Raspberry rover

A raspberry rover from Mollie Harris and a wintry variant of our own. This recipe embodies some traditional techniques and ingredients and must have started out as a means to salvage leftover fruitcake. Four servings.

• unsalted butter
• 6 oz crumbled fruitcake
• 12 oz raspberries
• about 4 teaspoons Sherry of your choice other than Fino (too dry here)
• 10 oz heavy cream
• an egg or two
• 6 oz Demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 400°.

1. Smear the butter around a shallow ovenproof dish of appropriate size and layer the crumb evenly into it.
2. Top the crumb with the berries and wine.
3. Whisk the egg into the cream and pour the custard over the mix.
4. Shower the rover with sugar and bake it until just set, usually in about a half hour.

Notes:

-If you cannot find Demerara sugar (but you can) use the product called “Sugar in the Raw” in the United States.

-A wintry alternative in the spirit of both Harris and Jane Grigson to try when raspberries are not available substitutes Harris mincemeat cake for the fruitcake and dried apricot for the berries. Soak the apricots in a small pot until plump then simmer them and their liquid for about five minutes before mashing them to cover the cake. Otherwise follow the same steps as the primary recipe.