The two apple trees in our garden are heavy with ripening fruit. Who wants to come help us with the harvest?
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Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
August 18, 2013
Les Pommes
The two apple trees in our garden are heavy with ripening fruit. Who wants to come help us with the harvest?
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October 30, 2009
French Apple Cake
Because I've always been a Francophile and this dessert recipe had the word "French" in it, choosing it from a long list of Apple Cake recipes was a no-brainer. The fact that the cake batter is infused with a healthy splash of Calvados (or Cognac) helped make the decision that much easier!
This is one of those special recipes that I stumbled across about 10 years ago and have held on to ever since. It is buttery and rich and truly divine. And it is a dangerous cake to have around, because once you have a bite, you'll want another.
And another. And another.
So unless I feel like living dangerously, I only make it for special occasions, when I know there will be friends and family around to help eat up every last bite. When I offer second helpings I am often met with mild protests, but they always cave in eventually!
French Apple Cake
from Bon Appétit magazine
serves 8
This is one of those special recipes that I stumbled across about 10 years ago and have held on to ever since. It is buttery and rich and truly divine. And it is a dangerous cake to have around, because once you have a bite, you'll want another.
And another. And another.
So unless I feel like living dangerously, I only make it for special occasions, when I know there will be friends and family around to help eat up every last bite. When I offer second helpings I am often met with mild protests, but they always cave in eventually!
French Apple Cake
from Bon Appétit magazine
serves 8
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large Granny Smith apples (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored, thinly sliced
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Calvados, applejack or other brandy (I use Cognac)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into small bowl. Whisk remaining 1 cup sugar, egg yolks, eggs, Calvados and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Gently stir in dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 cup melted butter. Pour batter over apples in pan. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
November 7, 2008
Baked Apple Crunch
For the last couple of days we've been wrapped up in a warm, comforting blanket of contentment due to Tuesday's fantastic election results.
Add to the mix a hearty portion of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg laced Apple Crunch topped with vanilla ice cream, and you've got yourself a recipe for nirvana.
This recipe is my adaption of Hannah Davis' Baked Apple Crunch, a recipe from the 1700's that is prinited in the New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants, by Molly O'Neill.
I love this cookbook! It is crammed with delicious recipes ranging from Afghan to Argentinian, Chinese to Creole, Italian to Indian. And it was the first gift my husband, a native New Yorker, ever gave me (a subtle hint that he had high expectations of my cooking abilities, perhaps?).
My version of Apple Crunch is often requested by friends so I find myself making it over and over every autumn. Once you try it, you'll know why.
sliced up apples, mixed with sugar and spices
the crunch topping
the golden Apple Crunch, hot out of the oven and fragrant with spices (I made this twice in the last week, hence the different dish)
Apple Crunch
serves 6
filling:
2 pounds tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together.
Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and mix with the sugar and spice mix so all the apples are coated well.
Spoon into round pie plate or square ceramic baking pan.
In another bowl, mix the flour and sugar together, then add the butter and the vanilla.
Using your fingers, combine the mixture so the butter is combined with the dry ingredients.
Spoon over the apples to evenly cover.
Bake for 1 hour, until apples are soft and cooked through and top is golden.
If serving without ice cream, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. Pin It
Add to the mix a hearty portion of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg laced Apple Crunch topped with vanilla ice cream, and you've got yourself a recipe for nirvana.
This recipe is my adaption of Hannah Davis' Baked Apple Crunch, a recipe from the 1700's that is prinited in the New York Cookbook: From Pelham Bay to Park Avenue, Firehouses to Four-Star Restaurants, by Molly O'Neill.
I love this cookbook! It is crammed with delicious recipes ranging from Afghan to Argentinian, Chinese to Creole, Italian to Indian. And it was the first gift my husband, a native New Yorker, ever gave me (a subtle hint that he had high expectations of my cooking abilities, perhaps?).
