Toffee Apples

Instead of Halloween, I associate toffee apples with Bonfire/Firework/Guy Fawkes Night, on the 5th November.

I remember the first time I ate one, as a little girl of five. I had just started school and they were hosting a bonfire party in a field nearby. Though my memory is a little fuzzy, I remember the darkness, the sparking catherine wheel, the heat of the fire and the incredible sweetness of a toffee apple. I rarely ate sweets as a child - the apple is one of the few instances I can remember.



Usually you combine caramel flavours with mellow cooked apple - tarte tatin, for instance. Yet when you combine it with a fresh autumn apple, full of juice and zing, something special happens. You get an interplay between sour and sweet, chewy and crisp, juice and stickiness.

I find balance in taste so fascinating - all the different ways of combining the types of flavour and texture we can detect, all the subtle touches that can take something from nice to divine.



Toffee Apples
(adapted from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson)

8-9 small apples (5-6 big)
bamboo kebab sticks or lollipop sticks
60g dark brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
60g unsalted butter
75ml double cream
45g golden syrup
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Cover a baking tray with foil and butter with a bit of butter (or oil). Cut up the bamboo sticks and push them into the apples, making sure you don't pierce the bottom of the apple. Sit near the stove.

Place all the remaining ingredients in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set over a medium-high heat and stir together. Keep heating until you reach 235F, stirring as you go. When it gets to the right temperature take the pan off the heat. Stir occasionally as it cools. When it hits 180F, dip the first apple, holding it by the stick and swirling it around. Let excess caramel drip off and then place onto the baking sheet.

Let the apples cool on the side then keep uncovered in the fridge.

(For 8-9 small apples)

Sticky Toffee Pudding Volcanoes

I first made these for my Mum last Mothers' Day. This year I made them again for pudding and they were very nice - but not stunning.  I've always like Sticky Toffee Puddings - they're reliably good pub puddings - but they've never really blown me away. 

Today I decided to re-photograph one of the remaining cakes as I hadn't got what I wanted on the night. So I made up another batch of sauce but this time I added a new touch  -  a little ground ginger. I tasted some and immediately went to find mum to force a spoonful into her mouth as it was so lovely, but I still wasn't 100% sure it would work with the puddings. So I brushed and poured it over and started taking photos. The dogs and Mum were all hovering close by, waiting for me to finish - and I have to admit, I really wanted to just quit and and discover how it all came together. 

When I finally finished we attacked. I had to do a little happy dance around the flat. The ginger takes the pudding to another level - every flavour is enhanced. It's also totally addictive - despite having just eaten tea we ate the whole thing (including the spare sauce) in about two minutes flat. 

I named these volcanoes because of the way they puffed up and broke the surface when they baked. I had decided that instead of making squares cut from a tray, I would use individual dessert tins.  I popped them in the oven with a little trepidation as to how they would turn out. Turns out it's a good thing I quite like the rustic, uneven look... 

Still, it turned out to be for the best as it meant I could fill the middles with ginger butterscotch 'lava' which then soaked through the sponge and that's definitely a good thing.  Look at the final photo and you'll see what I mean!

I dedicate these to my Mum, for being absolutely wonderful and for teaching me to follow my intuition and sprinkle a little ginger into something on a whim.  

Edit: My new and improved recipe for Sticky Toffee Pudding is here.