle of prickly vines. Where it's cut and replenished on tracks and roadsides, blackberries hang by the bucket-load, free for the taking.

The blackberries this year are not only abundant but very tasty. Having not been subjected to rain, they seem to taste sweeter than ever.

So when a good friend gave me a blast from the past, two kilos of Sturmer apples (an excellent cooking apple), the idea came to make a combo with the blackberries. Unfortunately apples such as Cox's orange, red delicious and the good old Sturmers are hard to source. But sometimes the rewards of a hot summer are in the flavour you get from such good produce.

This week I am cooking the apple for a short time in a pot, then baking with custard spiked with blackberries and wrapping in puff pastry. I used a puff pastry for this but it can be made with gluten-free pastry.

Incidentally I'm having a foodie evening on March 20 where I'll be sharing more gluten-free secrets: a fun night with gluten-free tastings and a live cooking demo to enjoy. For more information, phone 07 579 9863.

Apple and Blackberry Custard Roll

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

5 cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced into large cubes

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and grated

2 tbsp butter

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ to ½ C dark brown sugar (depends on quality of sugar)

1 punnet blackberries (or 1 C wild, freshly picked)

1 sheet puff pastry

3 tbsp Edmonds custard powder

1/3 sheet of store-brought sponge

½ C cream

1 C milk

1 egg, beaten

Method

In a stainless pot on a low heat melt the butter and most but not all of the sugar. Add the diced apples and cook so they absorb the sugar but retain their shape - about eight to ten minutes - then stir in the grated apple and cinnamon. Cook for another two minutes then remove from heat and allow to cool. While the mix is cooling, make the custard by heating the milk and cream. Bring almost to the boil and add the custard powder mixed with a little water or milk. Once thickened and cooked, whisk well and allow to cool.

When both the custard and the apple mix are well chilled, assemble the roll using freshly defrosted puff pastry. This is important because you need to work as quickly as possible to achieve a good result.

Place a rectangle of split sponge sheet on top of the pastry. This will absorb any juices. Top with the apple mix, then with a spatula smooth over the custard then drop in the blackberries and push into the custard. Sprinkle any remaining dark brown sugar over this then enclose the whole thing like a sausage roll. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes in a fan-forced oven near the top on around 180-200 degrees Celsius until the pastry is well-cooked and crisp.

Cool on a wire rack. Serve cold with fresh cream. This is a great way to have the rewards of harvesting your own foraged foods and great for the kids' lunchbox also.