Gooseberry Crumble

When it comes to the crunch, nothing gives more comfort nor more satisfaction than eating a crumble made from fresh local fruit. Whether that's with gooseberries from the garden, or the newly harvested apples that are in the shops now, the humble crumble offers delicious rewards for a tiny fraction of one's time. I cooked this gooseberry crumble with our sharply sweet home grown pink gooseberries, but the recipe would work as well with tangy apples this autumn, you'll just need to stew the apples in a little water or apple juice before adding the crumble topping. You can add oats or nuts to the topping if you like, but I prefer to keep it simple.

 

 

 

Recipe

 

Adapted from Nigel Slater's one in Real Cooking, buy the book from Amazon here.

 Serves 6-8

  

75g caster sugar (or more or less to taste, depending on the sharpness of the fruit)

approx. 800-900g gooseberries

170g plain flour

170g unsalted butter, cold and chopped into small pieces

170g light muscovado sugar

 

 

1. Place the berries in an oven proof dish and sprinkle with the caster sugar. Leave for half an hour.

 

2. Turn the oven to 200C (180C fan).

  

3. To make the crumble topping, rub together the flour and cold butter using your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs.

 

4. Gently stir in the muscovado sugar.   

5. Spoon the crumble topping over the fruit, and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown on top, the beautiful juice oozing out of the sides of the topping.

6. Serve warm, with cream.

 

 

 

 

This crumble was idly baked while listening to Bach's Cello Suites

 

 

Westcountry Apple Cake

 

 

I've been meaning to blog this cake for months, so it's no longer entirely seasonal, but better late than never eh! Apples can be found any time of the year now anyway, particularly if you're looking to use up the last of your autumnal bounty, and in this recipe they work their magic to create a most scrumptious cake, and a thrifty one at that.

Adapted from the recipe given at http://www.allotment.org.uk
Serves 8


225g eating apples, washed, peeled, cored and diced
225g plain flour, sifted
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
115g unsalted butter, room temperature, diced
1 egg, room temperature (beaten)
juice of half a lemon (or lime)
115g light muscovado sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

for the topping:
half a teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g demerara sugar


1. Turn the oven to 180 C (160 fan ovens), and grease and line an 8cm round cake tin.

2. Cover the apple pieces with the lemon juice, and put to one side to soak.

3. Use your hands to rub the butter into the flour and baking powder in a large bowl, as if making a crumble topping. You want to create the consistency of crumbs.

4. In a small bowl, beat the egg until frothy, then add it to the flour and butter crumbs, stirring gently.

 

 

 

5. Stir in the muscovado sugar and butter, beating the whole mixture together. Add the milk a spoonful at a time, stirring until the batter is a soft doughy consistency. Finally, remove the apples from their lemon soak, and stir them gently into the batter until combined.

 

 

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, smooth over the top and put to one side.

 

 

7. Then quickly make the cake topping, by mixing the demerara sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkling the crunchy topping liberally over the cake.

 

 

8. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Take out the oven, then leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack or plate.

 

 

9. Eat on its own, or with lashings of westcountry cream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds No More Shall We Part

 

 

 

Wholemeal Apple Crumble Cake

What do you get if you cross a crumble with a cake? Why crumble cake of course! This is a subtly spiced dark winter version of your classic apple crumble, made with sweet woody cinnamon, treacly dark muscovado sugar and a healthy wholemeal crumb. If you'd like to make a sweeter summer version of this cake which would rise more, then just swop the wholemeal flour with plain flour, and the muscovado with caster sugar. It's one of those cakes that helps me work through our glut of autumnal garden apples and smells incredible as it bakes in the oven. I've made this crumble cake in advance to take to some friends who we'll be supping with this weekend, so there are no photos of the cut cake or cake slices, sorry.

Recipe
Serves 8-10
Inspired by a recipe given on the Waitrose website. See their recipe here.

for the base:
3 eggs, room temperature
170g dark muscovado sugar
150g wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
50g raisins
170g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon milk, optional

for the apples:
3 eating apples, not too sweet
1 or 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
for the crumble topping:
85g caster sugar and/or dark muscovado sugar,
85g wholemeal or plain flour
60g rolled oats
85g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C fan oven). Grease and line a 20cm/23cm round spring form cake tin. Get out 2 small bowls and 1 large mixing bowl.

2. Peel, and slice the apples thinly, then scatter them with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and set to one side in the first small bowl.

3. In the second bowl, mix together the crumble ingredients by hand, until the mixture has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Put to one side.

