Blogging Marathon # 120

Week 3, Day 1

Theme : A to Z series, Something sweet

For this year’s A to Z series, I have chosen the theme “something sweet”. The initial idea was to make quick and easy sweet nibbles to satisfy cravings and not elaborate desserts. But somehow I found myself making these elaborate apple slices instead of the simple honey sautéed apples I had in my mind first.

I don’t make a lot of slices/ layered bars. But I tried a homemade raspberry brownie bar once and fell in love with it. After that I don’t mind the extra work of adding a few more layers. The end result is totally worth it.

Coming to the recipe here, it has a base, an apple layer, a custard layer and a streusel topping. I baked this in a slightly bigger pan and so the custard layer completely ran off and settled on the sides. So I can safely say it’s a layer you can skip or make sure the layers are all packed evenly before adding it. I have adjusted the recipe below to add a tiny bit more of sugar in the base and the topping layer as well.

This recipe is from The Essential Baking Book, it’s the first baking book I bought for myself 10+ years back. I still have it and I still cherish it :-).

Ingredients:

• Base
  • 1 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 egg yolk
• Apple Layer
  • 3 green apples
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
• Custard Layer (Optional)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Crumble topping
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
  • 4 tablespoons butter, cubed

Method:

1. Grease and line a 7×11 inch tin with parchment paper.
2. Add flour and sugar in a bowl. Add melted, cooled butter and egg yolk. Mix and form a ball, add a few tablespoons of water if needed. Place the dough between two parchment sheets and roll out to get a size to fit inside the pan. Keep in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the base for 5 minutes or until golden. The recipe mentioned using rice or baking beans over a parchment paper lined base, but I baked directly and it was fine. Let the base cool.
4. Prepare the apple filling by peeling and chopping the apple. Place in a pan and cook along with 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes or until the apples are soft and done. Remove lid and cook for another 5 minutes until the liquid is almost gone. Mash the cooked apples into a smooth mixture and let it cool.
5. Whisk eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar and cream together. This is for the custard layer.
6. Layer the cooled apple mixture on top of the cooled base. Carefully pour the custard mixture on top of the apple layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the custard has half set.
7. Mix flour, brown sugar, walnuts and rub in the cubed butter with your hands until it is crumbly. Spread carefully over the custard layer and bake for another 15 minutes.
8. Cool and cut into slices.