Sloe Fruit Pastilles

Making your own sweets must be one of life's greatest indulgences. A treat that you have to actively make time for amongst all the other cooking that is necessary, just to feed the family.

But no commercial candy could possibly give you the pinball mixture of sweet, sour, acid and fruity that something like home-made fruit pastilles can deliver.

Note: You can substitute quinces for the apples. Sloes can be replaced by soft fruit, such as blackberries, but if you're using berries, soften the apple/quince first, and then add them just before you add the sugar.

Sloe Fruit Pastilles

500g sloes
1kg tart apples
250ml (1 cup) water
approx 1.1kg granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
icing sugar

Rinse the fruit. Quarter the apples, but don’t be tempted to core them, the pips and stems all add pectin, which helps the pastilles set.

Place the fruit in a large, non-reactive pan, and simmer on a low heat for about 40 minutes to 1 hour, occasionally scraping and mashing, until the fruit is very soft. Turn the heat off, cover the pan, and allow to cool.

Press all the mixture through a medium sieve, using a pestle to push the fruit through the holes, or, better still, use a mouli legumes.

Weigh the resulting puree. For us, this amount of fruit yielded just over a kilo. Put the fruit into a wide pan, and add an equal amount of sugar. Stir together, and then stir in a spoonful of vanilla essence.

Bring slowly to the boil, and simmer on a medium heat for approximately 1 hour, stirring often, by which time the mixture will be thick, and setting on the spoon.

Butter a Swiss Roll tin and spoon the fruit mixture into it, leveling as you go. Leave to set before cutting into squares and dusting with icing sugar.