4.  In the third, largest bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together thoroughly for approx 10-15 minutes.
You need to get it to the point where the eggs and sugar have paled and leave a trail when you lift the whisk.

5. While the eggs and sugar are whisking, melt the butter over a low heat. Let the butter cool slightly before gently folding it into the pale frothy eggs and sugar with a wooden spoon. If you stir too violently at this point you'll prevent the batter from rising in the oven, so gentleness is the key.

6. Next sieve the wholemeal flour and baking powder into the batter, again stirring very gently with a wooden spoon. Add the raisins and honey, and stir until just combined.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Carefully place the apple slices over the batter, and finish off by scattering the crumble mixture over the top of the cake.

8. Bake in the oven for approx 50-55 minutes. Check it after 45 minutes, and if the crumble is browning too quickly then cover the top of the cake with a sheet of kitchen foil before putting in the oven to continue baking.

9. You 'll know the cake is baked when a skewer comes out clean. Leave it to cool in the cake for 15 minutes before placing onto a wire rack or plate. Serve warm with vanilla icecream or cold with some cream.

This cake was idly baked while listening to Peter Pears singing Winter Words by Benjamin Britten

Apple & Berry Danish Pastries

If like me you adore all things pastry, then I warn you, you may find that these are so good, so moreish, that you'll need to put a lock and key on them. I had one freshly baked and hot out of the oven before supper, one for breakfast the next day, then one for lunch, and I've got my eye on one for tea if Mr Eve doesn't get there first. What's great about these Danish Pastries is that, unlike the ones found in shops, these are neither too sticky nor too saccharine. Instead the golden fluffy pastry and sweetly spiced fruit compliment eachother to create a more subtle and gorgeous delight. And have I mentioned that you don't have to make the pastry yourself? What more could an idle pastry lover want, eh?

Recipe
Serves 8
Barely adapted from the Danishes recipe by James Martin. See the recipe at BBCGoodFood.com

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 sharp not sweet eating apples
4 tablespoons demarara sugar
half a teaspoon cinnamon
half a teaspoon allspice or mixed spice
75g blackberries or blueberries
juice of half an orange
500g puff pastry pack
1 egg, beaten
1 handful plain flour, for rolling the pastry

1. Turn the oven to 220C (200C fan ovens).

2. To make the pastry filling, peel and core the apples. Then either slice them finely or dice them into small chunks.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons of the sugar and all the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.

4. When the butter is melted, add the apples, orange juice and spices. Simmer for about 5 minutes, before taking off the heat and stirring in the berries.
5. To prepare the pastry, roll out the ready made puff pastry onto a floured board, until it's about the thickness of a pound coin. Then cut out 8 squares 11cm each (or do what I did and misread the recipe, cutting rectangles 8cm x 11cm, it just depends whether you fancy your pastries square or rectangle).

6. Prick the pastry pieces all over with a fork and place them on a baking tray or two.

7. Carefully spoon the filling in the centre of each square or rectangle, turning over the edges. Brush egg all over the pastry to help the Danishes turn golden in the oven.

8. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over the Danishes, then place them in the oven to bake for approx 20 minutes until golden.

These Danish pastries were idly baked while giggling and chatting with my dear mate Kate

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

Autumn Fruit & Yoghurt Dessert

There are times when I'm either too busy, or too idle, to bake, but I never lose that craving for something sweet to eat. That's when I make this healthy and delicious little dessert, perfect if you're looking to create something in advance that can be thrown in the fridge and forgotten. I didn't have any, but this dessert would be even prettier if you added some blackberries. It may be ridiculously easy but it still packs a yummy punch.

Recipe
Adapted from Joanna Weinberg's recipe called 'Paddy's Greek yoghurt with dark sugar' in her lovely book How to Feed Your Friends with Relish. Buy the book on Amazon here.
Serves 2

1 apple, washed
250ml greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons clear honey (such as acacia)
half a punnet of raspberries
2 tablespoons dark muscovado sugar

1.  Halve, quarter and core the apple, before slicing it as finely as you wish. In two medium sized tumblers, lay 5 or so slices of the apple into the bottom of each.

2. Spoon over enough yoghurt to cover the apple in each tumbler, before adding half a teaspoon of honey, and sprinkle over a layer of dark muscovado sugar.

3. Layer raspberries in each tumbler over the sugar.

4. Add another large spoonful of yoghurt to each tumbler, and top them off with a good sprinkling of dark muscovado sugar.

5. Place the tumblers in the fridge for a couple of hours, to allow the sugar to sink into the yoghurt and the flavours to mix. Serve to be eaten with a spoon from the tumbler.

