Autumn Leaves and Caramel Apple Bars
07:40
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there
are Octobers.”
L.M. Montgomery.
Anyone who knows me well (or, in fact, at
all), will probably at least suspect I have a major love of Autumn. For me,
nothing is more beautiful than the leaves turning and those dusky mornings.
Flip-flops are great, but my love of tights and blanket scarves is far greater.
Summer may try to tempt me, and sea-swimming may temporarily sway me, Winter
may momentarily hold me in its grasps when Christmas excitement buzzes and snow
coats the bare branches, and Spring can entice me with lambs and daffodils, but
Autumn is the season for me.
From pumpkin patch to apple tree,
blackberrying to marshmallow toasting, Autumnal food is homely, cosy and
totally captures the season. Maybe it’s the romantic bookworm in me, but I long
for Autumnal Sundays where the only thing on the agenda is curling up in front
of the fire with wooly socks and thick blankets (and of course a nice mug of
tea and a good book). I’m lucky enough to have grown up in a village where
Autumn is truly stunning, where dog walks and crisp leaves feature heavily, where
the lakeside is scattered with pink noses and mitten hands, where collecting
apples from the trees and making plum chutney is an annual tradition. So as we
pull on our wellies and pick this year’s apple crop (and try to keep Tilly from
getting to them first), we start the mass cooking and freezing. I’m always on
the hunt for yummy recipes to try, and love to find ones that use up things I
find in the larder…so, these salted caramel apple slices have become this
year’s Autumn treat…and my family have fallen for them!
Let's Bake with...
 |
| ...apples!! |
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (but
please keep checking as oven temperatures do vary and I wouldn’t want to be
responsible for cinders!). Line your tin (again, this is largely a matter of
personal preference – I normally use a loaf tin, but a brownie tin would also
work).
 |
| Piercing the shortbread helps it cook more thoroughly |
2. Now on to the shortbread base:
combine 100g melted unsalted butter, 50g granulated/caster sugar, 1 tsp vanilla
essence, ¼ teaspoon salt and 125g plain flour and mix until you form a dough.
Then press the mixture into the tin, lightly pierce several times with a fork
to ensure a more even cook, and pop it in the oven. Depending on what tin you
use, and thus the thickness of your base, cooking times will vary considerably.
For a thinner base, I’d be sure to keep an eye on your bake from about 15
minutes. Once the bake begins to brown around the edges and generally “looks”
more baked than doughy, remove from the oven.
3. Whilst the base cooks, you can
crack on with the apples. For this you will need 2 apples – these can be
whatever apple takes your pick, but for mine I used cooking apples from the
garden. Peel and slice thinly. Next, in a medium bowl, add 2tbsp plain flour, 2
tbsp sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg. Add the sliced apple
to the flour mix and combine, ensuring the apple slices are evenly coated.
4. Next, it’s time to make the
crumbly topping… For this you need 40g oats, 70g brown sugar (this gives a
deeper/richer flavour), 30g plain flour, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, all combined. To
get the crumbled effect, you then need to add 60g cold, unsalted butter –
probably best to add this in smallish chunks as it makes it easier to combine!
I use a fork to do the mixing at this point, but fingers also work well!
5. So, hopefully you’ll have been
watching that yummy shortbread come together and ensuring no lurking soggy
bottoms. All being well, it’s now time to compile the bars! Evenly layer the
apples on to the shortbread (don’t worry if you appear to have too many/the
overlapping becomes closer to another layer, this is fine!). Then, sprinkle the
crumble topping over the top of the apples. Back to the oven we go for about
30mins – until the crumble is golden brown and firm to the touch.
6. Place the bake on a wire rack
and allow to cool to room temperature, before moving it to the fridge to cool
and harden (at least 2hrs in the fridge, sorry! Be patient!).
 |
| Tilly loves "helping" in the kitchen! |
7. Whilst cooling, we can make the
salted caramel drizzle. Now, this caramel recipe makes more than you will need,
but it keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and I often find, if I’m making
caramel, it’s just as easy to make a bigger batch of to use in other bakes too!
You will need to heat 200g granulated sugar in a saucepan, stirring
continuously with a wooden spoon/rubber spatula – don’t use a metal spoon as it
will get hot and burn you, and for some science-y reason, tends to mess up the
caramel, and, well, we don’t want that!! The sugar will clump and then melt
into a dark golden liquid. Once the sugar is totally melted, add 90g butter
(salted or unsalted works). Stir continually until the butter melts, being
careful as the mixture will be doing a fair bit of bubbling! Next, slowly add
120ml double cream, ensuring you keep stirring and being wary of the bubbling!
Allow the mixture to boil for a minute or so then remove from the heat and mix
in 1tsp salt. Allow the caramel to cool, for this will mean it hardens, making
it considerably easier to drizzle!
8. Then, cut the bake into squares/bars, depending
on what works best for you and drizzle with salted caramel sauce!
Best enjoyed after a
welly boot walk, accompanied by a mug of something warm.
 |
| The perfect "treat"! |
0 comments