My version of Apple Crunch is often requested by friends so I find myself making it over and over every autumn. Once you try it, you'll know why.
sliced up apples, mixed with sugar and spices
the crunch topping
the golden Apple Crunch, hot out of the oven and fragrant with spices (I made this twice in the last week, hence the different dish)Apple Crunch
serves 6
filling:
2 pounds tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together.
Peel, core and thinly slice the apples and mix with the sugar and spice mix so all the apples are coated well.
Spoon into round pie plate or square ceramic baking pan.
In another bowl, mix the flour and sugar together, then add the butter and the vanilla.
Using your fingers, combine the mixture so the butter is combined with the dry ingredients.
Spoon over the apples to evenly cover.
Bake for 1 hour, until apples are soft and cooked through and top is golden.
If serving without ice cream, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. Pin It
October 22, 2008
Tarte Tatin
I've fallen in love again...with Tarte Tatin.
It's not surprising that Tarte Tatin, one of the quintessential French desserts, is so celebrated.
Any dessert that combines buttery, sticky, caramelized fruit nestled in a cushion of buttery, golden, flaky pastry (and hopefully topped with vanilla bean ice cream) deserves to be worshiped.
quartered and ready to go
caramelizing slowly
Each rich mouthful of Tarte Tatin it is sheer, unadulterated bliss.
it could have been prettier, but it was so good we didn't care!
Want to know another great thing about Tarte Tatin? It is dead easy to make.
Seriously.
(and even easier if made with pre-rolled, pure butter French pastry)*
Tarte Tatin
Serves 8
1 recipe for pâte brisée (see below) or a frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17-18 ounce box), thawed, or 1 pre-rolled pastry
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
about 3-4 pounds of firm apples, peeled, cored and quartered
You'll need either a 10 inch tatin mold or well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet (I use a sauté pan then transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic baking dish before topping with the pastry and going into the oven because I don't have either a tatin pan or a cast iron skillet. But I don't let that stop me)
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Roll the thawed puff pastry sheet out on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out a 10-inch circle of pastry with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer the pastry round to a baking sheet and chill.
Spread butter thickly on the bottom and sides of your skillet and pour sugar evenly over the bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit in the pan, packing them tightly in concentric circles.
Cook apples over medium to medium-high heat until juices are deep golden and bubbling and the apples are golden and cooked through. The caramel might be unevenly colored at first, don't worry. And make sure they aren't burning! I often need to turn the apples a few times to create an even, golden color.
Either transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic pie dish or leave them in the oven proof skillet and lay the pastry round over the apples, tucking the edges down around the apples. Watch your fingers, caramel is HOT!
If using homemade pastry, roll the pastry dough to a round just larger than the mold. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to cover the apples. Tuck the edges down around the apples, working quickly so their warmth does not melt the dough.
Bake until the pastry is browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer skillet or baking dish to a cooling rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
Invert a platter with a lip to catch any juice over the skillet and, using potholders to hold the skillet and plate tightly together, swiftly invert the tart onto the platter. Replace any apples that stick to the skillet and brush any excess caramel from the skillet over the apples.
Serve immediately.
With vanilla bean ice cream if you're feeling extra naughty.
*If the urge strikes to make my own pastry, (which isn't often) I use a recipe from From My Château Kitchen by Ann Willian.
Pâte Brisée
1-2/3 cup/200 grams flour
7 tablespoons/ 100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons/45 mls water, more if needed
Sift the flour onto the work surface and make a well in the center. Put the egg yolks, salt and water in the well. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, add it to the other ingredients in the well, and work them with the fingers of one hand until thoroughly mixed. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in the flour from the sides and continue working with the fingers of both hands until coarse crumbs are formed. If the crumbs seem dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water, it should be soft but not sticky. Press the dough together into a ball, but don't overwork it; the dough will be uneven and unblended at this point.
