eG Cook-Off #67: Apples

[suzilightning]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Himmel und erde - Heaven and earth - that John's grandmother used to make.  She actually did it two ways(she is gone so I can't ask why).  

The first was mashed potatoes with  applesauce and sautéed onions.  Other times she simmered the apples and potatoes together, mashed them then put the sautéed onions on.  She came from near Heidelberg originally and had a diploma as a home cook.

 

 

 

 

[ElsieD]

Aha!  My mother used too make this but  we called it stampot.  She did this also with carrots and potatoes and kale and potatoes.  Saurkraut, too.  It was always served with smoked sausage.  I loved that food

[blue_dolphin]

On 11/2/2019 at 6:05 PM, kayb said:

I commend to any of you, and especially those who make apple butter, the Arkansas Black apple. It's a very late-ripening apple with firm, tart flesh and an almost black (thus the name) skin, and it makes absolutely the best apple butter I have ever made. Didn't get any this year, but I'm low on apple butter, so will have to remedy that next year

 

 

I'm not making apple butter but I was curious about the Arkansas Black apples, a variety I don't think I've tried or noticed before.  After reading this post, lo and behold, there they were at my local farmers market this afternoon. 

These are from Ha's Apple Farm up north of here in Tehachapi.  I also bought some Bosc pears from them. 

[kayb]

What was your take on the Arkansas Blacks? I dearly love them.

 

[David Ross]

The annual Tarte Tatin.  I haven't changed this recipe in probably 20 years.  Always golden delicious apples, and I always use my pie crust recipe rather than puff pastry.  The tart is heavy, so I think it needs the weight of pie crust.  And I also have used the same "flipping" technique for years.  I cut out a small square of patio screen mesh and put that on top of a cookie rack, then flip the Tatin over.  The crust is so delicate I don't want it to break through the wide screen of a cookie rack.  It's a hokey invention, but never fails.  

 

For the Apples and Caramel-

10 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut in quarters

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tbsp. light corn syrup

 

For the Pastry Dough-

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cake flour

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup Crisco

2/3 cup ice water

 

 

Prepare the Apples and Caramel-

Heat the oven to 400. Heat a 10" cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the butter to the skillet and melt. Once the butter is melted, Add the sugar and stir it into the melted butter. Stir in the corn syrup.

Once the sugar and butter bubbles, arrange the apples in the skillet. For this recipe, I used a 10" skillet and overlap the apple quarters next to each other to fill the skillet.

 

Place the skillet in the oven and cook the apples in the caramel for 1 1/2 hours. Check on the apples every 20 minutes and press down using a spatula. The apples are done when the caramel is a deep golden color.

Remove the skillet from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

 

Make the Pastry and Finish the Apple Tarte Tatin-

The next day make the pastry. In a large bowl combine the flour, cake flour, sugar and salt and mix together. Add the butter and Crisco and cut into the flour using a hand-held pastry cutter. The pastry should be the size of large peas.

Add the ice water a little at a time and use a fork to blend it into the flour mixture. Continue to add enough ice water for the pastry to form a soft ball. Cover the pastry and chill in the fridge one hour.

 

Heat the oven to 400. Let the pastry dough come to room temperature until soft so it's easy to roll out. Flour the counter and roll our the pastry to about 1/8" thickness. Gently place the pastry over the top of the apples in the skillet, then trim the edges. Fold in any extra pastry to fit within the skillet.

 

Bake the Tarte Tatin in the oven until the pastry is golden and the caramel is bubbling around the sides, about 30 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and let it cool 2 minutes.

 

Run a paring knife around the edge of the pastry. Place a cookie rack on a baking sheet, then place it, rack facing down on top of the apples in the skillet. Hold the skillet with one hand and the baking sheet in another and gently turn over the skillet to unmold the Tarte Tatin onto the cookie rack. Let the Tarte Tatin cool from 10-12 minutes for the caramel start to set before serving.

Slice and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

[Darienne]

Our bountiful much producing Macintosh seems to be taking a year off.  No apples.  Nada.  On the other hand our almost dead Northern Spy has quite a crop this year.  Well, quite a crop for a tree which hasn't produced anything for several years.  

 

Northern Spies.  That's apple pies.

 

We haven't checked the current taste of the unidentifiable trees on the trail.  I'll get Ed to do that soon.   (Almost no grapes this year after last year's amazing abundance.)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm thinking to dehydrate some apples in the APO.  What varieties are best for dehydration?

