[swan]

Yesterday I received a bucket full of fresh-from-the-tree-picked apples. I'll do apple juice and apple pie (dutch original and Mamy's both, how my neighbours wil love me !) ), but would love to hear your favourite and special apple recipies, to try something new.

[Griffin]

When our cooking apples are ready and picked, my father will definitely do apple and blackberry crumble... to be had hot and with cream. We used to call it Sleepy Pudding because after a large meal and crumble, all you want to do is sleep.
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Confusion comes fitted as standard.

[gingerpale]

This apple cake became a favorite right away, it's almost effortless, and if you have 2 apples you almost certainly already have everything else listed below.

Moist Apple Cake (clipped from newspaper 19??)

1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar --brown is fine, but white lets you taste the apple more
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped apples--(no need to peel, dice them a little smaller than the keys on your pc)
1/2 cup chopped nuts, your choice (walnuts are tried and true)
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates

Mix butter, sugar, egg well. Add everything else, mix well. It's very thick--spread into 8 inch prepared pan. Bake at 350F for about 40-45 minutes--until it springs back up when touched near the middle. (350F is 177C)

It's good warm (or not) with ice cream, whipped cream, hard sauce, whatever. (There is no liquid in the ingredient list, but the apples provide plenty as they cook.)

[Rachel]

I don't know if you want any other ideas that fall under the heading of pie... but don't forget about tarte tatin! And gateau normande, which is more pie than cake (as it's mostly apples held together by a small amount of batter). A couple of other ideas for later in the season are Clotilde's apple, potimarron and vanilla compote (which I made last autumn and loved) and this crumble:

Apple, pear and quince crumble (from Crumbles by Camille Le Foll, translated into English by yours truly)

500g quinces
500g apples (the recipe calls for Reine des Reinettes but you can probably substitute whatever you have to hand)
500g pears
50g caster sugar
1 tbsp rose water

200g plain flour
175g salted butter
120g brown sugar

Peel and quarter the quinces and put them in a saucepan with the caster sugar and a little water. Cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel, core and slice the apples and pears and add them to the pot with the quinces. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Turn off the flame and stir in the rose water.

Preheat the oven to 180C and make the crumble topping by rubbing together the flour, butter and brown sugar.

Pour the cooked fruit into a baking dish and sprinkle the topping over it. Bake for about 25 minutes and serve warm with creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt.

Now... can I be really cheeky and ask for your recipe for Dutch apple pie? I became addicted to it on my (so far) only trip to the Netherlands three years ago and can't find anything that remotely approaches it elsewhere!

[Barbara]

Here a couple of my apple cake recipes.

http://winosandfoodies.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/10/labour_day_baki.html
http://winosandfoodies.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/06/spiced_apple_ca.html
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Barbara

[georgia]

Barbara, your apple cake recipes look delicious, and I intend to try both. Can you tell me, in the Spiced Apple Cake recipe, are "cooked apples" what Americans call applesauce, or are they diced or chopped apples cooked briefly until they soften a bit?

Many thanks...

[julielynn]

Have you seen seen this free downloadable apple cookbook? Beautiful photos and apple ideas.

http://www.tastingmenu.com/allaboutapples/


What kind of apples are they? My grandfather was an apple grower, so I grew up rather spoiled in that regard. My mom would get boxes and boxes of Golden Delicious and make applesauce. She would let the apples get very ripe and sweet before slicing them into a big pot with cinnamon and some water. The apples would simmer away until they were tender and some were falling apart. My mom would lightly mash the apples with a hand-powered masher so that the sauce would stay chunky. You never needed to add any additional sweetener. The sauce freezes beautifully and it makes the house smell wonderful. That is the smell of fall to me.

[swan]

And what, my dear gingerpale, would 'hard sauce' be?!?!? I'm learning every day!

[swan]

~Dutch apple pie~

300 gr flour
180 gr butter (please, no margarine, it works but doesn't add to the flavour!)
150 gr caster sugar, white
1 beaten egg
1 sprinkle of salt

(100 gr raisins)
4/5 large slightly sour apples, or whichever you have lying around
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar (castor, powdered, or regular)
1 teaspoon lemonjuice


Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.

