Brown Betty

This Brown Betty is a delightful, warming apple pudding and easy to make. The combined taste of the cloves, apple, treacle and sherry is hard to beat and they combine to make a smell make that's heavenly. It’s a dish that can be eaten hot or cold, my preference is for hot, but it’s unlikely I’d turn down a helping of it cold - the flavours seem to grow that longer it's kept.

In our house this was a standard Sunday pudding, my father developed a liking for it cold, cooked in a charlotte tin and turned out, which seems like an unecessary complication. With lots of cream. You could liken it to an Apple Charlotte, a deconstructed one that tastes much better. Unlike a Charlotte that uses melted butter brushed into place, the dobs of butter sit alongside the morsels of apple and make their own way through the crumbs while it cooks. You might imagine, reading the recipe, that it might seem to be a bit dry: it isn’t.

When I was trying to remember the recipe I read quite a lot of American versions, which aren't the same and seem more complicated. I found a reference to 'old fashioned Brown Betty' in a Pan Dowdy recipe, and perhaps our family version takes its molasses (black treacle) from there. You can see that here, and I'll include the version that my father wrote, although I never saw him make it… I've written it out the way I remember making it with my mother.

The quantities are a guide - you’ll probably manage to get everything in the dish. Give it a go. And use Bramley apples if you can.

Dad's write up

Brown Betty Recipe

Ingredients

2lb/scant 1kg apples

1/2lb/250g fresh breadcrumbs

¼ kb/125g unsalted butter

Brown sugar - more than a cupful

Black treacle - about two tablespoons

½ mug/1 wine glass sherry

Several pinches of ground cloves

Pinch Cinnamon 

Method

Set the oven to 170C/Gas Mark 3/325F

Use a deep pie dish

• Peel and core the apple and cut it into bit sized piece

• Generously butter around a deep pie dish

• Scatter a layer of breadcrumbs, then some apple pieces, pinches of butter alongside dustings of cloves and some cinnamon, sprinkle over with sugar and repeat until you’ve used up all the apple - then add one last layer of breadcrumbs

• Drizzle the treacle over in a random way - if you warm the spoon in boiling water and then dry it the treacle will flow more easily

• Pour the sherry over, covering as much as possible 

• Bake for around an hour, or until the apple is completely cooked (test with a skewer)

The cooked dish has a lovely crust - eat with cream, yoghurt, ice cream, or on its own.

pan dowdy

Apple Pan Dowdy
[A TASTING-TEST KITCHEN ENDORSED RECIPE]

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 quarts sliced apples
1/2 cup dark molasses
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water

Line a casserole with pie crust. Mix sugar, spices, and salt and sprinkle over apples. Fill casserole, add molasses, butter, and water. Cover with punctured pie crust, tuck edges together, press to sides of casserole. Bake in moderately hot oven (425°) 45 minutes, decrease temperature to 325°. When crust has browned slightly and apples are tender, remove from oven.

Take a silver knife, chop up mixture, being sure that the pie crust is thoroughly mixed with apples. If dry or not sufficiently sweetened, add more water and molasses. Return to oven and bake 1 1/2 hours at 325°. Serves 10.

When finished, the pudding will look very much like Old-fashioned Brown Betty. I was told that New Englanders served Apple Pan Dowdy hot with butter. The pudding can be warmed over, in fact it is even more delicious on the second or third day if you can keep it that long.

