Recipe | Yogurt, cherry & passionfruit crumble jars

Photography by Rebecca Lewis

Portable puddings mean you can enjoy your dessert whenever you fancy – so start saving your jam jars now

Serves 6

300g fresh cherries, destoned

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 lemon, juiced

180g mixed nuts

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp honey

450g natural yogurt

15 passion fruits

100g dark chocolate chips

12 edible flowers, optional

6 empty jam jars to serve

1 Heat the cherries, 1 tbsp of the maple syrup and the juice of half of the lemon in a small pan over a medium heat. Stir gently for 5 mins until the start to soften, then set aside to cool.

2 Meanwhile, place the nuts, cinnamon and seeds in a blender and blitz until they’ve formed a crumble-like consistency. Add the honey and give it another quick blitz to combine.

3 Place a layer of the nut crumble (using up half the mix) into the base of each jam jar, then add a layer of natural yogurt.

4 Cut and scrape out 12 of the passion fruits and divide equally between the jams jars, followed by another layer of natural yogurt.

5 Finally, add a layer of the cherry compote and top with the rest of the nut crumble.

6 Cut the last three passion fruits in half and top each jar with one half along with a couple of edible flowers.

This recipe is from our feature ‘A Lovely Arrangement’ in our June issue, a menu for a picnic surrounded by spring blooms. It also includes recipes for Rye Bread & Smoked Salmon Floral Squares, Summer Rolls, Edible Flower Salad, Pea & Goat’s Cheese Quiche and Lavender Lemonade. The recipes are by Kay Prestney and the photography is by Rebecca Lewis.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More picnic recipes…

More from our June issue…

Make | Homemade Yogurt

Rachel de Thample shares a simple and slow recipe for homemade yogurt that is part breakfast prep, part mindful activity. Sprinkle seeds on top, enjoy with fresh fruit or compote or drizzle over spicy main courses for dinner.

Making your own yogurt is incredibly easy, wildly satisfying and completely undeserving of its worthy tag. There are also no by-products. While there are bulky yogurt-making contraptions, you can get the same result by simply using a heavy pot or a Thermos. My favourite vessel is a lidded cast iron pot which you can get surprisingly cheap second-hand if you look online, or if you keep your eyes peeled in local vintage markets.

Makes 1 litre

You will need:

1 ltr whole milk
3 tbsp full-fat natural yogurt with live cultures

You will also need:

A thermometer
A Thermos or a heavy pot with a lid

How to make

1 Gently warm the milk until it reaches 45°C. Whisk in the yogurt and stir well to mix evenly. Incubate by placing the warmed, cultured milk into a cast iron pot with lid and placing it in an oven on its lowest setting (no higher than 45°C). Alternatively, pour into a Thermos and seal. Let it incubate for 10-12 hrs at which stage the yogurt should be set. The key during this period is to keep the temperature between 35°C to 45°C. Do not let the temperature go above 47°C or it could kill the live bacteria.

2 Once the yogurt is set, spoon into jars and transfer to the fridge. It’ll store nicely for a week and if you save a few spoons back, you can use it to make your next batch. You can also use this homemade yogurt to make labneh.

Things to stir into your yogurt

You can use your homemade yogurt any way you like but it’s excellent as breakfast, or a snack with tasty things stirred into it. Here are a few ideas…

1. Chopped dried apricots and almonds.

2. Honey and dried lavender.

3. Granola and syrup.

4. Mixed seeds and fresh raspberries.

5. Stewed rhubarb and pistachios.

6. Peanut butter and strawberries

7. Chia seeds and coconut flakes.

8. Spiced cooked pears.

9. Chopped apple, cinnamon and sugar.

10. Grated beetroot and toasted walnuts.

This is just one of the recipes from our ‘Home Economics’ feature, ‘Do-it-Yourself Dairy’ by Rachel de Thample, from our May issue. It also includes instructions for making Kefir Labneh, Ricotta, Paneer and Cultured Butter.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More recipes to avoid waste…

More from our blog…