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Apple and Blackberry Leather

Fruit leathers are essentially dried fruit smoothies. Cut into strips and rolled up, these thin, pliable sheets of puréed fruit make brilliant sweets for children and grown-ups.
Makes: 30 rolls From Waitrose

500g Blackberries
400g Cooking apples, roughly chopped
200g Caster sugar

Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Put all the ingredients in a fairly large saucepan and add 100ml water. Cover and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes, until the juices begin to run. Stir, then simmer, uncovered, until the apple has collapsed. Cool for 10 minutes, then scrape the contents of the pan into a blender. Pulse to a smooth, thick mush, then rub through a sieve to remove the cores, skins and pips.

Spread the mixture out thinly on the baking sheets – it should be no deeper than a £1 coin – making sure that it does not ooze over the edge of the paper onto the baking tray. Slide onto a lower shelf in the oven, then set it at 80°C, gas mark ¼. Leave to dry out for a good 9–11 hours, or better still, overnight. If the leather is still damp in the centre, carry on drying it for another couple of hours. The leather is done when it is dry but still slightly tacky. At this stage it will peel away from the paper easily, revealing a smooth, glossy underside.

Cut the leather into strips, roll these up into coils and store in an airtight container. They will keep in the fridge for up to a month or can be frozen for longer-term storage.

Fruit leathers

300g fruit, such as kiwi, mango or pineapple, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp clear honey
Squeeze of lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 100°C, gas mark ¼. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Place the prepared fruit in a liquidiser with the honey and blitz until smooth before stirring in a squeeze of lemon. Pour the purée into the prepared tray and smooth out with the back of a spoon or stepped palette knife into a 25cm square. Give the tray a tap so the purée is even.

3. Place in the oven to dry out for at least 4 hours. The leather should be smooth, glossy and dry to the touch. While still warm, remove the paper and use scissors or a sharp knife to cut it into 6 strips, then roll up and allow to cool before packing into a box.