Advertisement

Sweet and savoury recipes for Apple Day from Borough Market

Mists and mellow fruitfulness: unusual apple recipes for Apple Day celebrations
Mists and mellow fruitfulness: unusual apple recipes for Apple Day celebrations

Each year, Apple Day celebrates the rich heritage of the British autumn harvest. It's your chance to get stuck into a host of fruity treats, to try your hand at some traditional games (apple bobbing, anyone?), to learn about endangered apple varieties and to discover the art of cultivating orchards. This year it takes place on Sunday October 22.

It was founded by Dorset environmental charity Common Ground and is now an eagerly anticipated calendar fixture for many villages, city markets and cider fans, as well as a focus for activities run by the Women’s Institute, National Trust properties, The Wildlife Trusts, and many a horticultural society. 

At Borough Market in London, proceedings kick off in Southwark Cathedral with a short act of harvest worship, accompanied by a choir. A collection will be made for the Robes Project, a local charity which provides winter night shelters for the homeless of south London. Entertainment will include the famous apple peeling competition, and Morris dancing. In addition, theatre company The Lions Part will entertain the crowd with music, songs, dancing, games and traditional tales. 

Meanwhile Angela Clutton, chef, food writer, food historian and co-Chair of the Guild of Food Writers, will be in the demonstration kitchen between 12-1:30pm and 2-3:30pm, cooking up a range of sweet and savoury apple-themed dishes. From sweet to savoury, the demo is designed to inspire you to try some more unusual dishes at home.

To tempt you further, here's some creative takes on traditional apple recipes from some of Borough Market's most talented chefs and foodies:

Treacle toffee apples with pecans

Alix Caiger’s take on a classic Bonfire night treat

Toffee apples
Childhood favourite: toffee apples reimagined

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 small eating apples (such as cox)

  • 200g caster sugar

  • 200g glucose syrup

  • 150ml apple juice

  • 100ml treacle syrup

  • 25g butter

  • 1 tsp cider vinegar

  • 150g pecan nuts, chopped

METHOD

  1. Clean the apples and set aside with lollypop sticks, twigs or forks stuck into them, so you can dip them in the toffee.

  2. Place the caster sugar, glucose and apple juice in a pan and bring to the boil slowly.

  3. Add in the treacle, butter and cider vinegar.

  4. Cook for 7–8 minutes until the toffee reaches 140C.

  5. To check, use a sugar thermometer or drop a small spoonful into a bowl of cold water - the toffee should set instantly.

  6. Remove from the heat and dip your apples in one by one, followed by a sprinkle of the chopped nuts.

Set to one side on a greased piece of baking parchment to set.

Apple dumplings

Jenny Chandler's baked apples wrapped in a coat of buttery pastry

Buttery baked apples
Buttery bakes: a historical tradition

Apple dumplings date back to the 17th century: they’re simply baked apples wrapped in a coat of buttery pastry. The delicious crust traps all the juices and fragrance. It’s the moment to use up all sorts of tasty dried fruits and nuts that you may have lurking in the cupboard.

SERVES 4

Preparation: 10 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 delicious dessert or dual-purpose apples (I recommend Herefordshire russets)

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 3 tbsp of chopped dried fruit (I used figs but apricots, dates or sultanas would be delicious too)

  • 2 tbsp brandy, calvados or rum

  • 1 tbsp roughly chopped nuts, such as hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, or pistachios

  • 3 tbsp ground almonds

  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

  • 3 tbsp muscovado or other brown sugar

  • 250g puff pastry (I cheated with all-butter bought stuff)

  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

METHOD

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C

  2. Peel the apples and remove the cores, leaving about 2cm flesh at the bottom. I find it easiest to remove a plug with a knife and then excavate with a melon baller to give a decent size cavity for the filling

  3. Roll the apples around in the lemon juice in a bowl to stop them discolouring

  4. Now place the dried fruit in a small pan with the alcohol and bring to the boil

  5. Switch off and leave the fruit to plump up while you prepare the rest of the stuffing

  6. Mix together the remaining ingredients and then tip in the fruit and alcohol

  7. Carefully spoon as much of the filling as possible into the apples (be generous, you can really pile it on top)

  8. Now use a piece of foil to check what size your pastry squares must be to enclose the apples

  9. Roll out the pastry very thinly and cut into your 4 squares

  10. Place the apple in the centre of each square and pull up the corners as if you were forming a new stem. Pinch together the sides, chop off the excess pastry and use this to make a few leaves

  11. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and stick on the leaves

  12. Bake in the oven on a tray for about 20- 25 mins, until golden brown

  13. Eat while hot with cream, clotted cream or honeyed yoghurt

French toast with butterscotch apples and walnuts

Lesley Holdship's indulgent weekend brunch dish

French toast with butterscotch apples
Toasted treats: French toast with butterscotch apples

SERVES 2

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

50ml whole milk from Hook and Son

1 egg

25g sugar

1 tbsp oil

50g butter

3 thick slices bread, halved

25g light soft brown sugar

1 apple, cored and cut into 8

25g walnuts or hazelnuts

Dollop of crème fraiche to serve

METHOD

Whisk together the milk, egg and sugar.

