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10 hours ago
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It’s easy to forget just how extraordinary apples can be. Often relegated to less exciting regions of the fruit bowl, they actually come in a dizzying array of varieties – sharp, sweet, floral, crisp – and each with their own quirks. And now is the time to celebrate apples, so this week I’m giving them the attention they deserve in a no-bake toffee apple pie (banoffee’s autumn cousin) and a soft, cinnamon-spiced crumb cake.
Toffee apple pie (pictured top)
You will need a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Chill 2 hr+
Serves 8-10
For the case
275g digestive biscuits
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
140g unsalted butter, melted
For the caramelised apples
500g apples, I used braeburn, but pink lady work well, too
70g caster sugar
30g butter
1 tsp lemon juice
For the sour cream whip
50g sour cream
250ml double cream
25g caster sugar
To assemble
397g tin dulce de leche (I used Carnation)
25g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
For the biscuit base, blitz or bash the digestives into fine crumbs. Mix in the salt and cinnamon, then pour in the melted butter and mix well until it has the texture of very wet sand and clumps together when you give it a gentle squeeze. Press evenly into a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin (put a disc of baking paper on the base for an easier release later), starting with the edges and working your way into the base. Put the tin in the fridge to firm up.
Meanwhile, peel and core the apples, then cut them into even slices, about 1cm wide (you should have about 400g). In a low, wide frying pan, add the caster sugar and heat over a medium-high heat until it starts to melt, caramelise, and even burn in places – three to four minutes. Add the butter and apples, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture come to a bubble. Lower the heat, then simmer the apples in the juices for about 10 minutes, or until tender. (Depending on the variety, you might get a mixture of mushier and firmer pieces.) Stir in the lemon juice, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
To assemble, beat the dulce de leche until smooth, then spread evenly over the biscuit base. Arrange the apple slices (avoiding the juices) on top in slightly overlapping concentric circles and in a single layer. Reserve the apple caramel juices for finishing the tart.
Whip all the ingredients for the sour cream whip together until you get soft peaks. Pile the cream on top of the apples, giving it a pleasing swoop. Arrange the hazelnuts on top, then finish with drizzles of the caramelised apple juices. Chill for two to three hours before serving.
Apple crumb loaf
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 6-8
You will need a 21.5cm x 11.5cm x 6cm loaf pan.
For the cake
2 medium-sized eating apples
1½ tsp cinnamon
150g unsalted butter
75g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar
2 eggs, about 100g
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (6g)
¼ tsp fine salt
For the crumb
40g light brown sugar
60g plain flour
A pinch of salt
30g oats
40g butter, melted
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Halve and core one apple (no need to peel), then cut it into 2mm slices (you should get about 120-130g). Toss with the cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Grate the other apple on the coarse side of a box grater – you need about 100g.
For the cake, cream the butter and sugars for about two minutes until slightly pale and about one and a half times their original volume. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition, followed by the grated apple and vanilla extract. Stir through the dry ingredients to form a batter.
Line the loaf tin with baking paper, then spoon in about 80% of the mixture. Arrange the thinly sliced cinnamon apples on top in overlapping layers, then top with the remaining mixture, smoothing the top. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the crumb. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl (you can use the cinnamon apple bowl for less washing up!), then pour in the melted butter and mix again until a crumb forms.
Carefully remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle the oat crumb all over the top. Return to the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin before serving.
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Nicola Lamb is a pastry chef and author of the weekly Kitchen Projects newsletter and Sift, published by Ebury Press at £30. To order a copy for £27, go to guardianbookshop.com
