Apple Spiced Muffins

We were meeting up with a friend this week and i obviously had to make a little something haha so I made my famous Apple Spiced Muffins! These are not like shop bought muffins...these are proper muffins, soft moist and delectable! The secret is not to over mix the batter mixture, once you've added all the ingredients, don't fold the ingredients more than 10 times, don't worry if its not all incorporated it will be fine :))

Best Apple Spiced Muffins

200g plain flour
50g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
90ml milk
80ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large apples - peeled, cored and chopped
Demerara sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 200 C/ 180 c and add paper cases to a muffin tray.
Measure out the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the apples and mix in to coat well with the flour mixture.
Add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract to a jug and mix until well incorporated and a little frothy
Pour the milk mixture in with the flour mixture and fold in until just combined...no more than 10 times. This is the secret to good muffins (mixture will still be a little lumpy).
Spoon the mixture in to the muffin cups. Add a sprinkle of Demerara sugar on top of each one.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top, and enjoy!

Sticky Apple, Gingerbread and Pecan Loaf Cake

I just can't believe the wether has turned so cold again...well this of course meant that I needed to make something warming and it even smelt Christmassy hehehe :))

Sticky Apple, Gingerbread and Pecan Loaf Cake

150g unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
150g soft dark brown sugar
150g golden syrup
200ml milk
250g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1½ tsp baking powder
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
75g pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
2 crisp eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks (about 245g peeled and cored)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4.
Grease and line a 2 litre loaf tin. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a small saucepan. Set aside to cool.
Sift the flour with the dry spices and baking powder into a bowl. Add the chopped apples and mix in to cover the apples with flour (this will prevent them from sinking to the bottom) add the toasted pecans.
Whisk the eggs into the milk and pour into the cooled sugar mixture.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the cooled sugar/milk mixture. With a wooden spoon, slowly incorporate with the flour mixture using a circular motion. Try to be gently and don't over mix as you don't want it tough.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for around 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then place on a wire rack.
Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream or mascarpone or cold in slices with mascarpone :))

I added a crumble topping, if you want to add this refer to my apple crumble pie recipe for the crumble recipe :)

Apple Crumble Pie with a pecan crumble

It's British Pie Week this week so I couldn't miss an opportunity to bake a pie. I wanted to do something a little different so I decided on a Apple Crumble Pie (with a pecan crumble)...just perfect, pastry and apple crumble, okay must stop drooling hahaha :)) it really was lovely and all my friends loved it and all took a doggy bag of it home, which is always a good sign

Apple Crumble Pie

For the crumble
150g plain flour
87.5g Demerara brown sugar
100g butter
A good handful of pecans (toasted either in the oven or in a pan)

For the filling
225g Apple (eating or cooking apples) peeled, cored and cut into small pieces
30g Demerara sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Sweet crust pastry
250g plain flour
125g butter
25 icing sugar
A pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
2-3 tbsp milk

Pastry-
Put the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a food processor (with a metal blade) and blitz quickly until you get fine bred crumbs.
Add the egg yolks and blitz quickly and add the milk (tbsp at a time) until the dough comes together.
Remove and place on a floured work surface and work gently but briefly until it is smooth. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least half an hour.

Roll the pastry out (about 2mm) and gently lift into the tart tin. Push the pastry gently into the corners, you can do this with a small piece of pastry. Trim off the top and prick the base with a fork several times.
Cut some baking paper and scrunch up and line the base with it. Pour the baking beans in and put into a pre heated oven (190/180 fan) for 20-25 mins, take out the oven and remove the baking beans and baking paper and place back in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Remove from he oven.

Crumble-
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Break up the pecans into little bits and add this to the crumble mixture.

Pie filling-
Place the apple in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir well.
Put this into the pastry case and top with the crumble
Bake in the oven for around 30-35 minutes until the crumble is browned.
Serve with thick cream or custard.

A quick little pudding of Apple and Pecan Strudel

Tonight was a busy cooking night, i made shephards pie with a sweet potato mash and decided last minute to make an apple and pecan strudel as i had some apples left over. I didnt give myself much time...all of 10 minutes to make it, but with a quick patch up job with the filo pastry it came out well haha and tasted divine. It really is a simple and quite quick recipe...a nice little accompaniment to dinner :)

Apple and Pecan Strudel

4 small sweet eating apples (or 2 large-I used red delicious)
80 g butter
4 sheets filo pastry
150 g pecan nuts, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100g Muscovado sugar
30g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c/160c
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat or in the microwave.
Carefully cut the filo pasty into 30 x 50cm sheets with a knife. Mix the pecans, cinnamon and muscovado sugar together.
Peel and slice the apples thinly and set them aside while you make up the strudel.
Lay the first sheet of filo pasty on a clean tea towel on your work surface and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle over a third of the pecan mixture. Lay another sheet of filo pastry on top, brush with butter and sprinkle again with a third of the pecan mixture. Repeat with the third sheet and then add the fourth sheet of filo pastry.
Sprinkle the apples with the caster sugar and mix well. Spread them out along one long edge of the top sheet of filo pastry. Starting at the edge with the apple mixture on, gently lift the edge of the tea towel and use it to help you roll the pastry up lengthways like a Swiss roll – the apples will end up at the centre. Once it's all rolled up, press your strudel together gently.
Place it on a baking try and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or double cream

It is perfect the next day, heated up in the oven.

Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe