Category: Apples

Yeast Racuszki with Apples

This recipe was with several others posted as Racuszki – a Kind of Pancake.

I now know it is better to not have too many recipes together.

This recipe is from my late Aunt in Poland who lived in mazury the Polish lakes district. She made these when I visited her.

Ciocia Pola (Apolonia) Aunt Pola, my mother’s sister lived on a small farm and the eggs and milk were from the farm and the butter was her own and also the apples from the garden. She made  racuszki – using a thick yeast risen batter and roughly chopped apples – a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They were delicious.

I have made them here many times using her recipe. Whilst researching and checking other  variations I saw that several recipes used grated apples – these came out stodgy  with little taste of the apple – you need to keep the pieces fairly large.

Ingredients

  • 125 ml of milk (full is best or semi-skimmed)
  • 25g caster sugar and 1 teaspoon
  • 10g  fresh yeast or 5g  dried yeast
  • 25g  butter
  • 1 egg
  • 125g plain flour
  • Large pinch of salt
  • 2 Bramley apples
  • *
  • Icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar to dust.

Method

Warm half the milk and add a teaspoon of caster sugar and the yeast and mix it all together and leave it to froth up.

Melt the butter and leave it to cool.

Whisk the egg with the rest of the sugar until it is thick and creamy.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Use a wooden spoon (one with a hole works really well) and beat in to the yeast mixture, the egg & sugar mixture and then the melted butter.

Slowly add the rest of the milk, mixing until the mixture has the consistency of double cream.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave this to rise.

Peel, core and quarter the apples and cut them into small chunks or slices cut in half.

Add the apples to the risen batter and mix them well in to coat them.

  • Use a griddle or thick cast iron frying pan and use oil to grease it lightly and heat it up.
  • You need to try and keep a low to medium heat so as not to burn the pancakes.
  • Place large tablespoons of apple and batter onto the pan and cook them so that they are golden brown on both sides.
  • Remove them from the pan and dust them with icing sugar, caster sugar or cinnamon sugar.

Apple, Sultana & Budyń Dessert

  • This is made as a cold dessert.
  •  
  • Apple & sultana filling is the base in a Pyrex  dish.
  • Cold budyń (Polish custard) made with 500ml of milk  is poured and leveled out on top.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM5- 190°C.
  • Kruszonka made with 125g of plain flour is crumbled on top.
  • Bake for around 50 – 60 minutes.
  • Leave to cool.
  • This dessert is best served chilled.

Simple Apple Sponge

  • I know that this is coming up to Wigilia & Christmas but this a a simple cake to balance all the rich ones you might be making.
  • It is a basic sponge make with 4 eggs and their equivalent weights of butter, sugar and flour and some baking powder.
  • Some drops of vanilla essence were added.
  • The two cakes were sandwiched together with a layer of apple jam & lemon juice.

METHOD

  • Make two rounds of sponge cake (the type with butter) in 20/21 cm  diameter tins.
  • Add a few drops of vanilla essence to the cake mixture.
  • *
  • Take a jar of homemade apple jam and put it into a small saucepan.
  • This will be around 370g of jam.
  • Add the juice of 1 or 2 lemons depending on size,
  • Slowly heat this up together until you have a thick mixture.
  • Leave this to go cold before using.
  • *
  • Sandwich the cake round together.
  • *
  • Dust the top with icing sugar.
  • *
  • You will have a refreshing cake to serve.

 

Apple & Sultana Tart – 2

  • In England this would be described as a pie.
  • There is no Polish word for pie.
  • This is a tart – tarta  with a lid.
  • It could be a placek if made in a rectangular tin.
  • This is made in a fluted tart tin using shortcrust pastry.
  • The filling was the Apple & Sultana mix that was in a previous post.
  • It was described as ‘gorgeous’ by one of my testers.

INGREDIENTS

  • Shortcrust pastry
  • Apple & Sultana filling
  • Egg white & sugar for the top of the pie.

METHOD

  • Butter the base and sides of a loose bottom tart tin.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM6 – 200°C.
  • Line the base and sides of the tart tin.
  • Fill the tart with the Apple & Sultana filling.
  • Place a circle of pastry on top and seal the top with the sides.
  • Cut several slashes in the top of the pastry.
  • Brush the top with beaten egg white.
  • Sprinkle the top with granulated sugar.
  • Bake for 30 -40  minutes until the top is golden brown.