If you like to use raisins or sultana's soak them in lukewarm water. I never use them, I don't like raisins Soaked in some rhum might be nice as well!.

Mix flour, castersugar, salt and half of the beaten egg in a bowl.
Cut the cold butter into dices and mix into the flour with two knives or with kneading'things' in the machine into a crumbley but sticking dough.
Some recipies call for half an hour to an hour rest in the fridge before putting dough in springform, I usually do this: use 2/3 of the dough in a well greased springform and make a high side, then let it rest, put the rest of the dough in the fridge as well.

peel,core and cut the apples in dices about the size of, well, a dice:-). Put them in a bowl with the lemon juice, sugar to taste and cinnamon. Mix. If you use raisins, drain and add to the apples.

Put the apples in the springform - add as little liquid as possible.
With the remaining 1/3 of the dough, either roll out and cut stripes, or roll 'worms'of dough and make a diamond-shape pattern on top of the apples - like a top but the filling is visible.
Eggwash with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 1 hour upto 1 hour, 15 mins untill golden brown

here you'll find a photo:

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeltaart

this is a basic and versatile recipe. Everybody has his own, his mothers or grandmothers variation. It's a forgiving recipe: no butter? use margarine. not enough butter? use more egg. No egg? leave it out, use a little extra butter or some water. Flour? can be allpurpose or selfraising. Oven temp? Anywhere between 165 and 200 C will do. Baking? Check after 50 mins and see if it needs more.
Apples: any kind. Mix in for variety: walnuts, almonds, almond paste, 2 teaspoons of custerdpowder or semolina to soak up extra fluids, dried apricots. Other spices: add vanilla, ground cloves. More shine? brush some warmed apricot jam on top after baking.
Sugar? regular will do as well. You could also add some lemon zest or cinnamon to the dough.
One other recipe I have calls for slightly different ratio of ingredients:

300 gr flour
200 gr butter
100 gr sugar
1 (= 50 gr) egg

(3-2-1-1/2 ratio, would work with cups as well!)

just knead it all into a dough and let it rest for a while, while you prepare the apples. one secret, not so dutch but very nice variation is to add not only lemon juice and cinnamon to the apples, but a few very finely cut rosemary-needles(or are they leaves?!) - yum!

[Rachel]

Thanks, Swan! Looking forward to trying it soon. (though maybe I should now be kicking myself for asking because I suddenly have one less excuse to go back to the Netherlands?? )

[Barbara]

Gorgia - the cooked apples are diced apples, cooked till soft but still retaining their shape. I cook up a batch on the top of the stove and any left overs I have on my cereal for breakfast. If I cook this cake out of season I buy a can of pie apple and it works fine. I hope you enjoy it. I once had a little food business and I made the spiced apple cakes every day for the 4 months I had the business. It was very popular.
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Barbara

[swan]

Hi julielynn, I forgot the names, I have three kinds, one is Elstar which is a 'normal' one over here, the other two were to me unfamiliar names, one is beautiful dark red, the other looks like an Elstar,but tastes more tart, and their names were something in the line of "prince Charles'and 'Queen Mum', at least that's what I call them now

[gingerpale]

Swan--as you can tell by the name, it isn't a liquid sauce. There must be a different name for this in Holland. Simply butter mixed with powdered sugar and flavoring--when chilled it is hard like butter, so while still soft it can be molded, then sliced like a zucchini into little rounds, or pressed through a cookie press to make pretties. Here are 2 recipes, one plain one fancy.

Plain
cream 1/2 cup butter 'til soft
gradually add 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
add 2 teaspoons vanilla, mix well, shape, chill

Fancy
cream 6 Tablespoons butter, unsalted
gradually add 6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar,
2 or 3 Tablespoons rum,
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind and/or a squeeze of juice
mix very well, chill

Either of these can be wildly changed--use whiskey or brandy, serve in a little crock, if you add beaten egg white it keeps it softer--but raw egg is a problem for some people.

[Mister Choc]

I've just had this thought though I guess it must exist all ready. You could wrap a wedge of apple in sweet shortcrust. A bit like a pop tart I suppose. They could be nice little snacks. Ready made shortcrust would make it easier.
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Cake!!! Gimme, Gimme,Gimme!

[swan]

Is there anybody with a chutney-kind-a-something recipe perhaps?