APPLE CRUMBLE

A traditional British Apple Crumble is so delicious and so easy to make ! It combines the sourness of cooking apples, the sweetness of sugar and the spiciness of cinnamon.

You can change fruit (pears, raspberries, bananas ...) depending on the season.

APPLE CRUMBLE RECIPE

Preparation time : 30 min

Cook : 30 to 40 min

Serves : 10

Ingredients :

For the crumble :

• 330 g flour
• 100 g brown sugar
• 180 g butter
• 80g nuts chopped roughly

For the filling :

• 
  1,3 kg apples
• 30 g brown sugar
• the juice of ½ a lemon (optional the zest of ½ a lemon)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 100 g dried currants

Method :

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
   
   
2. Peel the apples, core them and cut them in cubes
   
   
3. Place the fruit into a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, the cinnamon, the lemon juice, the dried currants. Stir well being careful not to break up the fruit.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Put the fruit mixture into a 24cm rectangular dish.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Crumble method : place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. 
   Cut the butter in little cubes and rub them in the flour mixture « with the tip of fingers ». Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 
   Add the chopped nuts and mix gently.
   
   
   
6. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on the top of the fruit mixture.
   
   
   

   

    
7. Bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the crumble is browned or golden and the fruit mixture bubbling.
   
   
8. Serve with thick cream or custard or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy with a nice little cup of tea ;)

NEW - YORK'S BROWNIES

Chocolate brownies are a classic American dessert. We frequently debate their finer points : fudgy, or cakey ? Dark or milk chocolate ?

INGREDIENTS : (serves 10 pieces)

• 200 g dark chocolate (50 to 70%)
• 130 g sugar
• 140 g butter
• 1 pack of vanilla sugar
• 50 g sifted plain flour
• 3 eggs
• 100g of chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts
• a pinch of salt

METHOD :

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
   
   
2. Melt the chocolate chopped finely in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water simmering and NOT boiling) 
    
3. Melt the butter in a microwave oven for 30 seconds
   
   
4. Stir in the melted chocolate into the melted butter and mix very gently.
   
   
5. Add the sugar, the vanilla sugar, the beaten eggs with the salt and stir in gently.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Add the sifted flour, stir in with a rubber spatula
   
   
7. Add the nuts and mix but not overmix
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Pour the batter into a square or rectangular tin (approximately 14cm x 18cm) lined with grease-proof paper.
   
   
9. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes, then turn down to 160°C for 5 minutes, finally turn off the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes ( Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out moist, but not clean ) .
10. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes, you can put it into the fridge.
    
    
11. Cut it into square or rectangular pieces but not before it is completely cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea ;-)

GINGERBREAD MEN  RECIPE 

Preparation : 30 to 45 mins

Cook : 8 to 10 mins

Ingredients :

350 g flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1,5 tsp ground ginger

0,5 tsp mixed spices

125g butter at room temperature

175 g brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp honey or golden syrup

To decorate :

writing icing

cake decorations

Method :

1 Preheat oven to 180°C .

2 Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, mixed spices and bicarbonate of soda.

3 Add the butter and rub in with fingertips until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.

4 Stir in the sugar and mix.

5 Beat the egg and honey together and add to the mixture until combined.

If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour to the mix.

6 Refrigerate for 15 minutes or more if you can.

7 Roll out to a 5 mm thick on a lightly floured surface.

8 Using cookie cutters, cut shapes and place on a tray with greaseproof paper.

9 Bake gingerbread men for 8 - 10 minutes.

10 Leave the gingergread men cool on a tray for about 10 minutes.

11 Decorate them as you want with the writing icing or other decorations.

Mad Gingerbread men

Enjoy with a cup of tea ;-)