An Apple Cake for the Afternoon

There's nothing quite like settling down to a cup of tea at 3 in the afternoon with a wee slice of cake. Afternoon tea is an incredibly English institution (nothing wrong with that) which I've taken into my own hands. Here is a recipe adapted from The Real Food Companion by Matthew Evans a.k.a. The Gourmet Farmer. The result is a deliciously moist cake with a fine crumb that you don't have to do the hard yards for i.e. my kind of recipe. Enjoy this one, especially as the days get cooler.

"Just a small slice": the best thing about this cake is certainly the apples. Cut into generous cubes, they are the star of the show here. Land yourself some apples from you local farmer's markets, the growers can advise you on which are best to use

Ingredientsss

1kg cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1.5cm dice

200g raw sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

A few drops of vanilla extract

125ml extra virgin olive oil

200g walnuts, roughly chopped

250g self-raising flour

1.5 tspn ground cinnamon

A pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, grease and line a round 28cm cake tin (I've used a loaf tin out of convenience)

2. Mix apples in a bowl with sugar, egg, vanilla, oils and walnuts

3. Sift in flour, cinnamon and salt and stir

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for ~45 minutes

5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes until turning onto a wire rack to continue cooling

6. Serve that baby up!

Don't be alarmed by the apple to cake batter ratio, it does seem like an awful lot of fruit to be baking in there. Miraculously though, it just works with beautiful results!

This cake is just one of those recipes that are handy to have around, when friends drop by or you're craving something to tie you over until lunch time. It will keep for a good 3 days in a container  too. Can't go wrong with this one!

Thanks for reading and happy baking!

xGourmand

Rhubarb & Apple Crumble

If there's one thing that I've come to realise from writing this blog, it's that seasonal is ALWAYS best. No exceptions. Strolling the farmer's markets with a coffee cup in hand (how Sydney + pretentious is that) I can't help but pick the produce that is a) in abundance and b) more affordable as a result! For me, this season is all about the heirloom vegetables; carrots, jerusalem artichokes and plump beurre boscs... 

Can you hear angels sounding their trumpets?! Baha. Baked rhubarb and apple crowned in oaty crumbley goodness, gosh

In case you haven't noticed, I've got a bit of a thing for rhubarb (see here). It's tartness which, when stewed down is so heavenly and fits wintery desserts like a glove. Here is dear Maggie Beer's rhubarb & apple crumble (find the original link here); a celebration of Winter's finest. 

Ingredientsss

[crumble]
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup soft brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1 tspn ground ginger
60g unsalted butter, chopped


[fruit mixture]
1/4 cup soft brown sugar
1/4 cup verjuice (or orange juice for a slightly sweeter version)
50g unsalted butter (melted), 20g extra (chopped) -> let's be honest, it just wouldn't be Maggie without the addition of verjuice!!!
6 granny smith apples, peeled and cored
20 sticks of rhubarb, washed, trimmed and cut into 3cm lengths
cream or ice cream, to serve (duh)

Method to Madness
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. For crumble, combine flour, sugar, oats and spices in a large bowl. Rub butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside
3. Combine sugar, verjuice/orange juice and melted butter in a bowl. At this point I like to add the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean :) 
4. Cut the apple into thin slices and add to the verjuice mixture, toss to combine. Transfer to a baking dish, spreading evenly. Scatter the rhubarb on top
5. Bake apple/rhubarb for 20 mins
6. Spread crumble mix over the top and dot with extra chopped butter. Bake for an extra 30-35 mins or until the fruit mixture bubbles around the edges and the crumble is golden brown
7. Dish that baby up with a nice quinelle of double cream or even better, vanilla bean ice cream. Boo. Yah.

This portion size shows a LOT of restraint, let me tell you. Bon apettit!

As always, thanks for reading!

xGourmand

Cider Fest Rules

There's something completely wonderful about sitting in front of my laptop to blog with a mug of tea on a Sunday morning. Love it! Yesterday, a dozen of us made the "pilgrimage" to the tiny town of Batlow, a town in country NSW renowned for apple growers. What better excuse to go than for the annual Batlow CiderFest. Psyched!

