Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
Biscoff caramel ice cream. This is great all year round but with the salted caramel and warming spices running through it, mixing with the cosiness of the biscoff spread, this is actually pretty amazing in the autumn and winter, as the seasons are changing. I …
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Apple pie; oh so comforting and brings up oh so many nostalgic memories of Sunday lunches and lazy evenings. Apple and cinnamon is such a classic, cosy combo and so evocative of chilly autumn and winter days. Mini apple pies have all the same comfort plus the happy benefit of being perfectly individually sized, no sharing needed. So delicious; fab served with cream, ice cream or my favourite lashings of hot custard; whatever you want. Such a delicious treat plus these little guys freeze really well, so you can bake up a batch and stash some away for when your need is great.
225g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
Pinch salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
Approx 100g stewed apples (or you can use apple sauce if you don’t have any, or in a rush)
Few tbsp milk for brushing on the pies
3 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon for dusting on top of the pies before baking
Makes 10 mini individual pies
Add the plain flour and salt to a mixing bowl.
Cut the fridge cold butter into small cubes and then begin to rub the butter into the flour. The butter should be very cold for this as you don’t want the butter to melt into the flour here, just to form a consistency similar to small bread crumbs.
Once the butter and flour are combined, add the sugar. This isn’t a lot but will just sweeten the mix a little.
Add in 3-4 tbsp of ice cold water to the pastry until it begins to come together.
Then lightly flour a board and gently bring the pastry together into a ball. Flatten slightly. Cover and leave in the fridge to let the butter firm up again for at least 30 mins.
You can either use ready apple sauce for the filling or ready made stewed apples. I make mine by cutting up Bramley apples into small pieces and then adding orange/lemon zest, cinnamon, ginger and cloves to a pan with a few pieces of butter and sugar to taste. Then cook until the apples are soft. This takes about 10 minutes. If you are making the apples on the day you make the pies, be sure that the mix is cold before you add it to the pastry. Otherwise the filling will cause the pastry to melt before it bakes, which isn’t what you want.
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Add a baking tray to heat up at the same time. This will help the bases of your pies cook really well when you place your tray on top of this later.
Flour your board and begin to roll out the pastry until it is roughly 1 cm thick. Move the pastry a few times and add extra flour if needed to help ensure that it doesn’t stick.
Once the pastry is rolled, use the apple cutter (or a circle one if you don’t have one) and cut out an equal amount for the tops and bottoms of the pie. I rolled the pastry a few times and got 20 apple shaped pieces from this amount of dough.
Lay half the pastry pieces onto a tray. Fill each piece with approx 1 tbsp of apples, trying not to over fill, otherwise the filling might spill out when you’re baking.
Once they are filled, take some water and dab all around the edges to help seal the pastry lids to the bottom.
Place the apple lids onto the pies and press down gently. Then use a fork to crimp the pies and seal them shut. Add milk or a beaten egg to the tops of the pies to help them brown up nicely. Then using a knife make a few cuts into the pastry to help any steam escape when baking.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon together and then sprinkle some on top of each pie.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tops have browned and the bottoms are cooked.
Leave to cool on a cooling rack or serve immediately with cream, ice cream or custard. Whatever you fancy.
These mini apple pies will keep a few days in an airtight container or you can freeze the pies for a few months.
Looking for other tasty ways to bake with apples? Try our Apple pie muffins or for some cosy comfort try our Pumpkin spiced pancakes with orange maple syrup and toasted pecans or our Get up and go granola – homemade breakfast ideas, so tasty.
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Apple pie muffins. I don’t know about you but baking (and eating) really come into their own in the Autumn! The days get darker and heavier, everywhere changes colour and you just know instinctively that the best thing to do is to snuggle down and eat something cosy and warming. These apple pie muffins do exactly that; filled with sweet apples and spices these are a simple bake that is just amazing for breakfast or a teatime treat.