instant apple tart

It is very easy to make an impressive tart quite quickly - in this case a visit to a family member who is recovering after a hip replacement. When you are in hospital, or on a journey, it is especially nice to have the time punctuated by a mouthful of delicious food. In this case apple tart.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 packet ready rolled puff pastry
• 3 or 4 apples - I used 4 small Cox apples - cored and quartered
• lemon juice (3 tbsp or juice of 1 lemon)
• caster sugar

optional: butter, custard

METHOD

Set the oven to 200C or equivalent

prepare two baking trays with baking parchment

• finely slice the apples and sprinkle with lemon juice 
• cut the pastry into two pieces - put onto lined trays
• score around the edge of pastry with a knife
• if you are using custard, spread a thin layer of custard inside the scored lines
• spread the apple evenly over the pastry, inside the scored lines
• fold up the edges, pinching the corners of the pastry
• sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar over the sliced apples
• if you are using butter, dot pinches of butter over the apples

bake for 20 minutes

Apple coconut cake - great as a pudding

Apple and coconut cake

·         175g unsalted butter, softened

·         175g golden caster sugar

·         225g self-raising flour, sifted

·         1tsp baking powder

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1tsp vanilla extract

·         ½tsp ground cinnamon

·         4 tablespoons milk

·         2 cups apple chopped and peeled (2 large apples)

·         100g dessicated coconut

Topping

·         2tbsp Demerara sugar

·         2tbsp desiccated coconut

·         ½ tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 180° C

Method

·         Grease and line round 8 inch/20cm springform cake tin with parchment paper

·         Stir together flour, coconut and cinnamon 

·         In separate bowl stir together the topping ingredients

·         Cream together together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy

·         Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing as you go

·         Fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk until incorporated, then add the chunks of apple and 75g of desiccated coconut, mixing well.

·         Spoon into the prepared cake tin, and level off with the back of a wet tablespoon

·         Sprinkle over the topping mixture

·         Bake for 40-50m until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre

·         Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack

·         Cut with very sharp knife

The larger the apple chunks the more likely the cake will fall apart easily. This does not affect the taste.

http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/apple-and-coconut-cake.html

1kg coconut to use up

A kilo of dessicated coconut is a lot of coconut, even if you are very keen on coconut. I have no idea why I bought such a big bag. It is about half empty, and the best before date is two weeks away. So the race is on. So far apple and coconut cake and coconut shortbreads are on the menu, the cake is in the oven. I've tweaked it of course. The apples are bramleys, there is more coconut, some milk instead of yoghurt, and some creamed coconut for good measure. Also some topping.

going to need a sharp knife to cut this... and friends over

more pictures - dutch apple tart

Better pictures of the delicious dutch applie pie, buttery and biscuity crust with cinnamon apple. Yum.

toril's apple cake

I was lucky enough to get a piece of a delicious Norwegian apple cake made by my friend Peder the other day. The table was covered in cakes and I slithered past the hungry horde and grabbed a bit. I took it home wrapped in a napkin and sat down to enjoy it with a cup of tea. It was worth the wait. A not ungenerous layer of sponge, topped with sliced apple, cinnamon and some chopped almonds.

Peder calls it Toril’s apple cake, and says it must be easy, since he can make it. It’s worth the effort.  Let's all have a go at making this lovely Norwegian treat.

125 g butter + butter for tin

125 g sugar + 2tsp

125 g flour   
3-4 apples
2 tsp cinammon
10-12 chopped almonds


Set the oven to 200C/375F/gas Mark 6 and grease a 20ch cake tin

• rub butter, flour and all but two tsp of sugar into a crumbly mix
• stir in a teaspoon of baking powder
• stir in both eggs
• spread mix out into greased baking tin
• peel, core and slice apples
• cover mix with slices of apple
• chop the almonds and sprinkle over apples
• mix tsp of cinammon and 2tsp of sugar together and sprinkle over apples and almonds

Bake for 30-40 min

Cream:  an additional extra if you want it..

Beat 3 eggyolks and 3 tbs sugar until fluffy.  Add scrapings from a vanilla pod and 2 dl of whipped cream.  Mix well.

grated apple

I love grated apple. Eating it is a pleasure. Somehow the flavour is improved, and the fact that you can suck it to death makes it better than just biting into an apple. I like to pour freshly squeezed orange juice over it. Perfect.

My mother used to give us grated apple when we were feeling poorly. The story she told me is that it is easy to digest. I have no idea if this is true, but as a gesture of maternal love, I have introduced my children to it as well, and it goes down well. 

