RECIPE: Caramel Apple Pie

Hello darlings, Henrietta here with a new recipe for you to try! I recently found this delightful looking concoction on a wonderful blog called Orange and Black - the Spirit of Halloween. The author of the bog had discovered it in the Apple a Day Cookbook by Janet Reeves. I must confess this is one cookbook that isn’t in my collection but I do love apples so it seems time I found a copy! The recipe sounded delicious and many of the blogs followers had tried it with success so I made up my mind to do so as well.

The perfect opportunity came when the Princess invited Priscilla and I over for dinner and a spooky movie last week, after our visit to Balls Falls. We volunteered to bring desert and agreed this pie would be the perfect thing. Priscilla whipped up the pie in no time (I was having quick nap after our long flight home) and we took it with us, baking it while we dined on a lovely feast set out by the Princess. 

As we sipped tea and talked of our days adventure, the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caramel and apples came wafting through the castle and beckoning us back to the kitchen where the pie was cooling. It was irresistible! I’m embarrassed to say we could wait no longer and sliced the pie up before it was properly cooled. The result was steaming clumps of apple, caramel and pastry. We should have waited longer and let it set but it was delicious all the same. It’s a lovely pie, and surprisingly not too sweet. The Princess declared it the best apple pie she had ever had and even had seconds. Priscilla and I agreed – it’s our favorite new recipe for Fall.

Here it is then, with a few alterations by Priscilla – Caramel Apple Pie.

Ingredients you will need for the pie:

·         Pie pastry to line a nine inch deep dish pie pan

·         Four cups of apples, peeled, cored and sliced

·         One and a half cups of brown sugar

·         One half of a cup of softened butter

·         One half of a cup of all purpose flour

·         One eight a teaspoon of salt

·         Two teaspoons of cinnamon

·         One half of a cup of chopped pecans

Instructions for the pie:

1.       Start by preheating your oven to a toasty three hundred and fifty degrees.

2.       Then line a sturdy nine inch deep dish pie pan with your pastry. Trim and finish the edges of the pastry. I haven’t included a pastry recipe because I find each cook has his or her own favorite – but if pastry isn’t your strong point feel free to buy a frozen pie crust, I won’t tell.

3.       Arrange the apple slices in the pastry-lined pan.

4.       Sprinkle the apples with the pecans and salt. Set aside.

5.       In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, flour, salt and cinnamon until a paste-like consistence forms.

6.       Pat the brown sugar paste mixture on top of the apple slices to form a top crust.

7.       Place pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for fifty minutes.

8.       Remove pie form oven and transfer onto a cooling rack.

9.       Let sit to cool until just warm (at least 45 minutes). I know it’s a chore but do try and wait if you can. We let our enthusiasm get the better of us and sliced it early but the result was mounds of pie instead of slices!

10.   Serve with freshly whipped cream or a rich vanilla ice cream.

Let us know how your pie turns out and if you agree it’s the perfect desert for a crisp cool day.

Click here to buy The Apple a Day Cookbook



Click here to visit Orange and Black: The Spirit of Halloween

RECIPE: Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Brown Sugar Sauce

It's coming to that time of the year again when the lovely round, green pumpkins and squash in the fields are starting to turn the most marvelous oranges and golds! It's also the time of  year when people write Henrietta and ask for her favorite recipes for what is surely her favorite vegetable and she is only happy to oblige. She dedicated an entire chapter to them in her cookbook and this is one of them!

Along with all the traditional soups, brews, pies and tarts, she likes to encourage friends to explore a few lesser known things to do with pumpkin and squash - and bread pudding is a wonderful way to start. This delicious and satisfying treat is a perfect way to warm up on a cold autumn day and a very simple thing to make.

Ingredients you will need for the pudding:

• One cup of cooked, mashed pumpkin*
• One half a cup of good, rich brown sugar
• Two chicken eggs
• One teaspoon of  vanilla extract
• One half of a teaspoon of dried, ground ginger
• One quarter a teaspoon of dried ground cinnamon
• One eighth a teaspoon of dried ground cloves (optional)
• One half a cup of raisins
• One can evaporated skim milk
• One third of a cup of chopped pecans  (see a Henrietta Hint below on this)
• Half a loaf of fresh raisin bread

* Canned pumpkin works just fine for this recipe, but do be careful it is pure pumpkin you buy and not pumpkin pie filling!

Instructions for the pudding:

1. The first thing to do is to preheat your oven to a toasty four hundred degrees. While it's warming up, cut your raisin bread up into small, bite-sized cubes, grease a nine inch pie plate lightly and then arrange the bread cubes on the bottom. Set it all aside and start mucking about with your pumpkin. 
2.  In a not too big but bot too small mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and ginger just until mixed. Then gently stir in milk and pour the entire mixture over the bread cubes, coating it with pumpkin mixture. 
3. Take your pecans and sprinkle them with abandon over the top. If you sneak a few for yourself, no one will be the wiser.
4. Put the entire glorious concoction into your preheated oven and leave it be for twenty five to thirty minutes or until a knife poked into the middle comes out clean.

I always serve this warm, cut into wedges and with some lovely cream over top. To really make it rich, you can also drizzle a delightful warm brown sugar sauce over the top (recipe below), though I'd reduce the sugar a little in the pudding if that were he case.

Ingredients you will need for the brown sugar sauce:

• One quarter of a cup of butter (and do use butter, not margarine for this sauce)
• Three tablespoons of flour
• Two thirds of a cup of packed brown sugar
• One cup of cold milk
• One cup of a lovely brandy (this is optional but does give a very nice taste)
• One quarter of a teaspoon if vanilla extract

Instructions for the brown sugar sauce:

1. Take out your favorite small saucepan and over a medium heat, gently melt the butter. Take i off the heat once ready and set it aside.
2. Take out your favorite medium-sized bowl and into it sift together the flour and sugar.
3. Take out your favorite whisk and slowly add the sifted ingredients into your favorite small saucepan of melted butter until the mixture is moist and happy.
4. Without too much of a fuss, stir in cold milk until the sauce is smooth and then return your favorite small saucepan to the medium heat.
5. Cook until thickened and smooth (about five minutes) but mind that your pay close attention to the mixture, using your favorite whisk frequently to ensure there is no burning!  
6. When the consistency seems agreeable, delicately stir in the brandy and vanilla and remove your favorite saucepan form the heat

Serve right away over your Pumpkin Bread Pudding, or cover it and refrigerate it for up to a week (warm before serving). This is also delicious over coffee cake, apple crisp and ice cream!

HENRIETTA HINT: I always recommend roasting nuts for a richer flavor if you are using raw ones. Simply put them in a mixing bowl with just a drizzle of peanut or vegetable oil and toss until lightly coated. Spread them out on a cookie sheet that has been lined in parchment paper and using a pastry brush, lightly dab them with some soft butter. Roast in a three hundred and fifty degree oven for four and half minutes, then turn them over and roast for four and a half minutes more. Take care not to burn them!