Apple & Budyń Cake

  • I have tried out several versions of cake that has apples and budyń – Polish custard in the middle.
  • After many attemps, this is the best for baking and for cutting up afterwards.
  • It consists of 4 parts: – 
  • A shortcrust base and sides
  • Cooking apples – half cooked
  • 500ml of  budyń
  • Kruszonka topping – rich crumble mix
  • I made this in a rectangular baking tin – 26 x 21cm.

INGREDIENTS

  • Shortcrust pastry – enough to cover the base & sides of the tin.
  • 3-4 large cooking apples – peeled and cored – half cooked with sugar and a little cinnamon added.
  • Budyń made with 500ml of milk & 3 egg yolks.
  • Kruszonka – crumble mixture – made with 125g of plain flour, 100g butter and 80 – 100g of granulated sugar. (Will be doing a post on this later)

Royal Doulton, sonnet, tea plate.

METHOD

  • Chop the apples and cook them with the sugar (to taste – not too sweet).
  • Add a little cinnamon.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Make the budyń with 500ml milk, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons of potato starch & 3 egg yolks.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Make the kruszonka – crumble mixture –  with 125g of plain flour, 100g butter and 80 – 100g of granulated sugar –
  • Rubbing the butter into the flour to resemble bread crumbs and stir in the sugar.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
  • Grease and line with one sheet of baking paper – 2 sides and the base of  the 26 x 21cm tin.
  • Roll out the shortcrust pastry to cover the base and all sides of the tin.
  • Piece carefully when needed.
  • Prick carefully with a fork the base.
  • Using baking beans – bake the pastry blind for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the baking beans and flaten the pastry gently if need be and bake for another minute.
  • Remove the tin from the oven and leave to cool a little.
  • *
  • Turn the oven down to GM5 – 190°C.
  • Cover the pastry with the apples – spreading out to cover the base.
  • Cover the apples with the budyń – spreading it out to cover the apples.
  • Sprinkle the crumble mixture over all the budyń.
  • Put back in the oven and bake for around 50 – 60 minutes until the top is golden.
  • Leave to go cold completely before serving.

Testers said they loved the different textures of the crumble against soft custard.

Apple & Sultana Tart

METHOD

  • Use melted butter to grease a 21cm fluted loose bottomed tart dish.
  • Pre- heat the oven to GM7 – 220°C.
  • Roll out the shortcrust pastry to cover the bottom and sides of the dish.
  • Bake blind – with ceramic beans for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
  • Take the tin out of the oven and cool for a few minutes.
  • Lower the oven temperature to GM4 – 180°C.
  • Fill the tart with cold already prepared apple and sultana mixture.
  • Make the meringue in you usual way with 2 egg whites and 100g granulated or caster sugar or 
  • 3 whites and 150g of granulated or caster sugar.
  • Cover the filling with the meringue and bake for 30 minutes.
  • You can turn the oven down to GM1 – 140°C and bake until the meringue is dried out.
  • Leave to cool on a cake rack.
  • Serve cold.

Testers voted this delicious.

Squash & Apple Soup

  • Having a bumper crop of apples this year, I have been looking for new apple recipes.
  • I came across this one and it turned out so delicious – a lovely slightly sour taste.
  • I think you could use pumpkin instead of squash but I have not tried this out.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 onion – chopped
  • 2 medium to large cooking apples
  • 1½ litres of vegetable stock (I used Marigold powder)
  • A little butter to fry the onions
  • Salt & Pepper to taste.
  • *
  • Soured cream or yoghurt – optional

METHOD

  • Slice the butternut squash into large pieces.
  • Place on a baking tray and put in an warm oven and roast till the flesh is soft.
  • Leave to cool and then remove the flesh from the skin.
  • Fry the onion in the butter till golden.
  • Peel and core the apples.
  • Chop the apples into small chunks.
  • Put everything into the vegetable stock.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer till everything is soft.
  • Use a stick blender to make thick liquid.
  • Season to taste
  • *
  • OPTIONAL
  • Add a tablespoon of soured cream or yoghurt to each serving.
  • *
  • Good served with toasted sourdough toast.

Apple & Sultana Filling

  • This is a filling based on one I found in an Austrian cookery book.
  • It is similar to the one I used in  Apple cake with sultanas.
  • This filling is one you can prepare seperately and use in a variety of cakes and pastries.
  • Unlike my previous recipes the apples here are cooked until they are a purée.

INGREDIENTS

  • 750g of cooking apples
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 50g sultanas
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon

METHOD

  • Cook the apples with the sugar in a saucepan with a lid.
  • Keep checking and stirring so they do not burn.
  • Keep stirring until the apples are a purée.
  • Leave to cool.
  • Mix in the sultanas.
  • I think it is best to add the lemon zest just before using the filling BUT
  • You can add it now if that is easier.
  • You can leave it covered in the fridge for the next day.

