Shaken not stirred - Apple and blackberry crumble in a glass

                                                                                                     Artwork: Rachel Williams

Did I hear someone say cocktail time? yes, me. As soon as it´s six o´clock somewhere it’s always cocktail hour in my book! "Turn your favourite autumn desserts into dangerously, delicious cocktails", it said, so I did just that.Everywhere I look it seems some mixologist or bartender is shaking up a Great British dessert.Well I dont know about desserts and cocktails but there certainly seems to have been a lot of shakin and a stirrin going on recently.Blackberries are more highly prized in western Europe than anywhere else in the world, and collected and eaten most enthusiastically of all in Britain, where blackberrying occupies a special cultural niche as a uniquely rewarding leisure activity.
There’s a distinct whiff of just about everyone’s favourite Autumn / winter pudding in this seasonal cocktail, hence the name. It’s just a simple assembly job, too, with no flashy bartender tricks.This  highlights the classic combination of Blackberry and Apple and is one of the very few dessert cocktails made with gin.
Blackberry and Apple Crumble in a glass
Serves 1
 
40ml gin 
12ml blackberry syrup (make up a batch: simmer 200g blackberries, 200g sugar and 100ml water, strain and store in the fridge for up to a week)
 75ml cloudy apple juice
5ml vanilla extract
8 blackberries
5ml pomegranate molasses
5ml amaretto
1 slice lemon, to rim the glass
 Sugar, cinnamon
1 digestive biscuit, crushed
1 apple fan, to garnish

Put all the liquids in a shaker, add ice and shake hard.Blend the sugar,digestive biscuit and cinnamon together on a small plate. Coat the rim of the  glass with lemon juice to moisten it and then roll it in the sugar so it coats the rim.  Double-strain the contents of the shaker into the glass, taking care not to dislodge the biscuit, garnish with an apple fan and serve.