Apple Galette

Posted on 27/10/2021 by Anna

Although apples are available all year it is in Autumn when I think of cooking with them. Laden apple trees in the early morning mist are a treat to behold and biting into a crisp juicy apple is the autumnal equivalent of a handful of Summer strawberries snaffled from the fruit cage. We have several apple trees in the garden in varying stages of vintage and productivity. Unfortunately late frosts this Spring did not suit some of the trees and one hasn’t produced a single apple. The Bramley is usually my failsafe and I make lots of puddings based on its large generous apples that cook down to fluffy snow. Sadly it is a little disappointing this year but one of the eaters has masses of fabulous, crisp and delicious apples.

Eating apples obviously cook in a different way to the Bramleys so I look to different recipes to make the most of their firmer flesh and sweet tang. There couldn’t be a better way to showcase those qualities than this fabulous galette. Sweet crumbly pastry that is the work of minutes (I promise) encases slices of apple. Genuinely one of the easiest puddings to make, it comes into its own at this time of year and regular visitors to this site will know its close relation the plum galette.

I make this often, fruit based puddings being one way I can persuade myself (as if) it is ok to tuck in to a pud. That this one is so genuinely full of apples means I have even turned a blind eye on occasion to it being breakfast. What?

Apple Galette

Generally I keep this fairly simple but if you want to go for an apple pie vibe then add a little ground cinnamon into the chopped apples or dust the cooked galette with some icing sugar combined with cinnamon. You only need a teaspoon of beaten egg for the glaze so take it from another egg that is being cracked for another purpose if possible otherwise use milk. The galette in the picture used four big, tennis ball sized apples and maybe there were a couple of slices too many, three would have been fine. I don’t mind too much apple but let you know this as a guide.

100g plain flour plus a heaped teaspoon extra

60g cold butter, cubed or grated

A good pinch of fine salt

60g caster sugar, divided in two

30ml cold water

4 crips eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices

Squeeze of lemon juice

A teaspoon or so of beaten egg (see introduction)

A dessertspoon of demerara or caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 190 and put a baking tray into heat up. Put the flour and butter into a medium size bowl and rub together with your fingers. There isn’t really enough to justify getting a food processor out. When it looks like breadcrumbs add the salt and 30g of sugar followed by the water, bring it together into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and leave somewhere cool for half an hour. Mix the sliced apples with the teaspoon of flour, remaining 30g of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Roll out the flour to a rough 30cm circle and place on a sheet of parchment, tumble the apples onto the pastry leaving a good gap and turn this pastry edge over the apples. Brush with your glaze, egg or milk and sprinkle with the dessertspoon of sugar. Carefully transfer the galette on its parchment paper to the hot baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and crisp underneath. Let it cool for a few minutes as the apples will be piping hot before dusting with cinnamon icing sugar if desired (see intro).

Last of the summer fruit (blackberry and apple) cake

Posted on 21/09/2020 by Anna

I have made this cake twice in a week – once with the last of the raspberries and an apple from the garden and then again with wild blackberries and another apple. A real foragers cake. This sort of cooking gives me immense pleasure – I can always rustle up some sort of tea time treat and my ginger cake (July 20103) is a regular go-to as the required ingredients are usually on hand. This cake is even more satisfying, a few bits and pieces found in the garden are giving star billing, a glorious last hurrah if you will.

A light vanilla sponge studded with flavour bombs of fruit, their crimson colour seeping into the yellow cake like a sunset. The raspberries I used were supplemented with a few blackcurrants from the freezer and I will use these again soon – their bright and vibrant sharp-sweet flavour the perfect foil to the sweet sponge and a million miles better than the oft used blueberries.

Next on the bake list is my Beetroot and Carrot cake (February 2016) – an absolute delight and a great way to use up some of the late summer root veg (see bottom picture).

Blackberry and Apple Cake

Use what you have – blackberries are an obvious choice at the moment. When all the summer fruit is done you could use some frozen berries as I did with the extra blackcurrants. I add the extra flour to balance the extra wetness from the soft fruit and apple. This isn’t too sweet a cake which I love but it could certainly take a drizzle of the lemon variety if you wanted, see my Spring Lemon Cake (March 2019).