Recipes using the filling will be coming up soon.

Rowan, Apple & Pear Jam

  • This has been a bumper harvest for apples and pears.
  • My rowan tree – jarzębina -has also had loads of berries.
  • I found this recipe which used all 3 of these fruits.
  • *
  • NOTE – Never eat raw rowan berries.
  • *
  • The quantities of each fruit and sugar were exactly the same.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1kilo of rowan berries – cleaned from stalks
  • 1 kilo of washed and peeled cooking apples
  • 1 kilo washed and peeled pears
  • 1 kilo of granulated sugar
  • 500ml of water & water for washing the rowan berries
  • Piece of cinnamon
  • 6 whole cloves.

METHOD

  • Prepare your jars and sterilise them in a low oven,
  • Put the berries into hot water and bring to the boil.
  • Leave to one side and then sieve the berries.
  • Chop the apples and pears into small cubes.
  • Bring the 500ml of water to the boil with the sugar.
  • Add the cinamon bark and the whole cloves.
  • Add the rowan berries, apples and the pears and bring to the boil.
  • Lower the heat and simmer till the apples and pears are translucent.
  • Fill the jars with the hot jam.
  • Cover with the lids when theses are cold.
  • *
  • Excellent with meats, fish, paté and cheese.

Apple Cake with Sultanas

  • I have a bumber crop of Bramley apples this year.
  • I know I watered the fruit trees early on in the year before we had our hosepipe ban.
  • This recipe is my Mama’s best recipe with added sultanas.
  • My father did not like this addition so it was a version she did not make.
  • It is equaly delicious.
  • *
  • I will be trying out new apple recipes this year – look out for them soon.

Apple & Sultana Filling – Ingredients

  • 5 to 6 Bramley Apples
  • Granulated Sugar to taste – keep it slightly tart
  • A little water
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 100g of sultanas
IMG_20151212_061813444_HDR

Method

  • Make the apple filling first, even the day beforehand as it needs to be cold before you use it.
  • Peel and core the apples and cut them into thick slices or chunks.
  • Stew the apples gently with some sugar and very little water. You can make this in a saucepan on the stove or place the apples and sugar in a dish in the oven.
  • Do not add a lot of sugar at the beginning as it does not want to be too sweet, you can adjust the sweetness at the end.
  • Do not make it too much of a purée, cook so that you have some soft apples but with some harder less cooked chunks as well.
  • Leave the mixture to cool and then add the ground cinnamon. 
  • Add the sultanas and leave for at least 30 minutes so the sultanas plump up.

Cake – Ingredients

  • 300g plain flour
  • 3 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 200g butter
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and water
  • Method
  • You need a round tin with a loose base or a spring form tin or you will not be able to get the cake out.  I always use an loose base anodised aluminium tin, 22cm in diameter and 8 cm deep, which does not rust.
  • Grease the tin well.
  • Rub the butter into the flour to make fine crumbs and add the sugar and baking powder.
  • Add the egg yolk and the lemon juice and water as needed and mix together to make a soft “dough” (try not to add more flour),  handle it as little as possible.
  • Leave it to chill for about ½ an hour as this makes it easier to handle.
  • Pre heat the oven to GM5 – 190oC.
  • Take slightly more than half the dough and press it into the cake tin.
  • Spoon the apple & sultana mixture on top of this.
  • The rest of the dough will go on top of the apple & sultana mixture.
  • I use a rolling pin to make a circle that is smaller than the tin diameter and then place this on top.
  • Do not worry if the dough falls apart, just place it on with the breaks nearly touching.

Topping – Ingredients

  • 1 egg white and caster sugar
  • Slightly beat the egg white with a fork and brush this over the top of the dough.  You will not need it all.
  • Liberally sprinkle caster sugar over the egg white.
  • Bake for around 45 to 50 minutes until the top is a golden brown.
  • I tend to check the cake at 40 minutes and will cover the top with greaseproof if it starts to brown but is not yet cooked through.
IMG_20151214_172844872
  • Leave to cool before getting the cake out of the tin.
  • Loosen the side with a spatula.
  • Use a tin can and put the cake tin on this and slide the side of the cake tin down.
IMG_20151214_192920220_HDR
  • Do not put the cake in a air-tight covered container as the apples absorb moisture and you loose the crispness of the cake.