Blend the dough quickly so the butter doesn't become too warm. Put the dough in front of you and use the heel of one hand to push away a bit at a time and flatten it against the work surface; this flattening motion evenly blends the butter with the other ingredients without overworking the dough. When the entire ball of dough has been blended in this fashion, gather it up with a scraper into a rough ball, and repeat this process of blending with the heel of your hand until the dough is pliable and pulls away from the work surface in one piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape it into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Walt's recipe is also excellent.
Tarte Tatin. What better way to celebrate apple season?
Pin It
It's not surprising that Tarte Tatin, one of the quintessential French desserts, is so celebrated.
Any dessert that combines buttery, sticky, caramelized fruit nestled in a cushion of buttery, golden, flaky pastry (and hopefully topped with vanilla bean ice cream) deserves to be worshiped.
quartered and ready to go
caramelizing slowlyEach rich mouthful of Tarte Tatin it is sheer, unadulterated bliss.
it could have been prettier, but it was so good we didn't care!Want to know another great thing about Tarte Tatin? It is dead easy to make.
Seriously.
(and even easier if made with pre-rolled, pure butter French pastry)*
Tarte Tatin
Serves 8
1 recipe for pâte brisée (see below) or a frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17-18 ounce box), thawed, or 1 pre-rolled pastry
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
about 3-4 pounds of firm apples, peeled, cored and quartered
You'll need either a 10 inch tatin mold or well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet (I use a sauté pan then transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic baking dish before topping with the pastry and going into the oven because I don't have either a tatin pan or a cast iron skillet. But I don't let that stop me)
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Roll the thawed puff pastry sheet out on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out a 10-inch circle of pastry with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer the pastry round to a baking sheet and chill.
Spread butter thickly on the bottom and sides of your skillet and pour sugar evenly over the bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit in the pan, packing them tightly in concentric circles.
Cook apples over medium to medium-high heat until juices are deep golden and bubbling and the apples are golden and cooked through. The caramel might be unevenly colored at first, don't worry. And make sure they aren't burning! I often need to turn the apples a few times to create an even, golden color.
Either transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic pie dish or leave them in the oven proof skillet and lay the pastry round over the apples, tucking the edges down around the apples. Watch your fingers, caramel is HOT!
If using homemade pastry, roll the pastry dough to a round just larger than the mold. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to cover the apples. Tuck the edges down around the apples, working quickly so their warmth does not melt the dough.
Bake until the pastry is browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer skillet or baking dish to a cooling rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
Invert a platter with a lip to catch any juice over the skillet and, using potholders to hold the skillet and plate tightly together, swiftly invert the tart onto the platter. Replace any apples that stick to the skillet and brush any excess caramel from the skillet over the apples.
Serve immediately.
With vanilla bean ice cream if you're feeling extra naughty.
*If the urge strikes to make my own pastry, (which isn't often) I use a recipe from From My Château Kitchen by Ann Willian.
Pâte Brisée
1-2/3 cup/200 grams flour
7 tablespoons/ 100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons/45 mls water, more if needed
Sift the flour onto the work surface and make a well in the center. Put the egg yolks, salt and water in the well. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, add it to the other ingredients in the well, and work them with the fingers of one hand until thoroughly mixed. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in the flour from the sides and continue working with the fingers of both hands until coarse crumbs are formed. If the crumbs seem dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water, it should be soft but not sticky. Press the dough together into a ball, but don't overwork it; the dough will be uneven and unblended at this point.
Blend the dough quickly so the butter doesn't become too warm. Put the dough in front of you and use the heel of one hand to push away a bit at a time and flatten it against the work surface; this flattening motion evenly blends the butter with the other ingredients without overworking the dough. When the entire ball of dough has been blended in this fashion, gather it up with a scraper into a rough ball, and repeat this process of blending with the heel of your hand until the dough is pliable and pulls away from the work surface in one piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape it into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
Walt's recipe is also excellent.
Tarte Tatin. What better way to celebrate apple season?
Pin It
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