160g butter or Stork

130g caster sugar

Good pinch of salt

2 large eggs

140g self raising flour plus two tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

A good handful of blackberries or other fruit (see intro)

I medium apple grated, I don’t bother to peel it

Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180 and line a loaf tin. Cream the butter or Stork and sugar together until light and fluffy, I use a stand mixer for this but a wooden spoon and bowl work a treat too. Add the eggs one at a time with each with the extra spoonfuls of flour until well incorporated and then add the remaining flour, salt, baking powder, vanilla and grated apple. Finally gentle mix in the blackberries. Put the mix into the lined tin and bake for 40-50 minutes. Check after 40 and cover with foil if it is brown on top before a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the tin. Dust with icing sugar if you like or add a glaze (see intro).

The sharp eyed will notice that the cake in the picture above is the raspberry version because I caught a picture of this, the blackberry and apple one went too fast…..

Apple Turnovers (2)

Posted on 30/09/2019 by Anna

If pushed I think an apple would my choice if only able to eat one fruit ever again. I love summer berries and would find it particularly difficult to cast aside juicy raspberries or fragrant, almost scented, wild strawberries but an apple would pip them all to the post. Not only is it hard to beat the juicy, tangy crunch of a perfectly ripe apple but they work so well in all manner of recipes, both savoury but particularly sweet that one might never become bored. Lacking the glamour of blowsy, vividly coloured summer fruits they are more the sensible prefect of fruits – jolly reliable and a proper all rounder.

Lucky enough to inherit a collection of apple trees when we moved here and having subsequently added to our small orchard, now is the time of year when we are spoilt. Various eaters and a hugely prolific Bramley mean apples feature on our menu several times a week. The turnovers in the photograph were an after school treat at the end of last week and a simple form of apple strudel hit the table for pud on Sunday. A bowl of stewed apples alternate with plums to accompany granola and Greek yogurt for breakfast and an apple crisp is on the cards for supper tonight.

There are apple pies of course and crumbles (try my Apple and Raspberry Crumble, October 2015), elegant apple tarte fines, apple cobblers, crisps and Betty’s. Grated apple works a treat in a treacle tart to soften that super sweet hit and I like it mixed with mincemeat for a slightly less rich and more tangy pie at Christmas. My super easy Tarte Tatin (January 2019) enjoys regular outings here as does the Crunchy Apple Pudding (January 2015). The sharp apple makes a perfect foil to sweet pastry and oaty crumbly toppings; it melds perfectly with cream whether straight or in the form of ice cream or custard which is why it makes so many appearances as a pudding. Apples and cinnamon? A life long love affair and a little tangy apple works amazingly well in cinnamon buns.

So make the most of wonderful apples. We grow them here and right now you can enjoy them super fresh without having travelled a thousand miles or languished for months in cold storage. Check out farm stalls and farmers markets for locally grown and unusual varieties – above all make a delicious apple pudding – with all that fruit under the crumble, well its almost health food.

Apple Turnovers

These are a little different to the filo wrapped turnovers I wrote about in Turnovers and leftovers (October 2016). Not only do these use puff pastry (as that is what I had to hand) but they also combine cooking and eating apples. This means you get the fluffy Bramley which breaks down to a fluff along with small pieces of the eaters which retain a little bite. The strudel I mention in the introduction was essentially a large, long turnover using the other half of the pack of puff pastry. It was eaten before I could take a photograph.

1 large Bramley apple, peeled, cored and cut into small dice

2 eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into small dice

4-5 tablespoons caster sugar plus some extra for sprinkling onto the turnovers

A couple of tablespoons of water

1/2 pack of puff pastry

Milk or a little beaten egg

A little flour

Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200. Put apples, sugar and water into a large pan and cook gently until the Bramley has broken down and the eaters have lost their crispness. Taste, you may need a little more sugar and when you are happy with it leave to cool. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle and cut into six squares. Put a tablespoon of the apple onto one square of pastry, sort of in the right angle, brush the edges with milk or egg wash and fold over to make a triangle pressing the pastry well to seal, use a fork if you like. Repeat with the other 5 and put onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush a little more milk or egg over the triangles, sprinkle with caster sugar, cut a couple of slits in the pastry and bake for 12-15 minutes until puffed, bronzed and crispy. Allow to cool a little before dusting with icing sugar if you like. Makes 6 and depending on the size of the apples used you may have some apple left which would be delicious for breakfast…

Tarte Tatin

Posted on 30/01/2019 by Anna

Well this is a proper treat and even better supremely easy to make with only 5 ingredients! That combination of tangy apples bathed in caramel sauce with a crispy, flaky pastry base, just fabulous. Whilst there are many recipes out there for Tarte Tatin, this one is so simple and delicious that I rarely deviate. It works like a dream and there is never any left over. By the way if you are a fan of salted caramel puddings just up the pinch of salt in the ingredients to about 1/2 a teaspoon and voila you will have Salted Caramel Tarte Tatin.

