The mulberries are still holding up against the marauding birds. I guess that this is because there are so few of them that have survived the catastrophic bush fires. We have 2 bower birds and friarbird in the tree fairly constantly, The crop has been very good because of the rains, so There is still some to go around.

I made my 5th attempt at the mulberry tart. I’m getting better at it and faster now with practice.

I’ve abandoned the lattice top, but added ‘lemonade’ lemon juice and zest to the recipe.

I’ve settled into a reliable recipe of

500g de-stemmed mulberries

140g sugar

40g plain flour

A shake of cinnamon powder and a dash of vanilla essence.

Juice and pulp of half a large lemon or all of a small one, plus grated zest, also juice of one small ‘lemonade’ lemon and zest of the skin.

Mix all these together in a mixing bowl. Blind bake the crust, add filling, and bake for 25 mins at 180oC. It seems to be fairly reliable. And delicious!

Serve on a beautiful hand made, ash glazed, wood fired platter.