Although I was given some windfalls a couple of weeks ago, yesterday saw the arrival of the first of the big apple harvest: lovely eaters given to me by Katy the Night Owl. We eat apple all the way through the year because I bottle it, but there are some recipes that demand fresh fruit, so I can only cook these for a limited time. I absolutely will not buy apples out of season, although some varieties last a good long time if undamaged.
Anyway, I have started our apple festival with an apple plait. This fabulous cinnamon and apple bread is delicious fresh, and once it’s a couple of days old makes the most wonderful French toast. Just the smell of it baking is enough to make me start salivating.
Basically it’s an enriched dough (i.e. it contains egg and milk and butter and take a long time to rise), filled with apple, brown sugar, a little butter and cinnamon. I always make it as a plait, but you could easily adapt it to any shape – swirls, buns, a rolled loaf, whatever you fancy.
The second recipe on my list of things to make when we have fresh apples is Dutch apple pie. This is really nothing like the apple pie I grew up with, and I only discovered it a couple of years ago (recipe here), but it has become a firm favourite in our house… especially since it requires no pastry-rolling and is like a cross between a pie and a crumble. In fact, now I’ve mentioned it, I want to make one for dinner tonight… excuse me, I could be some time…
The Snail of Happiness 