A frying pan with an oven proof or removable handle is ideal but if you don’t have one just cook the apples in a regular frying pan and then transfer to a baking tin before topping with pastry and putting in the oven. I use a 20cm le creuset that I have had for ever and these amounts work a treat and we easily finish it between the four of us. I have also used a 30cm saute pan (also le creuset) which make a great big tarte but I did need a little help turning the pan over on to the waiting plate.

Tarte Tatin

I tend to use a pack of ready rolled puff pastry for this. With a bit of careful cutting out (and patching for the second) I can get two circles of pastry out of one roll so either make another tarte tatin, freeze it or make the Onion Tarte Tatin with Blue Cheese (February 2014)…. just saying. *Make sure the pan is really full of apples before you start cooking them, they do cook down and you don’t want to end up with not enough apples for the pastry.

4/5 large eating apples, Braeburn are ideal, peeled, cored and quartered*

60g butter

50g caster sugar

1 pack ready rolled puff pastry (usually around 375g)

Pinch of salt (see introduction)

Preheat the oven to 200. Unroll the pastry and measure out a circle using the top of the pan. Melt the butter with the sugar and add the apples along with a pinch of salt. Cook for around 20-30 minutes until the apples are tender but not collapsing. As it bubbles a caramel will form. Turn the apples a couple of times for even cooking. Remove from the heat, ensure all the pieces are round side down then extremely carefully place the circle of pastry over the apples and tuck the edges between the side of the pan and the apples. Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed up. Take the pan out remembering of course that the handle will be hot and let it sit for a couple of minutes to settle. Using a plate with a lip so you don’t lose all the sauce, invert this over the pan and quickly turn both so that the tarte ends up on the plate pastry side down, apple side up. Adjust any apples that have slipped out of place and serve with cream. I divide this into quarters for the four of us but reckon I could eat half without much trouble….

Plum Galette

Posted on 31/10/2017 by Anna

There is a definite nip in the air this morning and I feel we are now fully enveloped in Autumn and the treats it brings. There is bonfire night to look forward to which always reminds me of those when I was a child. Nibbling enthusiastically on a toffee apple but shamefully becoming bored once past the sugar and faced with the apple. Hot dogs which inevitably leaked ketchup onto my woolly gloves and the glowing face that comes from a huge bonfire.

It is then a speedy tumble towards Christmas but I don’t want to become distracted by this end of the year fiesta and rather enjoy now. Frosty mornings which lead to sunny but cold days, leaves changing colour then falling and the sparse bleakness of the garden. On the flip side there is sloe gin to be made and stashed away, fires to be lit and all those culinary delights that were cast aside somewhere around early April. Stews, hearty gratins and bakes, crumbles and cobblers filled with all manner of orchard fruits. Rib sticking food to keep out the cold and to enjoy around the table with family and friends as the daylight fades.

My previous recipe for a galette was a nectarine and cherry one (August 2013) and it seemed long overdue to offer a more autumnal version, this fits the bill perfectly. Unlike that summer version which suggested using bought pastry for speed (summer holidays and all) this time I make the pastry but you should do whichever works for you (I won’t judge). I have used plums here because I can’t resist their juicy tartness, the perfect foil to crisp sweet pastry but you can just as easily use a few crispy apples (eaters not cookers here) perhaps adding a little cinnamon along with the lemon juice. We have enjoyed this two or three times over the last week or so, my children love it with ice cream, I prefer it with cold pouring cream but can’t help thinking a really good vanilla custard would probably bring the house down.

Plum Galette

The amount below is just right for the four of us, a generous quarter each but then none left winking at me from the counter begging me to finish it (for which I am grateful). The one in the photograph is simply this amount doubled and it happily served seven. You only need a teaspoon of beaten egg for the glaze so take it from another egg that is being cracked for another purpose if possible otherwise use milk.

