Mini Caramel Apple Pies

I don't own a car.  I do have a license but have never been particularly fond of driving.  Being the anxious person that I am I am constantly worried that something will go wrong.  I also suck at multi-tasking so trying to drive panics me because I start to get confused.  The Hubby, on the other hand, is in the process of obtaining his license.  He is a good driver but hasn't managed to pass his test yet.  We've also never really needed a car.  It's an expense we can do without and it's easy for us to get about most places.  Of course, there are the odd times when a car would be useful, such as getting to and from work, going on trips to Ikea or for doing the weekly food shop.  It's not possible for us to carry our weekly food supplies back from the supermarket.  There is just a bit too much for the distance we have to travel (about a half hour walk).  But luckily we live in the modern age where you can get your food delivered right to your door.  

Why am I telling you this?  Well, when you shop online, you have to pick what you want and specify a quantity.  We have our favourites list which makes buying our regular groceries nice and simple.  However, we occasionally crave something different and therefore have to track it down with the search engine.  Last week, the Hubby put through the order for the shop.  I only went in to reschedule the delivery since we ended up going out on the Sunday to see The Force Awakens (which was really god, by the way).  His craving this week was for apples.  We get apples every week, but they're for me and they're red.  He doesn't really like red.  He prefers the tarter, green kind.  So he ordered 5.  5 bags that is.  Neither of us was aware until the shopping was delivered and we received a carrier bag of 5 bags of Granny Smiths - around 25 apples.  Well, I just found it funny to be honest.  The Hubby was confused and embarrassed.  I said it was fine because now we knew what I would be baking with next!

So that's how we ended up here.  I had a lot of apples and needed to make something with them.  I decided I wanted to do something with pastry because it's one of those areas I'm still a bit lacking in.  Besides, apples in pastry are quite a classic and much loved dessert.  After perusing ideas on Pinterest, I settled on making mini apple pies, with the added decadence of caramel.  If I'd had any rock or sea salt kicking about I might have turned that into salted caramel but alas, not this time.  Maybe in the future.

I ended up making a couple of tweaks due to not having everything I needed.  Namely, I used just butter, rather than butter and shortening.  I had shortening in the fridge but it was past the use by date and I couldn't decide if it had gone rancid or not since I didn't know what that would look or smell like.  I decided not to risk it in the end.  I also used orange juice concentrate in place of lemon juice because I had used up all my lemons.  The change of juice didn't seem to affect things.  As for the pastry, I knew not using the shortening would change the texture somewhat and it wouldn't be as flaky but what you get with just butter is yummy anyway.

The tedious part of this was coring, peeling and chopping all the apples.  I think I used...about 7 apples.  That and making the lattice tops.  Otherwise this was a reasonably nice recipe to do.  Other than initially forgetting to give the pies an egg wash...  I took my pies to the regular Wednesday night tea with the in-laws (along with some home-made bread, but that's for another day).  They were a big hit (and go well with ice cream) and I ended up leaving most of them there.  The Hubby said to take 1 back for him and is now regretting that because he's eaten it and doesn't have any more!

There are still two bags of apples sitting in the kitchen but that's a more reasonable amount for the Hubby to munch his way through.  Anyway, that wraps up the last post of 2015.  I'm aiming to get back into baking more regularly next year as I only work part-time just now.  I acquired some new cook books I am looking forward to trying out!  So Happy Hogmanay everyone!  See you in 2016!   

Recipe - adapted from Mama's Gotta Bake

Makes about 9 muffin-sized pies

Pastry:

•  340g/12oz plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 200g/7oz butter (or 115g/4oz butter plus 85g/3oz vegetable shortening)
• 5-6 tbsp ice water

Filling: 

• 850g/1lb14oz tart apples (like Granny Smith)
• 70g/2.5oz brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 60g/2oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2.5 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp orange juice 
• 9 tbsp Carnation caramel
• 1 beaten egg + 1 tbsp water

