Operation Apple

operation apple:

undercover

APPLE TARTIN TARTAN This French Classic - a toffee apple for grown ups - is a simple desert to make. This recipe, taken from Felicity Cloake, allows the flavour of your local apples to shine and definitely delivers the wow factor at a dinner party. A top tip from the school of Gordon Ramsay is to peel and core your apples the night before, allowing your fruit to dry out, no soggy pastry here! On taste testing it does result in a plumper and firmer apple but fear not if you forget, it is just a hint. To balance the sweetness of the caramel add in at least a couple of sour apples, and enjoy experimenting with your local varieties.

Serves 6

Ingredients 7 medium apples: a mixture of sweet and sour 200g white sugar 50g butter 175g ready-made shortcrust pastry OR 225g plain flour 2 tbsp caster sugar 120g cold butter 1 medium egg, beaten

Method Peel, halve and core the apples, then put in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours.

Put the sugar into a 20cm heavy-based oven-proof frying pan along with 50ml water and leave to soak for a couple of minutes, then cook over a medium heat until golden and fudgy. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, and a pinch of salt, until well combined, then carefully arrange the apples in the pan, round-side down, bearing in mind the caramel will be very hot, and put back on the heat – you may need to cut some of the apples into smaller pieces to fill in the gaps. Cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and allow to cool completely.

If making the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and a pinch of salt.

Grate in the butter, then rub together until it is coarse crumbs.

Mix the egg with 2 tsp cold water and sprinkle over the mixture. Mix together into a soft but not sticky dough, adding more water (if required) very gradually. Shape into a ball, and then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before rolling out.

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/ Gas 6. Roll out the pastry (you'll probably have some left over if you've made your own) to 5mm thick, and cut out a circle slightly larger than your pan. Put back into the fridge to rest.

Put the pastry on top of the pan and tuck in the edges around the fruit.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden, then remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then place a plate, slightly larger than the pan, on top and then, very carefully, using oven gloves, invert the tart on to the plate. Best served warm, with crème fraîche.

APPLE STRUDEL Whisk yourself off to the Kaffee houses of Berlin and Vienna with this delicious autumnal pastry. I have provided the recipe for homemade filo (a large batch can be frozen and used at a later apple date) but, if Dme is of the es-­‐ sence, shop-­‐bought can be a handy subsDtute. Whist the recipes calls for sweet apples, I added a few sour which were delicious -­‐ feel free to experiment with your favourite varieDes. Using local, seasonal apples really brings this coffee Dme treat to life.

Filo Pastry This is enough pastry for two strudels and the pastry will happily freeze. If using ready-­‐made pastry, around 10 square sheets will suffice.

285g plain flour 1 free-­‐range egg 150g water 100g buQer, melted 80g breadcrumbs icing sugar for dusDng

Filling 800g of sweet apples, peeled, cored and quartered 1 lemon zest and juice 50g caster sugar a pinch of ground cinnamon 50g sultanas (soaked in 4 tablespoons of apple brandy or apple juice for a couple of hours) 50g flaked almonds

Method: SiV the flour on to a clean work surface and add a pinch of salt, and make a well in the middle. Beat

together the egg, water and 1 tsp melted buQer and then mix enough of this into the flour to make a soV, sDcky dough – add a liQle at a Dme so you don't overdo it, the dough shouldn't be wet.

Now comes the fun bit – repeatedly throw the dough from shoulder height on to the work surface for 15 minutes unDl it becomes elasDc and loses its sDckiness. Wrap it in clingfilm and leave it at room temperature for half an hour while you make the filling.

Cut the apples into thin slices. Toss them with the lemon zest, juice, sugar and the cinnamon. Add the sultanas and the flaked almonds.

Melt the buQer in a small frying pan, and pour half of it into a small bowl. Add the breadcrumbs to the remaining buQer in the pan and fry them unDl they are golden and crisp. Transfer them to a piece of kitchen paper and you can get on with the pastry. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6 and place a greased baking tray on to the middle shelf.

Clear a large work-­‐surface or table and cover with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper (if it has a strong paQern, that will make your life easier later). Dust lightly with flour, and divide the dough in half. Keep one half wrapped in clingfilm at room temperature.

Roll out the dough as thinly as possible with a lightly floured pin. When you can't roll it any more thinly, begin gently stretching it using your whole hands – it will be springy, but keep on going unDl you can see the paQern of the tea towel (or read some print) through it. Try not to tear it – any small holes can be patched up with excess pastry.

Brush the rolled out pastry with buQer and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Spoon the filling in a line down one end of the pastry and then, using the tea towel to help you, roll up the pastry into a sausage shape.

EVE’S PUDDING This is a classic pudding that really lets your cooking apples shine below a delicious Victoria sponge - perfect for a winter’s treat.

INGREDIENTS Filling 4 medium cooking apples (about 500g/ 1lb 20z in total) 1 tbsp lemon juice 20g butter 2 tbsp caster sugar 2 tbsp water

Sponge 75g butter 100g caster sugar 100g self-raising flour 2 free range eggs, lightly beaten 1 tbsp boiling water

Method Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Peel, core and roughly chop the apples and add them to a small saucepan alongside the lemon juice and water. Give the mixture a stir, cover with a lid and cook briskly for five minutes or until the apples are soft. Add the butter and caster sugar and stir.

Transfer the filling to an oven dish (around 900ml/1 ½ pint) and leave to cool whilst you make the sponge.

Cream the butter and sugar until light with either an electric whisk or by hand. Once the mixture is creamy, fold in the flour and eggs alternatively, a tablespoon at a time. In order to keep the sponge airy, a light blending is required, no need for energetic whisking. Add the boiling water to loosen up the mixture slightly.

Spoon the mixture over the apples and bake in the oven for around 3035 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with custard or ice cream

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