*Blackberry & Apple Charlotte*
Serves 4

The best blackberries for pudding and desserts are the ones you pick early in the season.  This is when they are the juiciest.  Older berries have a lot of seeds.  I always pick mine early and then freeze them so that I can make delicious pudding such as this simple one all the way through the winter!  Other berries such as black currants are nice done this way as well.

2 large cooking apples (Bramley)
caster sugar to taste
340g of blackberries (fresh or frozen, about 3/4 pound)
150g of softened butter (2/3 cup)
6 to 8 medium thick slices of day old bread, crusts removed
demerara sugar to sprinkle

Peel, core and roughly chop the apples.  Put them into a large saucepan along with 1 TBS of water.  Place over low heat.  Cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the apples are softened, but not collapsed into applesauce.   Add sugar to taste, then gently fold in the blackberries.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. 

Butter the slices of bread well on one side.  Using 2/3 of the bread, line a 2 pint pie dish, placing them butter side down and cutting them to fit.  Spread the apple and blackberry mix over this.  Cut the remaining bread into rectangles and place on top of the fruit, buttered side up, covering it completely.  Sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 45 minutes, or until the bread topping is golden brown and crisp.  Serve immediately with "lashings" of cream or warm custard!