Random photo spot! Autumn leaf cover in the park

The appropriately designed info booth!

It was a windy bus-ride through the rolling hills of country NSW (listening to this and this). When we arrived we were buffeted by some icy winds...Man, it was cold. The day hovered at a chilly 5 degrees, with only patchy sun shine. Let's just say some of my fellow festival goers were forced to do some emergency thrift shopping! 

Boutique cider company, The Apple Thief's Charlie Ostaszewski - a little self promotion never hurt anyone!

The whole she-bang was all that I could have hoped for. Pioneer Street was closed off and furnished with long tables with stalls down the edges. Lots of local producers were showcasing the region's best produce - apples, root veg and preserves. Cafe Nest of Tumbarumba provided the morning's requisite coffee. A bag of roasted chestnuts makes the perfect snack for market perusing too ;) Throughout the day there was entertainment on a make shift stage including some lovely acoustic versions of Bon Iver and Jack Johnson tunes. Very suited! And so we embarked on an apple themed dining and cider drinking odyssey...

How do you like them apples?
Crushed as cider (hello). Here is the before and after shot! As a charitable initiative, apples were being peeled and cored in aid of Prostate Cancer research, a very worthy cause. These apples were some of the fresh and juiciest apples I'd ever tasted. Molto Buono! 

The mission of the day was to taste each of the ciders and rank them (as you do). My personal favourite was the Small Acres Pear cider - a small company that I had never heard of until yesterday. I haven't seen it sold in mainstream shops either, this needs to change. The subtle flavours of these ciders make them go down very easy! Batlow Premium Cider's Cloudy Cider was also a huge seller, and actually sold out at some point! The Apple Thief, a relative newcomer on the scene was a bit of a hit amongst festival goers with their Apple Cider cocktail of a mix of ciders, mint, fresh apple and Absolut Wild Tea. I found their Granny Smith cider to be quite tart, preferring the William Pear and Pink Lady ciders instead. We were becoming quite the connoisseurs by the end haha!

Savoury before the sweet: spit roast pork bun with apple sauce (left) and the Cheese Kransky dog with onion/balsamic sauce + ketchup (right). The Kransky was amazing, can I just say. With all the oozy cheese throughout the snag - AAAH. The pork was also very good but I could have done with a bit of cabbage or other greenery

Definitely couldn't go past a warm apple pie on a day like this. The apple pie on offer by Batlow's local Wilgro Orchards. The best part about this was probably the caramelized apple ice cream we bought to have it with! People thought we were mad but a pie without ice cream just isn't the same! The pie itself was perhaps a bit dry, the filling was basically cinnamon apple layered on directly without that gooey sauce that we want! Some rhubarb or blueberries would have made it 1000x better

Some more jammies for sale at the CiderFest. This particular stall had the most delicious chocolate coated toffee apples - they were sold out in no time at all! A clear winner for the little (and big) kids

By the end of the afternoon, I felt a twinge of sadness to be leaving. The community atmosphere was so wonderful to see, hundreds of festival goers from near and far gathering to share a common experience on a cool Autumn's day. It was the perfect opportunity to have a chat with the farmers, support their efforts and enjoy some farmers. I did my best to sample a bit of everything and squeeze in a spot of shopping too!

An afternoon street scene (left) and the Tumut Town Band (right) that put on a right show for us! Aren't their yellow jackets and feathered hats snazzy?

I walked away from the festival with some decent loot, including 2kg of Pink Lady Apples for $5 (the best)! My self made 'show bag': pear and apple ciders from Small Acres Cyder (from Orange, NSW), Wilgro Apple Cider Vinegar, jams from Yesteryear Preserves (Cowra, NSW) and Batlow's own Pink Lady Apple(s). 

What can I say other than it was a good day. I knew before I had even gone that I'd have a ton of fun at this event and it did not disappoint! Mark it in your diaries for next year :)

Thanks for reading!
xGourmand