100g plain flour plus a heaped teaspoon extra

60g cold butter, cubed or grated

A good pinch of fine salt

60g caster sugar, divided in two

30ml cold water

6 plums stoned and each cut into sixths

Squeeze of lemon juice

A teaspoon or so of beaten egg (see introduction)

A dessertspoon of demerara or caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 190. Put the flour and butter into a medium size bowl and rub together with your fingers. There isn’t really enough to justify getting a food processor out. When it looks like breadcrumbs add the salt and 30g of sugar followed by the water, bring it together into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and leave somewhere cool for half an hour. Mix the plums with the teaspoon of flour, remaining 30g of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Roll out the flour to a rough 30cm circle and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, tumble the plums onto the pastry leaving a good gap and turn this pastry edge over the plums. Brush with your glaze, egg or milk and sprinkle with the dessertspoon of sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and crisp underneath.

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

Posted on 30/10/2015 by Anna

I can’t tell you how much I love a crumble. Plum crumble, rhubarb crumble, apple and blackberry crumble, all of them have a place on my table. Childhood weekend lunches often finished with a fabulous, fruity and crunchy crumble whilst apricot crumble at school was a thing to celebrate, the best pudding of all and something that made other school food worth living through.

All that said however, I hadn’t thought of giving you a crumble recipe here. Not out of meanness you understand, rather I thought everyone had a good, reliable crumble recipe up their sleeve to be whipped out when required. It was only after being asked for this particular recipe six time in a couple of months that I began to wonder and so I present it to you now. Soft tangy fruit under a blanket of oaty, sweet and buttery crumble, let me tell you the sum here far, far exceeds the total of its humble parts.

This particular incarnation is my absolutely favourite, the bee’s knees and the vicar’s you know whats. Although a straightforward apple crumble is still something to sing about, the addition of raspberries lifts it, their fruity tang and fragrance make this wholly lip smacking and satisfying which surely is what a pud is all about. Can I rave little more? It is and easy and cheap to make, a perfect way to use up any apples looking a little tired and frozen raspberries are perfect here so regardless of the season this can be on your plate in around an hour, start to finish.

Apple and Raspberry Crumble

Ideally use a combination of cookers and eaters, the bramleys are the ones that cook down to a velvety apple puree whilst the eaters retain a little bite. I say 7 tablespoons of sugar and water as this is usually about right but depending on the tartness of your apples you may need more sugar and add more water if you think it is required. You can cook the apples and make the crumble ahead of time but don’t put the crumble onto the fruit until you are ready to cook it as it will get soggy, ideally keep it in the fridge.

1 kg apples (see introduction), peeled, cored and roughly chopped

7 tablespoons golden caster sugar

7 tablespoons water

200g plain flour

100g cold butter, cubed

1/4 teaspoon salt

80g golden caster sugar

40g oats

150g frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 190. Put the apples, the 7 tablespoons of sugar and water in a pan and cook gently until the apples are soft and broken down, about 20-30 minutes. You may need a little more water once cooked and taste in case you need a little more sugar. Do keep the apples tart though as the crumble bring sweetness to the party. Meanwhile either whizz the butter and flour in a processor until it resembles breadcrumbs or do this by hand then add the salt, sugar and oats. Tip the cooked apples into a suitable oven proof dish, I tend to use an enamel one which is 29x23cm and add the raspberries to this, mixing so they are evenly distributed in the apples, no need to defrost. Tumble over the crumble and smooth it gently but don’t pack it down. Cook for around 30 minutes or until bubbling at the edges and just browning on top. This serves 6 or better still 4 with lots of seconds, I like it with cold cream or custard whilst my children prefer vanilla ice cream.

Cinnamon Pannacotta with Maple Syrup Apples

Posted on 15/06/2015 by Anna

To me this has a faintly Autumnal air about it and I had been saving it until the end of the Summer but then someone asked me for the recipe. In truth it is good any day of year and as apples are around all the time a good one to have up your sleeve.

I adore Pannacotta, there is something about the creamy wobbliness that is irresistible. Usually I make a vanilla version which I can then serve with any fruit that happens to be in season, pureed gooseberries, rhubarb and blackcurrants all being favourites. Should the fruit bowl be bare however, then a good chocolate sauce (one without cream) makes them a pudding of dreams. You can find my Vanilla Pannacotta here (July 2014).