Heat the oil and 1 tsp butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

Check the temperature of the pan with a small piece of bread or 1 tsp of the egg mix. It should sizzle!

Dunk the bread into the egg mixture and place carefully into the frying pan.

Cook for 3-4 mins until golden, then carefully flip over and cook on the other side for another 2-3 mins.

Keep warm while you prepare the apples. In the same pan, melt the remaining butter then add the brown sugar and cook for a moment or so until bubbling.

Add the apple wedges and cook until just starting to soften—about 5 mins. Turn the apples every so often so they are coated in the sugar mixture.

Add the nuts then serve with the French toast and a big dollop of crème fraiche. 

Kentish apple pie

This traditional pie was apparently a favourite of Charles Dickens. The tang of cheese lifts the sweet and lightly spiced apples into new realms of pudding heaven. Lesley Holdship uses Lord Derby cooking apples and a wonderful Wensleydale cheese.

Kentish apple pie recipe
Baked in a pie: Lesley Holdship recommends Lord Derby cooking apples

SERVES 6 

INGREDIENTS

For the crust

250g shortcrust pastry (ideally homemade)

For the filling

Juice of 1 lemon

800g cooking apples (although if using Bramley’s Seedling I would throw in some firmer eating apples too)

75g -100 g sugar Nutmeg

75g hard cheese, cheddar would work well, or a more subtle Caerphilly or Wensleydale

Youi'll also need a 22 cm-ish pie dish

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a large bowl.

Peel and core the apples and then slice or chop as you like  (it doesn’t need to be dainty).

Roll the apple slices around in the lemon juice as you go along, to prevent them from discolouring.

Now layer half the apple slices into the pie dish and then sprinkle with half of the sugar and a good grating of nutmeg.

I put a pie funnel into my dish at this point, it holds the pastry up and allows the steam to escape, giving better pastry every time. I also love to see a little blackbird’s head poking out of the crust.

Layer over the rest of the apples and the remaining sugar if your apples are very tart (they will sweeten as they bake).

Slice the cheese finely and cover the apples with a layer of cheese.

Now roll out your pastry and cut a small cross in the middle if you have a pie funnel.

Lift the pastry onto the pie using a rolling pin, don’t worry about any cracks, a few pastry leaves seem appropriate in any case, and will cover a multitude of sins.

Press the pastry down onto the edge of the dish and trim away any excess. Decorate with leaves if you like and brush with milk.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Eat whilst hot (otherwise the cheese will firm up) with a good dollop of cream. 

Apple and star anise self-saucing pudding

A golden, bubbling dessert from Lesley Holdship

Star anise and apple recipe
Saucy: star anise and apples make for a good pairing

SERVES 6

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 star anise

  • 175g self raising flour

  • 100g dark soft brown sugar

  • 1 tsp ground star anise

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 2 eggs

  • 100ml milk

  • 75g butter

3 apples, cored and cut into slices

225g soft light brown sugar

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C

  2. Generously butter an ovenproof dish

  3. Heat 250ml of water in a pan until boiling and throw in the 6 star anise.

  4. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse whilst you make the sponge.

  5. Stir together the flour, sugar. ground star anise and baking powder.

  6. Next, whisk the eggs with the milk and butter.

  7. Combine this with the flour to make a lovely batter.

  8. Scrape into the buttered dish then scatter the apple slices on the top.

  9. Reheat the anise-infused water to just boiling. Remove the stars and press them into the surface of the batter.

  10. Stir the water and light brown sugar together, then pour over the apples. It may look rough and ready, but be bold - it will be fine.

  11. Bake for 40 minutes until golden and bubbling - hopefully the bubbles will be coming from the bottom of the pudding. 

  12. Serve with lots of cream.

Spiced apple soul warmer

Borough Market regular Louis Fernando uses a seasonal staple to craft this versatile and refreshing drink - in medieval England, people celebrated what we now know as Halloween on All Saints Day. Make a beeline for Chegworth Valley; they’re overflowing with all kinds of apples at this time of year and if you don’t have access to a juicer, they also sell their juice in bottles.

Spiced apple soul drink recipe
Good for the soul: a warming spiced drink with rum

SERVES 8

INGREDIENTS

  • 1½ litres apple juice (about 9-10 medium sized apples)

  • 200ml water

  • 4 additional eating apples, sliced and cored

  • 2 cinnamon sticks

  • 1 small piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

  • 1 tsp allspice

  • ½ tsp nutmeg

  • 4 star anise

  • 50g raisins

METHOD

  1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the apple juice and water to a gentle simmer.

  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and heat through for another 10-15 mins.

  3. Take off the heat and stand until cool.

  4. Strain the liquid, saving the apple pieces that will have infused with the spices.

  5. To serve, warm through and serve in individual glasses, with a couple of apple slices, a star anise and a little cinnamon stick to garnish.

  6. For adults who would like additional warmth, add a 25ml tot of dark rum to each glass and stir through.