1. Start by making the pastry.  Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Add the butter (or butter and shortening) quickly and rub into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add 2-3 tbsp of the water at a time and mix together with a fork to get a smooth dough.  
4. Tip dough out onto a floured surface and give it a quick knead before shaping it into a ball.
5. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
6. Meanwhile, make the filling.  Peel and core the apples and cut into pieces about 0.5cm/0.25inch thick.  They need to be able to fit inside the cups of the muffin trays.
7. Put the chopped apples in a large saucepan with the sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornflour and salt and mix together.  
8. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook the apples over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 18 minutes.  By this point the apples should be nice and tender.
9. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes until the liquid has thickened.  Then remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice.  Allow to cool to room temperature.
10. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7 and grease a 12 cavity muffin tin (I used silicone as it made getting the pies out much easier).
11. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 0.5cm/0.25inches.  Cut out circles of dough that are slightly bigger than the cavities in the muffin tins (I used a ramekin as a template) and gently fit them inside.  Make sure you have about  1/3 of the dough leftover for the tops.
12. Fill each pie base with a generous helping of the apple filling (it shrinks as it cooks) and top with a tablespoon of caramel.
13. Roll out some of the remaining dough so it is wide enough to make two pie tops and cut into strips.  Lay out three strips horizontally on the floured surface then cut three more strips in half.  Weave the cut strips with the uncut strips then cut out circles that are just the same size as the muffin cavities.
14. Fit the woven tops over the top of the pies.  Repeat until you have made enough lattice tops for each pie.
15. Press the edges of the tops down against the base with a fork then use a pastry brush to coat the tops with the beaten egg.  Sprinkle with sugar.
16. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the mixture inside is bubbling.
17. Allow to rest in the tins for 5-10 minutes and then carefully remove (use a knife to run around the edges of the pies and use a spoon or fish slice to scoop pie out) and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Poison Caramel Apple Cupcakes

So here is the final batch of cakes I made for Halloween.  Inspired by a traditional Halloween sweet: caramel apples.  They are an apple and cinnamon sponge, with a caramel centre, a thin layer of caramel on top and then a layer of fondant painted to look like an apple.  I admit, I wasn't sure if anyone would like them, especially as the topping ended up being quite gooey and a bit messy.  But everyone who has eaten one really enjoyed them.  Of the ones I made for the trick-or-treaters, these are the fiancé's favourite.

The sponge for these cakes came from an American recipe, which was all measured in cups.  I also did my measuring in cups this time around because I was tired and did not want to convert them all. I will convert in the write-up though.

Recipe - adapted from Group Recipes

Makes about 15

• 2-3 Granny Smith apples 
• 260g/9oz plain flour
• 100g/3.5oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 170g/6oz oil (I used rapeseed)
• 60ml/2fl.oz apple juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 x 397g tin Carnation Caramel
• 200g/7oz ready-to-roll icing
• Red and green food colouring
• Icing sugar 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line a 12 hole and a 6 hole cake tin with 15 cupcake cases.
2. Rinse and core the apples, put on a baking tray and put in the oven to cook until soft.  This takes about 30 minutes.
3. Remove, allow to cool and then peel off the skin.  Do not turn off the oven.
4. Put the remains in a bowl and mash them into a pulp with a fork.  Leave to one side to cool.
5. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix together.
6. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat.  Add the oil, apple juice, vanilla extract and cooled apple pulp and mix together.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until everything comes together in a smooth batter.  
8. Spoon into the cases, trying to spread the mixture evenly.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
11. Once cool, use an apple corer or a knife to make a hole in the centre of the cakes.  Be sure to keep the cores.
12. Open the tin of caramel and put 3 tablespoonfuls into a small bowl.  Mix until smooth and runny.
13. Fill the holes with the runny caramel and then remove the top of each core and use them to plug up the cakes.
14. Using a knife or small spoon, spread a thin layer of caramel from the tin (where it won't be runny) over the top of each cake.
15. Reserve a small part of the fondant icing for making leaves and stems.  Use the red food colouring to colour the rest of the fondant red.  The addition of colour will make it sticky so knead it in icing sugar to stop this from occurring.
16. Break off some fondant and roll in out into a square that is bigger than one the cakes.
17. Drape the fondant over the top and smooth down to the edge of the cake.
18. Press your finger along the edge of the case to cut through the fondant for a smooth finish.  Gently make an indent in the centre of the fondant with your finger to give the illusion of the top of an apple.
19. Using a clean paintbrush dipped in green food colouring, paint strips of colour from the centre of the cake to the edge.  Try to make your brush strokes as quick as possible to get the right texture.
20. Use another paintbrush to do the same with the red food colouring.
21. Colour the remaining food colouring with green food colouring (add a touch of red if you want a brown colour).  
22. Break off small pieces and shape into stalks and gently push them into the indent in the middle of the cakes.
23. Shape the rest into leaves, scrunching them slightly to make them look like they are dying.  Set atop the cakes, with one pointed end next to the stem.
24. Leave the fondant to dry before putting them in a tin.

Failed Experiment: Doboz Torte

No photos for this one.  Considering it doesn't look very good cosmetically, I don't think fancy pictures would have helped.  Ah well.