250g self rising flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarb
1 tsp baking powder
150g stewed apples (or apple sauce)
1 apple (I like granny smiths for this)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
50g caster sugar
60g light brown sugar
75g melted unsalted butter
2 large eggs
125ml milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp vanilla extract
Makes 10 muffins
Demerara sugar to drizzle on the top before baking (optional)
First make the buttermilk. Measure out the milk and then add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to it and leave for 10-15 mins.
Cut the apple into thin slices and then into quarters, so you have pretty diamond shapes. I left out 2-3 pieces to add to the tops of the muffins before baking. Then finely chop the rest. Put the apples in a bowl and coat in the remaining lemon juice to stop them from going brown.
Zest the lemon and orange and leave to one side.
Sift the dry ingredients together. (The flour, salt, bicarb, baking powder and spices)
In a separate bowl, add the melted butter, sugars, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk and mix to combine. Add in the lemon and orange zest and the stewed apples and apple pieces.
Gently fold in the flour and spice mixture until just combined.
As soon as the mix comes together, don’t worry about lumps, then you can leave in the fridge for about 30 mins, or cook straight away.
Preheat the oven to 190 C.
Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, divide the muffin batter into muffin cases, about ¾ full.
Add the apple slices to the tops of each muffin along with a sprinkle of demerara sugar.
Cook for 18-20 mins until lightly golden. The tops of the muffins should spring back when cooked and if you insert a cake tester, it should come out clean.
Once cooked, leave to cool on a baking rack.
Muffins are best eaten on the day they’re made, but as these are packed with apples, it helps keep them nice and moist, so they will keep in an airtight tin for 3-4 days.
Looking for other cosy recipes? Try our Pumpkin spiced pancakes with orange maple syrup and toasted pecans. or our Jam doughnut muffins – both absolutely gorgeous and super simple to put together.
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Blackberry scones a go go! Friends if you’re anything like me and literally spy out bramble bushes ready to strike the minute the brambles ripen in the summer then this recipe is for you. I mean free food, need I say more, but we need versatile tasty recipes to use all those juicy fellas up with.
Bursting with flavour, the blackberry scones, with a hint of lemon are fab for breakfast or a cheeky teatime munch.
If you’re interested, I found this fab seasonal fruit and veg planner, which really helps to know when everything is at its freshest and tastiest, check it out.
450g self rising flour
200ml milk (maybe a little less, depending on how the flour absorbs the milk)
100g unsalted butter (cold)
Zest 2 lemons
1 ½ tsp baking powder
200g frozen blackberries (you can use fresh, but frozen keep their shape better when you mix into the dough and they won’t bleed their purple colour as much)
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
60g caster sugar
Icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Sieve the self-rising flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Add chopped fridge cold butter to the mixture and rub together with the tips of your thumb and fingers in a fluttery motion. Do this until it looks like bread-crumbs or an oat mixture. It’s okay if some of the butter hasn’t fully combined. That will help make lighter scones when they bake.
Stir in the caster sugar.
Stir in the frozen/fresh blackberries and lemon zest.
Stir in the milk mixture gradually by hand (this is messier but will help you get the right texture. You’re looking for a dough that holds together and isn’t sticky. Otherwise you’ll need to add more flour which will alter the texture of the scones. Different types of flour absorb liquid differently, so add the milk gradually and judge whether you need the last of the milk.)
Once the scone dough has come together, turn out onto a lightly floured board and cut the scones into triangles and place on a lined baking tray.
Brush each scone with some milk. Bake for about 10-15 mins in the middle of the oven until lightly golden and puffed.
Once cooked, transfer to a wire rack to cool and then dust with icing sugar.
Scones are best eaten on the day, but will last 2 days in an airtight container. You can also reheat them gently in a moderate oven for a few minutes to freshen them up if you are eating them the next day.
Love scones and want more inspiration? Check out my Blueberry and lime scones, Lavender, Earl Grey and lemon scones or Maple chai scones. For cosy autumn days – all so delicious
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