The best apples to eat grated are braeburns or cox. 

It doesn’t need a recipe.

apple cake pictures

I made these vast cakes
with a crunchy sugar topping

I've just found the pictures of my apple cakes. They kept very well - which was only possible because they were really immense. I gave away over half of each.

I need to redo the recipe to make sure it's as delicious as I remember.

bacon and apple

Kitty opted out of supper (chicken noodle stir fry) and made herself her latest snack of choice, bacon and apple. This passes muster on two fronts: she makes it herself and it includes a piece of fruit.

Detail:

The apple must be crisp, with a tart tang. De preference, Braeburn, green not red. Cut into four and the core cut out, then cut into slices.

The bacon is cooked thoroughly, on the edge of crispy.

Eat the bacon with the apple.

Steve reckons it's good because it's something salty and dense matched with something fresh and moist. Kitty just says it's good. But then she eats pasta with soy sauce and parmesan.

Bramleys from Wilma

 Wilma's generosity with apples has been amazing this year - most days she gives away a carrier bag full. Thank you very much.

These are Bramleys. The apple favoured by cooks for its sharp flavour and floury flesh. I made the apple tart pictured in the simple fruit tart recipe with these apples.

Sometimes you look at an apple and think it's not worth peeling. After all, who wants to find dessicated caterpillar corpses or the frass they

leave? It is just yucky. Still, the frugal soul that I am, I cut out the nasty bits and cook on. It is worth it.

Bramleys store well when they are not damaged, however without using chemicals along with dedicating a lot of time to defending the fruit tree, a lot of the apples are damaged. Sometimes it's simply from falling to the ground. Most of us don't have the time, or the head for heights, to carefully pick the fruit. So there's lots of fruit to cook at once - hence Wilma's apple distributing treks.

I think there is something rather beautiful about the fruit even if it is damaged, so I got Kit to take these photos, which show just a few of these lovely apples and the beautiful white flesh they have to offer, along with undesirable residents and blemishes.

Simple fruit tart

Tart made with Wilma's Bramley apples

The pastry of this tart is buttery, crunchy, like shortbread and flavoured by an unexpected addition – alcohol. The alcohol cooks off, so eating it won’t get you drunk, other than on pleasure. I usually use tightly packed plums or apricots as the filling - but here I've used Bramley apples.

Betty’s original recipe used Calvados, which lent a hint of apple, but any strong alcohol will do. I’ve tried using rum, brandy and vodka, although I prefer something with flavour. 

Since I've run out of Calvados I used rum in this tart

This rich pastry seems to resist getting a really soggy base from the abundant fruit juices. Cook it shortly before eating if you like the base of the tart crisp, or prepare it ahead and enjoy the slightly soaked-in flavour. Of course, it’s delicious either way.

Recipe
for two 8"/20cm tarts


For the pastry:
500g plain flour
300g unsalted butter
100g castor sugar
2 egg yolks
1 coffee cup of strong alcohol


For the filling - per tart
two tins of apricots
or
1kg/2lb+ of fresh fruit, stoned or peeled and cored 
 I usually use tightly packed plums or apricots as the filling - but you can use apples or pears


Method

• cream butter and sugar together
• add egg yolk, beat in until combined
• slowly add alcohol, beating all the time - if it happens to start to separate add a spoonful of flour
• add in sifted flour a little at a time
• if the mixture becomes slightly dry add water to combine into a ball

• allow mixture to sit for at least an hour - best in a plastic bag in the fridge

• roll out half the pastry and line well buttered tart tin - if it cracks patch with scraps
• crimp the edge with your fingers and trim of surplus - I like a nice fat edge

• pack fruit in tightly - fresh fruit is great, but you can also use tinned apricots
• sprinkle liberally with demerera sugar or failing that granulated sugar 

• cook for 45m at gas mark 4/350 F/180 C

• eat hot or cold 
• great with slightly sweetened creme fraiche, cream or ice cream

Tips
Don't stress too much about how the fruit is arranged, just make sure there is plenty of it, packed tight.