 

[chromedome]

I haven't evaluated this in any large-scale way (I've only had my dehydrator for a couple of years) but so far I've gotten the best results with apples that would also bake well, as opposed to "cooking apples" like Macs or Dudleys or Paula Reds. Among the locally-grown apple varieties I find Cortland works very well for dehydrating, partly because it retains its texture well and partly because its snowy-white flesh stays pale as it dries (some varieties darken).

Your local selection will be different from mine, and I can't speak to the main commercial cultivars because I haven't yet tried them (I go with local apples while they're cheap and plentiful) but hopefully that's at least a starting point for you to work from.

[shain]

On 10/17/2020 at 7:26 PM, David Ross said:

I always use my pie crust recipe rather than puff pastry

 

+1 to this - puff pastry in tarte tatin just doesn't work for me.

[heidih]

Since "somebody" has not posted their comforting apple dish I will link it https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155077-your-daily-sweets-what-are-you-making-and-baking-2017-–/?do=findComment&comment=2268354

 

Edited October 18, 2020 by heidih (log)

[David Ross]

2 hours ago, shain said:

 

+1 to this - puff pastry in tarte tatin just doesn't work for me.

I only tried puff pastry maybe two times years ago and it just didn't have the strength to hold up to the weight of the apples and gets soggy way too quick.  With the pastry dough I use it's sturdy but holds up well so I can still have a tasty slice for breakfast on day 2.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

12 hours ago, chromedome said:

Your local selection will be different from mine, and I can't speak to the main commercial cultivars because I haven't yet tried them (I go with local apples while they're cheap and plentiful) but hopefully that's at least a starting point for you to work from.

 

I looked on line and one site suggested Pink Lady or Granny Smith.  I am fond of both but Pink Lady sounded interesting.  Shoprite had a Pink Lady sign.  The Pink Lady bin was empty.

 

[David Ross]

Another new recipe for this years apple season, Apple Cake with Calvados Caramel.  My Mother made a delicious apple cake each year, always the same, always with chunks of apples they bought from a harvest roadside stand in the Willamette Valley region of Oregon.  As a kid we lived in The Dalles, Oregon, not far from the apple orchards of Hood River, then moved to Salem in the Willamette Valley.  I couldn't find her recipe, but I remember it tasted almost like a gingerbread.  We just ate it plain, no frosting or ice cream.  So this year I re-created that recipe and served it with a caramel sauce.

 

Calvados, the French apple brandy, adds another level of flavor to both the cake and the caramel.  I used apple brandy made by Clear Creek Distillery of Hood River, Oregon.  (They aren't allowed by law to call it "Calvados" which is only used in that region of France). They use the same technique as the French, and age the brandy for 8 years.  

 

Trust me, this is really, really sweet and although I don't eat a lot of sweets, but this was certainly worth it.  The little garnish is ground almonds combined with butter and a little flour.

 

For the Apple Cake-

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tbsp. chopped candied ginger

1/3 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tbsp. apple brandy

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

1 tbsp. powdered sugar for dusting.

 

Calvados Caramel-

2/3 cup heavy cream

1" piece of vanilla bean, cut in half

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

4 tbsp. butter, cut in cubes

1 tbsp. apple brandy

 

Make the Apple Cake-

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Spray a 9" square baking dish with flour and cooking oil spray.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt and blend to combine. In the bowl of a mixer, add the butter and beat on slow speed. Add the oil and mix to combine, about one minutes. Add the sugar and brown sugar, and beat to combine, another 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, and continue to beat until the ingredients are combined.

 

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is combined. Add the candied ginger, raisins, vanilla and apple brandy and continue to mix into the batter. Add the apple chunks and blend into the batter.

Spread the batter into the baking pan and bake for 40-46 minutes or until the cake is golden on top and a wood skewer in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack.

 

Make the Calvados Caramel and Serve-

Pour the cream into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the cream. Bring the cream to a boil and reduce the heat to low while you make the caramel.

 

In another saucepan over medium high heat, add the sugar, water, salt and corn syrup and stir to blend. When the mixture boils, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook the caramel, without stirring, for 8-10 minutes. The caramel will turn an amber color. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cream. Be careful as the cream will boil. When the caramel simmers down, stir in the butter and the apple brandy. Whisk the caramel until it's smooth and creamy. Let the caramel cool down a little before serving.

