Tuesday 31 May 2016

Spiced Apple Slices




Earlier this year we had a few days away with friends in the lovely little town of Montagu. On the drive back to Cape Town my daughter wanted to see where all the apples are grown, but got more than she bargained for when we drove past orchard after orchard full of trees bursting with thousands of apples. She was absolutely delighted (and it was a beautiful drive)! 




I am not quite sure how to classify today's apple bake. It is a sort of cake-tart slice. Is that a thing? I am making it a thing! Let's see - it has a thin crust at the base, a soft and cake-like centre and the flavour of apple pie. It is adapted from Bill Granger's rather clever recipe for peach and raspberry slices from the book "Every Day" and what I can say with certainty is that it is utterly scrumptious.




This is a lovely alternative for days when you feel like baking but are not in the mood for the usual cookies or making an entire cake (or pastry for that matter!). It is made with standard pantry ingredients too so you can whip one up whenever you need to. 




Apple slices are the perfect thing to make this chilly season, baked apple with spices seems very fitting for autumn. Enjoy cooled slices with a cup of tea or serve warm with vanilla custard as a delicious pud. 


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SPICED APPLE SLICES


Yields 8 slices (depending on thickness)




1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder + extra 1/4 tsp
80g chilled butter, cubed
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
300g apples, peeled, cored and cut into small wedges
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk


Step 1.) Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a 35 x 12cm rectangular tart tin well.

Step 2.) Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the light brown sugar, castor sugar, cinnamon, cloves and ginger

Step 3.) Press half of the mixture into the base of the tin. Arrange the apple wedges over the base. 

Step 4.) Combine the remaining flour mixture with the extra baking powdervanilla extract, egg and milk. (No need to worry about lumps.) Pour the mixture over the apple. 

Step 5.) Pop the tray in the oven and bake for an hour or until the filling is cooked through. Cool, then cut into slices. 






11 comments:

  1. Isabella Niehaus31 May 2016 at 09:44

    Sounds absolutely devine!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Bella, the family *loved* this one!

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  2. Yummy, i can just smell the deliciousness! Definitely making this. Thanx Teresa

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  3. Yummy, i can just smell the deliciousness! Definitely making this. Thanx Teresa

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  4. These caught my eye on Pinterest. They look so lovely. I am a huge Bill Granger fan, I love simple and delicious. These look exactly that.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Sam, yes I remember you being a fan! These are a must-try.

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  5. will this work in a 9 inch glass pie plate?
    if so, how long would it bake for?

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    Replies
    1. Hi there, I have never tried this before but I don't see why not. You basically just want to bake this until the filling is cooked through - I would pop it in for an hour but check it after about 45 minutes, then keep an eye on it until it's done.

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