There was a lane near my house growing up which lead to the primary and secondary school I went to. In my teens it was often the spot where we sneaked off to have a smoke – (I gave them up, Im happy to report) but in my younger years it was where our mum herded us to, to pick the autumn berries. We used to pick buckets of them (it seemed) and she would make jam as well as delicious apple and blackberry tarts. The freezer would be filled with the tarts to keep us going for desserts through the winter.
I had a beautiful late summer day in wexford recently and we finished the day off picking berries. Not quite enough to make loads of jam and tarts but enough to make this delicious cake as well as open freeze the rest for the next bake.

Autumn Blackberry Cake
4oz gluten free self raising flour
4oz ground almonds
4oz coconut palm sugar
3 eggs
5oz melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 small punnet of blackberries
1 tbsp good blackberry jam

8″ springform tin lined with parchment on the base and sides greased
Oven at 160C

Mix flour, ground almonds and sugar in a bowl with a whisk to remove any lumps.
Beat the eggs together and then add together with the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Add the jam and stir well.
Pour half into the cake tin.
Push a layer of blackberries into the mixture, cover with the rest of the mixture and make in the oven for about
45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Delicious and very simple!