This dessert was idly made while listening to Radio 4's A View Through A Lens, readings from the real diary of a wildlife cameraman alone in the arctic filming polar bears.

Apple & Honey Tart

This is a delicate and delicious cake, a glam way to use up a glut of apples. The recipe doesn't use any eggs, giving it a tart-like quality, and the honey creates a gooeyness perfect for showcasing those pretty glazed apple slices. It's one of those cakes that not only tastes and looks great, but also makes the house sing with the sweet smell of warm honey and apple.

Recipe

Serves 8-10

Adapted from Tessa Kiros' recipe for Honey Tart, in her lovely book Piri Piri Starfish: Portugal Found. Buy the book on Amazon here. I've turned that simple recipe into a more complicated and pretty apple tart, with a sweet apricot glaze.

250g clear runny honey

125ml milk

100g butter

150g plain flour

3 medium apples or 2 large
juice of 1 lemon

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160 fan ovens), and grease a 20cm springform tin.

2. Core and cut the apples into thin slices, then toss in lemon juice to stop them browning and put to one side. Being an idle sort, I didn't cut my home grown apples that finely, because I like the rustic look, so just slice them thinner than this if you want yours to look more cosmopolitan! 

3. Gently mix the honey and butter together with a little milk.

4. Pour in the rest of the milk, before adding the flour and mix slowly until well combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.

6. Place the apple slices in concentric circles over the cake batter, starting outside and working in. Press them gently into the batter.

7. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, then place foil over the top to prevent the apples from burning, and bake again for approximately 15 minutes more. You'll know it's done when the batter is brown and a skewer comes out clean.

8. Take the cake out of the oven, remove the foil, and leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before carefully placing on a plate or wire rack to cool further.

for the apricot glaze:
4 tablespoons apricot jam
2 teaspoons lemon juice

9. Warm the jam and lemon juice gently over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

10. Strain the warm glaze through a sieve, to get rid of any lumps, then using a pastry brush very gently brush the thin glaze over the top and sides of the cake, being careful not to dislodge any of the apple slices as you do so. Serve with icecream or cream.

This cake was idly baked to the sounds of Goldfrapp's album Seventh Tree

Cranberry, Apple & Hazelnut Loaf

This crunchy topped country cake is scrumptious, a light crumbly fruit loaf made from the delicious autumn fare of juicy apples picked from the garden, sweet dried cranberries and oven roasted hazelnuts. Being so fruity it's postively healthy, so a slice can count as 1 of your recommended 5 a day. The difficulty, as we've discovered, will be stopping at just one slice....

Recipe

Serves 8-10

Adapted from a recipe given at BBC Good Food Online. See their recipe for blackberry & apple loaf here. I've changed the fruit and added some extra touches such as the hazelnuts to make a loaf with a slightly earthier, rustic taste.

2 medium eating apples

2 large eggs

80g dried cranberries

80g hazelnuts

175g light muscovado sugar

175g unsalted butter

250g self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

half a teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

1. Turn the oven to 180C (160C Fan ovens). Grease and line a 2lb / 1.7 litre loaf tin.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl until fluffy.

3. When the oven is up to temperature, place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven for approx 5 minutes, until golden and the skins are splitting. Check on them at 4 minutes, making sure they don't burn. Once roasted, take the baking tray out and leave the nuts to cool.

4. As if you were making a crumble topping, using your fingers rub the butter, muscovado sugar and flour together in another bowl, until the consistency of crumbs. Transfer 4 tablespoons of the mixture into a smaller bowl, then stir into that smaller bowl the cinnamon and demerara sugar and put to one side.

4. When the hazelnuts have cooled a little, quarter them, chopping finely.

5. Meanwhile give the eggs another quick beat, before grating the apples and orange zest over them. 

6. Add the egg, apple and orange mixture and a teaspoon of baking powder to the large bowl containing the rubbed in flour, sugar and butter. Stir the ingredients gently together.

6. Tip in the chopped hazelnuts and dried cranberries, again stirring gently.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin. Spoon the reserved topping mixture onto the cake evenly.

8. Bake in the oven for approx 1 hour 15 minutes, checking it after 50 minutes and covering the top with foil if it's browning too quickly. You'll know the cake's baked when a skewer comes out clean.

9. Leave to cool in the tin for at least half an hour before carefully transferring onto a wire rack. This cake is delicious warm or cool, but bear in mind that it's extra crumbly and difficult to cut when still warm, as I impatiently discovered.

This loaf was idly baked while listening to a recording of the Aquinas Piano Trio playing Maurice Ravel's Piano Trio 1914