Try using the pastry recipe to make wonderful shortbread.

Either

Roll it into a fat sausage, wrap and chill for an hour, then cut slices with a very sharp knife.
lay out on lined baking sheet and prick with fork
cook for 15-20m gas mark 4/350 F/180 C

Or              

Just bundle it up, wrap it and chill, pinching off pieces of the mixture and flatten into discs with a fork.

wheat free apple lemon cake

As part of my new regime I am not eating wheat. It's annoying, but it seems to be helping my breathing, so I am giving it a go.

I've already cooked quite a bit without wheat, for family and friends, so at least it hasn't been a shock to the cooking system. I do buy gluten free flour, for convenience, but it's quite expensive, and I resent the price difference, so I've now bought a large bag of fine cornflour and a matching bag of rice flour. I already had a bag of grits, or polenta flour, not sure why, as I hate polenta. I love lemon cake, so I came up with this recipe.

I'm about to go on about my logic for putting this recipe together. I'm no Heston B and it may be seriously flawed, in scientific terms. You might do me a favour by not reading this bit, in case I expose my ignorance, also you may not find it useful or interesting. You'll make up your own mind, whatever I write. The demerara sugar is intended to open up what's likely to be a close-textured cake. Another way would be to separate the eggs and whip the whites up, this might result in a cake that doesn't keep well at all. The topping/puree is a way of giving moisture to would be a very dry cake otherwise.  

I think I've spent enough time exposing my internal debate. The point of the recipe is to make something tasty to eat. So now I'll just knuckle under.

apple lemon cake

topping:

1 cup/mugful apple puree

3 tbsp dark brown sugar

zest of one lemon

1 cox's apple

handful of coarse cornmeal

cake:

100g rice flour

100g fine cornmeal

200g demerara sugar

200g margarine or butter

juice of one lemon

3 eggs

1tsp baking powder

• line your cake tin with non-stick baking paper
  

• set oven to gas mark 5 /375 F / 190 C moderately hot
  

• 9"/20cm round cake tin or a 10"/23cm long loaf-type cake tin
  

• put the apple puree in a pan over a low heat, stir in three heaped spoonfuls of dark brown sugar, stir until the mixture bubbles, take off the heat and add the zest of one lemon. 
  
• set aside to cool
  

• while apple puree mixture is cooling 
  
• wash one cox's apple, remove core and cut into thin slices
  

• pour apple puree mixture into lined tin, spreading to cover base
  
• sprinkle some coarse polenta evenly
  
• spread sliced apple evenly over the apple puree mixture
  

• beat the fat and sugar together until blended
  
• add the eggs and beat together until blended
  
• add the flours and baking powder and beat until blended
  
• beat in the juice from one lemon
  

• pour the cake mixture into the lined tin
  
• spread mixture out to make it level

• put mixture into preheated oven, cook for 40minutes
  

• insert skewer/sharp knife into cake - if it comes out clean, the cake is cooked
  

• leave to cool on rack for 10 minutes
• turn out the cake onto a plate - for safety, put the plate over the cake and turn it holding the plate and tin in a kind of sandwich
• lift the tin off and gently lift the baking parchment off - have a knife or spatula handy and ease any topping sticking to the paper back onto the cake

• eat hot or cold 

If you cook much you'll do what we all do. You read a recipe and decide to give it a go. You know you haven't got all the ingredients, so you think you'll just substitute a few things. Feel free, not that you need my permission. I'll be doing the same, and it's my recipe! I've already thought of a few changes... ...

use more apple - it'll make it wetter, and slices will fall apart more: live dangerously

forget the apple - you could use jam, thin it a bit with water and still use the coarse cornmeal, I wouldn't forego the lemon zest

use lemon curd - with or without the apple, still use the cornmeal