There is an old mulberry tree down in the paddock behind the orchard. We think it was planted by CB’s great grandfather, so it is well over 100 years old. It has stood through storms and droughts, cold winters and hot summers. Each summer we traipse down the hill and spend a morning or two filling bowls and buckets (and our bellies too), with sweet, juicy mulberries. This year the weather must have been perfect for mulberry growing because they taste even more amazing than usual (if that is possible). They are exquisitely sweet and tangy, and juicy. The kids often just run down and grab a few off the tree as a sweet treat.
Growing up, the lady across the road had a mulberry tree that my sisters and I used to raid for mulberry leaves to feed our pet silkworms which we got periodically (my parents weren’t into pets when I was young). We’d climb up high to get the best leaves, and if the mulberries were ripe, we’d pick a bowl at the same time. These days picking mulberries is one of those quintessential summer memories that I have, and want my kids to have to.
With all the mulberries around, I made this deliciously moist mulberry yoghurt cake. If you don’t have a mulberry tree in your backyard, raspberries (or any other berry) would also work.
- 150g butter
- 1c sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1c yoghurt *
- 2c SR flour
- 1½c mulberries – use raspberries or blackberries if you don’t have mulberries
- Preheat the oven to 180*c
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla essence
- Beat in the yoghurt.
- Stir in the flour.
- Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
- Spoon a third of the mixture into the loaf tin.
- Spread a third of the mulberries into the mixture.
- Repeat twice more until all the mixture has been used up.
- Bake for one hour, or until the cake has set.
Did you have silkworms or a mulberry tree growing up?