This one came about because I’d made a note ages ago to combine cinnamon with apples and maple syrup and eventually got around to having a go. A favourite North American combination I suspect and a possible Jelly Bean one too if that is your thing. I tried pie and crumble and whilst a good combo the individual flavours got a little muddled. An ice cream was a nice idea but try getting apples to make themselves heard against cinnamon in an ice cream. This pannacotta really works though. Gently bosky sweetness from the cinnamon goes so well with the creaminess of the pannacotta which is kept the right side of too rich with the addition of yogurt. The apples and maple syrup compliment each other politely, allowing both to show themselves off.

Cinnamon Pannacotta with Maple Syrup Apples

On another occasion just make a panful of these sweet, soft apples and serve over vanilla ice cream.

200ml whole milk

100ml single cream

100ml Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

60g caster sugar

2 gelatine leaves

2 eating apples such as Braeburn, peeled, cored and finely sliced

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften. Heat the milk, cream, cinnamon and sugar until it just reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat and add the squeezed out gelatine, whisk well and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the yogurt and divide between 4 ramekins or small metal moulds. Put into the fridge for at least 4 hours to set. About 20 minutes before serving prepare the apples, melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the apples gently in this for about 10 minutes until turning golden brown and becoming floppy. At this point add the maple syrup and cook for a further 5 minutes until the apples are well coated and the syrup reduced. To serve, dip each ramekin briefly into hot water before turning out onto a plate and serve with the apples. Serves 4.

Crunchy Apple Pudding

Posted on 30/01/2015 by Anna

I couldn’t countenance Sunday lunch without a pudding. I fully admit there have been times when a quickly whisked together chocolate or butterscotch sauce to pour over good ice cream has been all I could muster but puddings they were nonetheless. I love all manner of rib sticking, warming treats – after all Sunday lunch only comes around once a week and I will easily go days or the whole week without any other sweet, sticky number for afters. Golden syrup sponge, lemon (or chocolate) surprise pudding, a fruit crumble, pie or galette – anything that will be delicious and only improved by cold cream or warm custard.

Last Sunday though I had rather gone to town with a main course of braised silverside and many, many vegetables. So, although I had bought bramleys and had apple crumble with cream firmly, and fondly, in mind a bit of rejigging was in order.

Several years ago I was offered a pudding called Danish Peasant Girl in a Veil. Seriously, that was the name – I am sure because I had to ask at least four times. Caroline, who made it, assured me that just because I hadn’t heard of it didn’t mean it wasn’t a real dessert… It was layers of apple puree, crispy breadcrumbs, whipped cream and grated chocolate and extremely good it was too. It has sat filed in my memory until now.

I decided to combine the spirit of the Danish girl with an old nursery pudding of dark muscavado ‘melted’ on top of Greek yogurt which in turn covers some fruit. So here we have it. A lighter take or a (rather early) summer version of apple crumble with cream. My husband and children loved it although I think I am the biggest fan. Next time I am going to make more so I can also have it for breakfast.

Crunchy Apple Pudding

I have given measurements but these are flexible, if your apples weigh 1kg then great, you will have a little more puree just adjust the sugar accordingly. Likewise use more yogurt if you like, these are just guidelines.

750g bramley apples, cored, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons water

50g breadcrumbs

25g butter

1 heaped tablespoon demerara sugar

Good pinch of salt

1 heaped tablespoon dark muscavado

250g Greek yogurt

Put the apples, sugar and water in a pan and cook slowly until completely broken down. Taste, you may need a touch more sugar depending on the sharpness of your apples. Leave to cool. Meanwhile melt the butter in a frying pan and add the breadcrumbs, sugar and a good pinch of salt. Mad though it might seem you need the salt to give flavour so the crumbs don’t just taste sweet. Fry these gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden and crunchy then leave to cool. Once you have all the components you can assemble your puddings. Divide the apple between the glasses and top with the yogurt, sprinkle the muscavado between the four glasses and leave it for a few minutes to ‘melt’ then cover with breadcrumbs. You can do more layers if you like, I am not dextrous enough to do many, neatly and I only want breadcrumbs on the top so they are really crunchy. This makes enough for 4 glasses but is easily doubled.

Anna May, everyday…

Tag Archives: Apples