Berried treasure chests filled with gold

This morning when I got up, I already knew what kind of a day it was going to be.  All night the wind howled as our timber frame house creaked and rocked around me like a reaver’s lugger.  I didn’t actually need to open my eyes as I rolled out of my berth (sorry, bed) to know that no summer sunshine beckoned.  No way was I going to greet the day as per normal, by flinging open the doors onto my deck to make my salutations.  Instead I swaddled myself in multiple layers of cotton and cashmere, wool and warmth, then reinforced this internally with a cup of steamy mocha.  Mmm…delicious! 

With all my defences in place I felt impervious to the whispering white fingers of early morning mist, and I opened my heart and mind to the vision that greeted me as we rounded the mountain, and the expanse of False Bay came into full view.  As I said, I knew it was going to be a Smuggler’s day.

The huge, open bay that we gaze at everyday was suddenly shrouded in secrets, swathed in nearly as many layers of grey as I.  I could almost feel, but not quite see, the mist parting to give us just a glimpse of a time gone by, perhaps 300 years ago, when sailors still stopped at the Cape for fresh victuals and there must have been some intrepid souls who took the opportunity to indulge in a little illicit trading.

Somehow it was fitting that the first thing on my baking agenda this morning was a deli favourite.  We call them Berried Treasure Chests, because they are shaped like miniature chests, which broken open, reveal their treasure of golden ground almonds and spiced berries.  Less fanciful people might call them friands.

To make them is simplicity itself, the difficulty comes in leaving them overnight before you eat them.  This is not strictly necessary, but I’m going to make it part of my recipe, as given just a little extra time to let the almonds develop, these little treasures will be doubly rewarding, and just the thing to go with a cup of rum laced coffee on a secretive Autumn day.

Doesn’t this photo just say it all. Summer on a plate. I defy anyone not to dive in when a platter of these makes its appearance at any summer party. I can barely believe that these were an afterthought. They were the leftovers from a batch of puff pastry I made destined for savoury tarts for lunch. And while the pastry takes a little time to make (if not very much effort) it is also possible to buy good quality puff pastry from the freezer section of supermarkets. Or specialist bakers such as Baker&Spice in London. Make sure you go for the all butter kind.

Once you have your puff pastry, made or bought, these little temptations are simplicity itself to make, leaving you looking like you’ve just popped out to a fabulous Parisian bakery for the edible edification of your guests, even if you are in the middle of the West Country.

Or maybe not. Their official French name is Feuilletees, a version of the more well known mille-feuille (or thousand leaves). They are generally little individual sized portions of rectangles of puff pastry, brushed with an egg glaze and baked at 220*C for 12 -15 minutes, then split in half and filled with sweetened cream and fresh fruit. So far so good. But had these truly come from a French Patisserie I have no doubt they would all be perfectly uniform and would not dare to have a single one of their thousand layers out of place.

Mine, on the other hand, reflect their maker, far from perfect, wildly undisciplined, wandering off at a tangent (that’s what happens when you use scraps of puff pastry), and filled to bursting with sunshine, joie-de-vivre, a touch of tart sweetness, and a little bit of whimsy. The sunshine and happiness come from the fact that there is actually some sunshine today. Hooray! The tart sweetness comes from handpicked berries from the kitchen garden, and the whimsy (without which I would be lost) is the fragrant promise of fresh mint, the smell, rather than the taste infusing the whole.

Actually, they make me think of deck chairs and floaty dresses, glasses of Pimms and Sunday afternoon cricket. Not French at all then. But very very Somerset. There are some times when it is well worth being British.

This is my entry for Jeanne, Johannna and Andrew’s WTSIM… event. This month it is hosted by Jeanne and the theme is Berried Treasure. For once my only problem with entering an event was choosing what to post about. I can’t wait for the roundup as it s my considered opinion that you can never have to many things to make with berries.