So this is a Doboz Torte, which is a cake with six very thin layers of sponge, sandwiched together with chocolate buttercream with a caramel top.  The top should have been 16 pieces, not 8, but I burnt my hand on the caramel and had trouble cutting it.  Consequently I think the pieces were too heavy for the buttercream and ended up being rather flat rather than having the cool fan effect they were supposed to.  All my layers were uneven too so trying to coat the outside in buttercream really didn't work, and my caramel was hardening too fast for me to get an even coat on the top.  Lots of disappointments really but our guests were very nice and said they enjoyed it, one taking the remaining cake home with her so that was nice.

This cake was not easy.  As I already said, I burnt myself on the caramel, which left me with an unusable left hand for the rest of the day since not having it on ice until about 3am was ridiculously painful.  I now have a lovely, squishy blister for my troubles.  I also lost 2 of my original cake layers, one to burning and one to being so thin that it was hard and cracked when trying to separate it from the parchment.  I had to quickly redo those.  Then I burnt my first batch of caramel, which was annoying.  It all took a very long time and was quite frustrating.  I wish it had turned out better for my troubles, at least looks wise.  Taste was fine.

I would quite like to do something similar to this again one day.  I might have some thicker layers though because you really lost the cake in the buttercream.  I would also change the way I do some of the things in the method since I found it easier to do things a bit differently.  Mostly to do with making the sponge layers in tins rather than on sheets, and arresting the caramel after cooking it.  I didn't the first time and it continued cooking in the pan after it came off the heat, resulting in burnt caramel.

Marbled Millionaire Shortbread

I've been wanting to make this since the middle of last week.  I was just reading recipes and suddenly had a craving for it.  Unfortunately I had no condensed milk and had to wait until I got a chance to go to the big supermarket to get some.  I also did not have the right type or size of tray and didn't get a trip to Lakeland in Edinburgh until Tuesday.  Admittedly, I had specifically chosen Tuesday myself the week before since one of my favourite authors was signing books in the Waterstone's on Princes Street that day, so it's my own fault I had to wait.  Then there was finding a time to make it.  Yesterday my boyfriend had work so it seemed a perfect time because it would keep me amused and distract me from being lonely.

For the most part it turned out okay.  The underside of the shortbread got burnt in some places.  My oven temperature is clearly uneven.  I'm going to need to get an oven thermometer.  I really wasn't sure if the caramel was right.  I did everything it said and it thickened up but I didn't know what colour it ought to be and I thought it was a bit pale.  I'm also a bit undecided on the taste of it myself.  My boyfriend says it's fine, if a bit gooey.  It is ridiculously gooey.  The chocolate came out fab.  The marbling effect looked so cool!  Here's a shot of it before I cut it up:

I have discovered a love of marbling it seems.  So a mixed bag of results really.  I personally do not like it because of the caramel.  My boyfriend says they taste fine, even the slightly burnt pieces.  I'll be offering some up to his friends tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.  As long as someone likes it and it gets eaten, I'll be happy.

Recipe - adapted from Mary Berry's Baking Bible

For the shortbread:

• 250g/9oz plain flour
• 75g/3oz caster sugar
• 175g/6oz butter

 For the caramel

• 100g/4oz butter
• 100g/4oz light muscovado sugar
• 2 x 397g/14oz cans of condensed milk

For the topping:

• 100g/4oz milk chocolate
• 100g/4oz white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 then grease and line a 33 x 23cm/13 x 19inch swiss roll tin.
2.  Mix the flour and the sugar together in a large bowl.
3. Add the butter and rub it into the sugar and flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Knead the mixture together into a dough then press into the tin.  You might think you don't have enough but you will be able to fill the tin with a fairly thin layer of shortbread.
5. Prick the dough all over with a fork and then put in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes.  The shortbread should be firm to the touch after this time.
6. Remove and cool in the tin.
7. Make the caramel by putting all its ingredients in a saucepan and heating gently until the sugar dissolves.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, before reducing to a simmer for about 5 minutes.  You must keep stirring and make sure your spoon scrapes the bottom of the pan or the caramel will catch and burn.  The mixture will darken as you cook it and should take on a thicker consistency.
9. When ready, remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread.  Leave it to cool.
10. Melt the chocolate in two separate bowls over saucepans of hot water.
11. When melted, spoon each type onto the cooled caramel in an alternating pattern.
12. Run a skewer gently through the chocolate, particularly over the edges where the two chocolate types meet, to create the marble pattern.
13. Leave to set.
14. Cut the shortbread into squares or blocks.  I did this whilst it was still in the tin but you can take it out to cut if you want.