Nutty Apple Betty

I love this pudding so much, at this time of year I even prefer it to a crumble, which is really saying something. A divine mix of lemony sugary moist cooking apples topped with buttery toasted bread and walnuts, it is hard for anyone to resist. What's more it's a fantastic way for me to use up our apples from the garden. The perfect quick and soothing pudding for a cosy autumn supper.

Recipe
Adapted slightly from Rick Stein's recipe in Food Heroes.
Buy the book on Amazon here.
I've added the walnuts and turned her from an apple betty to a nicely nutty apple betty.
Serves 4

50g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of half a lemon
450g cooking apples, peeled cored and thinly sliced
175g crustless white bread, cut into small cubes
100g unsalted butter
2 handfuls of walnut pieces
100g demerara sugar

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan ovens) and find a suitable large ovenproof dish.

2. Peel, core and slice the cooking apples, before combining them with the peeled lemon zest and caster sugar in a large bowl.

3. Spoon the apple mixture into the ovenproof dish so it's covering the dish base evenly.

4. Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan. When melted, add the cubes of bread and stir them carefully so that they're well coated in the butter. Add the walnuts and then sprinkle the bread and nuts with the demerara sugar, stirring carefully again to give them an even coating.

5. Next pile the buttery nuts and bread cubes over the apples in the dish, and bake in the oven for 40 minutes until golden and crisp. Serve hot with a good dollop of westcountry double cream.

This pudding was idly baked to the sounds of Miranda Hart's Joke Shop on Radio 4 Extra