Simone’s Spiced Apple Loaf

by Simone Kelly

This recipe was handed down through my family, from my great-grandmother to my mother and when I moved to Ireland from Germany, I brought it with me – every year in the weeks before Christmas, this is one of my favourite things to bake. It just so happens to be vegan, too! A gently spiced, moist, sumptuous treat that’s amazing with a bit of (vegan) butter and a cup of tea.

Ingredients

  • 500g peeled and grated apple
  • 200g sugar
  • 125g raisins
  • 6 dried apricots, chopped
  • 70g almonds, chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • a pinch of salt
  • 40ml rum (or fruit juice)
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

  1. Mix the apple and sugar in a large mixing bowl and allow it to sit in the fridge overnight or for an hour or so at room temperature.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the apple and sugar mixture (which should now be very wet) and mix to evenly combine the ingredients into a thick, spoonable batter.
  4. Spread the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or so until it is risen and set. It should still be moist but when you insert a skewer it should come out mostly dry with a few damp crumbs.
  5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin then remove and slice it thickly. This cake stays fresh for a week in the fridge if tightly wrapped.

Apple & Frangipane Tart

by Lou Robbie

We love baking with sweet organic Irish eating apples. And this simple tart is just fabulous and easy and incredibly tasty and it will feed a crowd just add cream or ice cream. Ready rolled puff pastry is very handy to use and gives a crispy base that goes so well with the almond frangipane layer with thinly sliced apples on top.

This tart gives a thin layer of frangipane if you like lots, then double the ingredients below.

We’d love to hear from you, will you try it? Let us know in the comments below.

Lou

Ingredients: makes 15 slices

  • 1 sheet of fresh ready rolled puff pastry, 375g approx
  • 3 eating apples (400g)
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • For the frangipane:
  • 50g butter, softened
  • 45g caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 60g ground almonds/almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºC. Then start by making the frangipane. Beat the soft butter with the caster sugar, then beat in the egg. Use an electric hand mixer if you have one or a wooden spoon will do. Then fold in the ground almonds, plain flour and vanilla extract. Put the bowl in the fridge to chill.

Step 2: Meanwhile, peel, core and finely slice the apples into a half moon shape.

Step 3: Unroll the pastry and lay it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Lightly score a 1.5 cm frame around the pastry. The spread the frangipane mix evenly inside the frame. Lay the apple pieces in lines on top. Brush with the melted butter and scatter the brown sugar on top.

Step 4: Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden. Cool then dust with icing sugar and serve.

Apple Puff Pastry Turnover

by Lou Robbie

These are a must try with delicious Irish apples. We are so lucky to have sweet organic apples all year round. So good to eat and nice to bake with too.

The puff pastry turnovers are so simple to put together, the sugar and cinnamon caramelise to give a crunchy caramel topping, once turned.

We promise you’ll love this one. Please let us know in the comments if you make it. Check out our sweet organic apples in the shop.

Lou 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 3 Irish apples
  • 45g white sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry – 375g
  • To serve:
  • toasted pecans
  • 250ml fresh cream – whipped
  • icing sugar

Method:

Step1: Preheat the oven 180ºc. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper – you may need two baking trays.

Step 2: Peel the 3 apples in half and scoop out the core.

Step 3: Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a bowl.

Step 4: Divide the pastry into 6 equal squares.

Step 5: Spoon the cinnamon sugar onto the tray, you want 6 mounds of sugar. Place the apple flat side down on each of the sugar mounds. Put the pastry over each apple half and use your hands to cup the pastry around the apple half.

Step 6: Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Let the pastries cool for 15 minutes, use a wide spatula to slide under the caramelised apple and lift it off carefully. Serve warm with pecans and cream or ice cream. Dust with icing sugar if you wish.

Simple Apple Galette

by Liz Child

Galettes are the easiest pies to make. We love their beautiful rustic shape and the flexibility they bring. You can get creative and make them sweet with fruit, jam, chunks of marzipan or chocolates, or savoury with vegetables, cheese, pesto etc. Use your favourite flavours and the results will always be delicious! I use the same, sugar free, shortcrust pastry for both sweet and savoury versions, but of course you can add a spoon of sugar to the pastry if you like it a little sweeter. You can also add extra flavours to the pastry to match the fillings if you like. For example cinnamon in an apple galette, lemon zest and fresh rosemary in a parsnip galette, switch out some of the flour with ground hazelnuts or almonds… the possibilities are endless. We would love to hear about your favourite galettes in the comments please.