 

Cut the apple cake into serving slices. Dust the cakes with powdered sugar and then drizzle with the caramel. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

 

[heidih]

I re-read the whole topic to try and make sure I was not duplicating. So my offerings are very simple but apple centric. I grew up with apple strudel - just phyllo, apples, cinnamon, sugar and a bit of butter (unfortunately margarine in my day). Not much dough, just sweet apple and cinnamon. We never did baked apples but we did (with our tree glut) slice, sugar, spice and bake - then serve with whipped cream - super simple and apple honoring. I admired the look of the ones cored, stuffed with red hot cinnamon candies and baked whole - but not fond of the taste or resulting texture.  I also like a generous amount of a tart apple in a tuna or  other fish salad. Leave the celery - I will take the apple - though both together can partner. 

[heidih]

Oh and these apple turnovers were a treat - does anyone make their own? Scary they had to say "with real fruit"!   https://www.pepperidgefarm.com/product/apple-turnovers/

[David Ross]

I first learned about the Apple Charlotte when I bought the cookbook, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home in 1999 when it came out alongside their TV series.  I'm not sure why I had never heard of the Apple Charlotte Before. This time I used small bundt cake molds rather than one big mold.  Filled the center with my apple compote recipe that I've used in dishes for years.  The bread is brioche slices.  Used the same caramel sauce that I did for the apple cake above. I love these Apple Charlotte's, the bread gets a little caramelized and then the filling in the middle.

 

 

Ingredients

For the Apple Compote-

2 tbsp. butter

2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 allspice

2 tbsp. apple brandy

1 tbsp. currants substitute raisins

 

For the Charlotte-

1 loaf sliced brioche bread

1/2 cup melted butter

powdered sugar for garnish

1 cup Calvados Caramel Sauce, warmed from apple cake recipe

 

 

Make the Apple Compote-

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced apples, granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and apple brandy. Cook until the apples are soft, pressing down with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover and continue to cook for 10 minutes until the apples are the consistency of thick apple sauce. Stir in the currants.

 

Prepare the Charlotte and Bake-

Heat the oven to 375. Brush the mini cake pans with melted butter. Trim the crust off the slices of brioche, then cut the brioche into 1" wide strips. Use a round cookie cutter to cut 8 rounds of brioche for the top and bottom of the Charlotte's.

 

Dip a brioche round in the melted butter and put in the bottom of a cake mold. Start building the Charlotte by dipping strips of brioche in the melted butter, then pressing in the sides of the cake mold. Trim the sides of the brioche to fit the top of the mold. Add some apple compote, then top with a brioche round dipped in butter. Gently press down on the Charlotte's. Cover the top of each cake mold with foil.

 

Pour 2" of hot water in a deep baking dish, then place the cake molds in the dish. Bake the Charlotte's for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes just until the bread starts to brown. Remove the Charlotte's from the oven and let them cool 5 minutes on a baking rack.

 

Gently press the rim and edges of the mold to help release the Charlotte's from the molds. Turn over onto a serving plate. Dust the tops of the Charlotte's with powdered sugar and put a spoon of the apple compote on top. Spoon some warm caramel around the Charlotte's.

[kayb]

On 10/17/2020 at 11:45 AM, Darienne said:

Our bountiful much producing Macintosh seems to be taking a year off.  No apples.  Nada.  On the other hand our almost dead Northern Spy has quite a crop this year.  Well, quite a crop for a tree which hasn't produced anything for several years.  

 

Northern Spies.  That's apple pies.

 

We haven't checked the current taste of the unidentifiable trees on the trail.  I'll get Ed to do that soon.   (Almost no grapes this year after last year's amazing abundance.)

 

My apple tree, which was loaded last year, had nary an apple this year. I was sad. I did little with them last year, and was prepared to do so this year.

 

[shain]

@kayb Are you pruning your tree? Many fruit trees, apples included, require light pruning every year, else they fall into a two-year cycle of one bumper year and one lean year.

[David Ross]

38 minutes ago, shain said:

@kayb Are you pruning your tree? Many fruit trees, apples included, require light pruning every year, else they fall into a two-year cycle of one bumper year and one lean year.

That's a really good point and I'll do some checking in my area.  We still had some local orchards picking apples, then Friday we got hit with an early, and record, snowfall in Eastern, Washington.  All-time record and it was only about 7" of snow, all trees, including apple trees, hadn't turned color yet and were full of leaves.  That heavy snow weighed down the branches, then near zero temps overnight the past two nights and the snow has frozen on the trees.  My cherry tree is slumped over but hasn't lost any branches yet.  

[kayb]

8 hours ago, shain said:

@kayb Are you pruning your tree? Many fruit trees, apples included, require light pruning every year, else they fall into a two-year cycle of one bumper year and one lean year.

 

We moved in in June of last year, so no, we haven't pruned. I just didn't have myself in a spot to can last fall!