Turn over the pudding bowl and cut a circle the size of the top of the bowl, with a large margin of 4 cms (2 inches) in both the parchment and the kitchen foil. Pleat both pieces of paper/foil down the centre, a centimetre (1/2 inch) overlapping.
Butter (well) a pudding bowl, size 36 or 24.
Put the blackberries, liquorice and syrups into a small pan and poach the berries for a few minutes, but keep them whole. Pour the berries into the bottom of the pudding bowl. Keep the liquoricey liquid aside.
Cream the sugar and butter together. Then add the flour slowly, then the eggs. Add the vanilla. Do not overmix.
Pour into the pudding bowl on top of the blackberries.
Cover the top of the bowl with the parchment paper, then the foil and cut a piece of kitchen string so that it fits the circumference of the bowl under the lip and has enough to make a handle.
Knot the string around the circumference and tie the extra string to the other side of the bowl to make the handle for lifting out the bowl.
Place a saucer in the bottom of a large lidded saucepan and place the bowl on top.
Boil a kettle and fill carefully until the water reaches half way up the bowl in the saucepan.
Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for 2.5 hours.
Check every so often that the water hasn't evaporated. If it's low, top it up.
When you put a skewer through the paper/foil lid and it comes out clean, it's ready.
Lift the pudding up out of the saucepan and,after loosening with a palette knife arouund the edges, up-end on a plate or cake stand
Pour the remaining liquoricey sauce over the top.
Serve with cream or icecream.