Apples this season are likely to be smaller than usual here in the UK. It’s all due to the hot summer and lack of rain apparently, but the good news is that this will make them even tastier!
Another upside of apples being smaller means that greengrocers, markets and supermarkets can stock more of them. For example, the Co-op are stocking the smaller apples at 1,300 of their stores, more than twice as many as usual, which can only help British fruit growers.
With a glut of apples in my house this year, thanks mainly to friends and neighbours generously donating their excess, I’ve picked four tasty apple recipes to get you baking this apple season and hopefully putting all of those apples that are around at the moment to good use.
1. Cornish Aromatic Apple Cake
This apple variety was given to me by a friend who has a Cornish Aromatic apple tree in her garden. It may not be that easy to find Cornish Aromatic apples so of course you don’t need to use this variety to make the cake but I found they worked very well having a firm, fresh flavour with a hint of pineapple. As an alternative you can use any well flavoured British apples such as Cox’s or Russets.
Because the apples are fresh the cake will not keep for more than 2-3 days, but it is so nice it will probably disappear the day you make it!
2. The Best Apple Pie
For me this is ‘The Best Apple Pie’ recipe because it uses my mother’s rich shortcrust pastry made with lard and butter. I also always bake this as she did on an old-fashioned enamel pie plate.
The metal plate combined with a hot baking tray will ensure the bottom layer of pastry will be cooked. I use a 10 inch / 25 cm pie plate which makes a family sized pie.
3. Apple and Cinnamon Scones + Apple Butter
In my Four Fresh Fruit Scones For Summer post a few months ago I included these Apple and Cinnamon Scones and said that they would also be perfect for autumn, so of course I had to include them here.
I used Worcester apples which I am very fond of, as when I was a child we had a tree of this variety in the garden, which produced loads of these small, sweet, red apples every year.
Apple Butter
Apple butter goes very well with these scones so I have also included my own recipe inspired by a recipe I found in a book written by Patricia Lousada, “An American Sampler”.
I have changed it slightly so that it can be made in a slow cooker, which means that you can leave it to cook without worrying about it burning.
4. Apple Dappy
I used some Red Windsor apples to make my version of an old fashioned pudding called Apple Dappy, which is made using a scone dough as pastry.
I found the original recipe in the Pudding Club Cookbook by Keith & Jean Turner (a treasure trove of proper puddings). My version of Apple Dappy includes dried fruit and oranges as well as apples and lemons. It has become a family favourite.
Serve straight from the oven with custard or cream.
Two More Tasty Apple Recipes
If you happen to have any apples left over then here are two more of my apple recipes:-
Sussex Pie or Apple Pie the Sussex Way
A Sussex version of Apple Pie which includes dried fruits.
Tanya’s Apple Kuchen
My version of the German Apple Cake
Happy Apple Baking!
Tanya