With a 20-year strawberry farming background behind here, Annabel Makin-Jones thought it was about time Annabel’s Deliciously British expand their offering. With the brand going from strength to strength, loved by top UK chefs, she decided the time was ripe to add another berry into the mix. ‘2024 is our first year growing raspberries, we’d always been reluctant as they’re tricky to grow, but we’ve decided to grow 22 tonnes of them this year,’ she says.
It’s a tiny patch compared to the 1,800 tonnes of strawberries grown on their Leeds based farm every year, but when there’s such high demand, it makes sense.
Those with a sweet tooth and a love of Bettys are likely to have tasted the fruity goodness that comes from Annabel’s coveted strawberries which you can enjoy in everything from the bakery’s fondant fancies to Victoria sponge cake. This rather yummy Yorkshire collaboration now includes Bettys Classic Strawberry Preserve, available online and in store, which is made using Annabel’s Deliciously British home-grown Yorkshire, Malling Centenary strawberries.
Just as Bettys sees the value of supporting ‘a zero waste farm, that’s just down the road . . . moving things in the right direction by being mindful of the environment as well as local agriculture’ Annabel urges consumers to see the value of buying British.
Bettys Yorkshire Classic Strawberry Preserve, £5.25, bettys.co.uk
Princess Diana, then Prince Charles and their two boys’ (Image: Trish Henderson)
Silky Chocolate and Raspberry Tart recipe
SERVES 10-12
This chocolate and raspberry tart is very rich, so it goes a long way. Serve with some more fresh raspberries on the side, and a little extra cream, if you can’t resist.
INGREDIENTS
150ml whole milk
500ml double cream
65g golden caster sugar
300g good quality dark chocolate (ideally 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into small squares
2 medium free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g fresh raspberries, plus extra to serve (optional)
For the crisp chocolate pastry
175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
25g good quality cocoa powder
50g icing sugar
100g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 medium free-range egg yolk
4 tsp cold water
METHOD
For the pastry, sift the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolk briefly with the water. Add to the food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to stick together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out thinly on a flour-dusted surface. Use it to line a 25cm (across the top), 4cm deep, loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim the pastry edges, then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Put a baking sheet onto the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Line the pastry case with a sheet of crumpled baking paper and a thin layer of baking beans or rice, then blind bake on the preheated baking tray for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans/rice and blind bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and crisp. Turn the oven down to 170°C/fan150°C/gas 3½.
For the filling, put the milk, cream and sugar into a pan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently. Take off the heat, add the chocolate squares and stir until smooth. Cool slightly, add the eggs and vanilla extract, then mix together well.
Scatter the raspberries in the tart case. Pour over the filling, carefully slide the tart back onto the baking sheet in the oven, then bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling is cooked but still slightly wobbly. It will continue firming up as it cools. Remove and leave to cool somewhere cold (but not in the fridge) until set. Serve cut into thin slices.
annabelsdelisosulybritish.co.uk