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour
  • 125g butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tbsp cold water
  • 3 apples, peeled, sliced and placed in water with a squeeze of lemon juice to stop it going brown
  • a handful of sugar

Method

  1. The easiest way to make pastry is with a food processor with the ’S’ blade attachment. If you don’t have one you can use a bowl and your hands to rub the butter into the flour then bring it into a ball with the water.
  2. If you have a processor, place the flour, salt and butter in the processor and pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Then run the processor and add a tbsp of cold water while it is running, after a few seconds, add another tbsp and see if it forms into a ball. If not, add another tbsp of water and the dough should gather up and spin around into a ball. Stop the processor as soon as a ball forms.
  3. Gather the dough into a neat ball and place in a bowl. Cover with a lightly damp tea towel and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes while you pre-heat the oven to 180C and prepare the filling. This time I peeled and sliced apples and placed them into a bowl of acidulated water (water with a squeeze of lemon juice).
  4. When the dough is rested, remove it from the oven and place it onto a floured baking sheet. To be sure it will not stick, I usually line the sheet with a piece of baking parchment too, but this is optional. Press the dough down into a round disc then roll it out into a large, 4mm thick round.
  5. Arrange the fruit in the middle of the pastry, sprinkle with sugar and then gather up the sides. Remember, rustic is beautiful so no need to worry about tears and uneven folds here.
  6. Place the baking sheet and pie into the pre-heated oven (180C) and bake until golden. In my oven, this usually takes around 30-40 minutes, but do keep an eye on yours as ovens vary so much.
  7. Remove from the oven and enjoy hot or cold in slices with ice-cream.

Simone’s Festive Apple Loaf

by Liz Child

Our farm photographer (farmtographer?) Simone has kindly shared her families festive apple loaf recipe with me. This is a delicious German cake, full of fruit, nuts and spices. It’s just the thing, thickly sliced and spread with butter on a chilly afternoon with a big mug of tea. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It tastes very Christmassy and I’ll definitely be making it again. If you have lots of apples to use up, then this recipe will certainly help! And the recipe just happens to be egg, dairy and fat free (that is, until you spread your slice with butter of course!)

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 500g peeled and grated apple
  • 200g sugar
  • 125g raisins
  • 6 dried apricots, chopped
  • 70g almonds, chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • a pinch of salt
  • 40ml rum (or fruit juice)
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder

Method

  1. Mix the apple and sugar in a large mixing bowl and allow it to sit in the fridge overnight or for an hour or so at room temperature.
  2. Pre-heat the oven to 175C. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
  3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the apple and sugar mixture (which should now be very wet) and mix to evenly combine the ingredients into a thick, spoonable batter.
  4. Spread the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or so until it is risen and set. It should still be moist but when you insert a skewer it should come out mostly dry with a few damp crumbs.
  5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin then remove and slice it thickly. This cake stays fresh for a week in the fridge if tightly wrapped.

Autumn Overnight Oats

by Liz Child

Overnight oats are so creamy and delicious, they fill you up and feel a bit special. Make these and give your past self a pat on the back in the morning! This autumnal version is probably my favourite. A creamy and sweetly-spiced pumpkin and cashew cream layer topped with an apple, oat, chia and pumpkin seed layer. I eat mine with a dollop of natural yoghurt on top.

Overnight oats last well in the fridge for 3 days. Mix up the ingredients and layer them up in jars or glasses and that’s breakfast sorted for a few mornings. This recipe makes 6 portions. Enjoy! And don’t forget to share your recreations with us in the comments or over on our friendly community Facebook group.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 6)

Pumpkin Cashew Cream:

  • 500g kuri squash pumpkin (or sub with butternut squash or similar)
  • 100g cashew nuts
  • 6 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Apple Overnight Oats:

  • 180g porridge oats
  • 3 tbsp chia seeds
  • 6 tbsp pumpkin seeds
  • 2 apples, grated
  • 500g milk (any milk you prefer)
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • Yoghurt to serve

Method

  1. Chop the kuri squash into bite sized chunks, no need to peel but do remove the seeds, and roast at 200C until soft. This usually takes around 20 minutes.
  2. Spoon the cooked squash into a blender with the rest of the Pumpkin Cashew Cream ingredients and blend into a smooth, thick cream. Taste and add more maple syrup if you prefer it sweeter.
  3. Mix all the Apple Overnight Oats ingredients in a large bowl.
  4. Divide the pumpkin cream between 6 bowls/glasses/jars. Top with the apple-oat mixture.
  5. Cover the portions and refrigerate overnight (or eat right away). They should stay fresh for 3 days in the fridge.
  6. Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt. Scoop down to get a bit of both layers in each bite!