15/52 Weekly Stills

1. Proteas bought from local Farmers markets.
2. In our garden.
3. Sharing apples.
4. A visit to Bunbartha Beef Farm Shop- more on blog later this week!
5. Mums and bubs on a sunny autumn afternoon.
6. Easter morning stocktake.
7. Easter egg hunt.
8. Freshly made hot cross buns.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend xx

The simple things…. Apple Tarte Tatin.

They say the simple things in life are always the best. How true!

The french are renown for their simple style of cooking that uses seasonal produce and simple ingredients, and yet once complete, it becomes a culinery masterpiece. They are also renown for their love of butter and not skimping on fats and sugars. Everything in moderation- love this thought!

Last Friday night, I had a craving for something sweet but didnt have the energy nor a full pantry to bake a fancypants dessert.  It was coming onto dinnertime and we had 'zoo hours' to contend with. Desserts are a treat in our house (believe it or not….we actually dont eat it daily despite what you might see on this blog!). Because of a very wet week, a few days away and incredibly tired people (both big and small), tonight was about getting the kids to bed early and  flopping on to the couch with something warm and sweet to indulge in and totally relaxing.

So with keeping in mind our limited food supply and options, what time of night it was and my yearning for something sweet and delicious, my eyes roamed the kitchen desperately seeking some inspiration. Thankfully, there in front of me was a bowl of apples. I couldnt be bothered baking a cake nor making pastry. Then I was hit by a bolt of lightning- Apple tart tatin.

Something I haven't cooked in ages and yet ticked all the boxes….Simple ingredients- apples, butter, sugar and frozen pastry and super quick to make…..Bam! Night sorted.

Simple really is best - Don't you just love the french x

Apple Tarte Tatin

1-2 frozen sheets Puffed pastry
75g sugar
150g butter
4-5 apples- I used Red delicious instead of the traditional Granny Smiths
1 egg- for eggwash

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius.

Pull out pastry sheets from freezer and let thaw on bench.

Peel and core apples then cut into halves or quarters- your choice!

Heat an ovenproof frypan (about 22 cm in diameter), add butter and melt. Add sugar and stir for 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring and watching this mix so it doesnt catch and burn. I find this process is broken into three phases- so dont give up because you think it isnt working. It will if you just keep stirring and watching the pan. First phase- the butter and sugar mix looks pale, thick and when you stir it, it has a similar consistency to when you make a roux. Next phase, the mix becomes even lighter and starts to foam a bit. Again, keep stirring and just check the stove top isn't too hot- adjust if needed. Within a few minutes this foamy mix will start to darken and melt into a caramel. When it turns a fudge colour, add your apple pieces and toss each one in the caramel until all have been added and pan is full. Cook on a low heat for another few minutes. As you add the apples you may notice some of the caramel becomes toffee. This will melt down once apples warm through- its just the caramel reacting with cold/room temperature fruit. The juices from the apples will release and stop the caramel from cooking further.

Take pan off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Gently place the pastry over the top and tuck the sides into the pan so that it encases the apples completely.

Brush pastry with some egg wash then place into the oven and cook for about 20 minutes, or until pastry has risen and is golden brown.

Best served straight from the oven, with cream, ice cream or our favourite…custard.

Note- I left my caramel to long in pan before adding apples and so the colour of my tarte tatin is slightly darker then it should be. Ideally aim for a dark golden colour. 

You can also substitute any other fruit you might instead of apples…try pears, bananas (yum- a cheats banoffee pie!), rhubarb, quince….whatever you have in the bowl! My only tip would be not to use fruit that is too over ripe as they will lose shape when cooking and break down as if stewing. The whole visual impact of the tarte tatin is to see the whole pieces of fruit.

Making the caramel is the most labour intensive part of this dish- it actually sounds more demanding then it really is. For the novice caramel maker, its a bit like driving somewhere for the first time- it seems to take a while. But once youve made the trip and know what to look out for along the way- each trip after that is a breeze. Dont be put off- its really not tricky or time consuming at all. And so incredibly worth it!

Autumn Crumble- A Sunday Lunch Special

Its hard to believe that the first month of Autumn has almost passed us. The temperature has cooled down slightly and the days are defintely getting shorter, but the all time 'autumn is coming' sign for me of leaves turning colour on trees, just hasn't started happening where we are now living. Im guessing it will very soon, and it will probably happen overnight!

The cool change that came through this week, along with the much needed rain, has been so very much welcomed. My husband said to me mid week, "You know, rain from the east generally means good big rain"- Actually, I didnt know that- and I grew up on a farm! The things you learn. I was hoping we might get some more (can I say that without sounding greedy?). The rain seems to put smiles back on people's faces, especially those in the country, and it's so nice to see shades of green start appearing on the sides of roads and in paddocks, not to mention how happy our garden is! Now as you drive around the countryside you will start seeing more and more tractors out in the paddocks preparing the grounds for their winter crops.

During the week my very lovely, thoughtful, food loving Mother in Law gave me a bunch of rhubarb she had bought at their local farmer's market. I love that she thought of me when seeing the rhubarb and  bought it especially for me. I do love my rhubarb!

So, normally I would make my favourite rhubarb cake (see here for recipe, and please excuse the post- it is one of my first one's, so perhaps very boring looking!!!). Trust me this cake is yummy, easy and does actually look so much better in real life than in that photo- which is why I love making it.

This time though- our bunch of rhubarb was screaming….CRUMBLE!!!!

So crumble away we did…..this recipe is all about autumn fruits, with the humble rhubarb still shining through and providing a lovely stewy base for the plums and apples to bathe in. The sultanas and almonds add some respectively, juicy and crunchy bites and the crumble is what brings it all together.

Need I say anymore? A crumble can be eaten (I think) at anytime of the day, probably most favourite in our house, is leftovers for breakfast!

Rhubarb, Apple & Plum Crumble
A bunch of rhubarb, cut up into 2 cm pieces
3-4 plums, quartered and stoned
2 apples, peeled and sliced into eigths
1/4 cup castor sugar
1/4 cup water
150g butter, chilled and diced
1 2/3 cups plain flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup flaked almonds

Heat a heavy based pan over medium heat. Add the fruit, sugar and water. Reduce to a lower heat and cook for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it and stir often so not to let it burn. The fruit should soften and cook down but still holds its shape. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 180 deg celcius.

Rub together butter, flour, brown sugar and spices until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Mix the sultanas and almonds in with the fruit and pour into an ovenproof dish.
Top with crumble mix and bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Best served warm with delicious custard, but ice cream and/or cream would work a treat too!

Recipe from In The Kitchen by Allan Campion & Michele Curtis

Have you a favourite crumble dish?

Happy Sunday x

Cooking with Claire- Upside Down Apple Pudding

We all have friends whom we know as really good cooks and love swapping food stories with. Today I would like to introduce you my good food friend, Claire Enever, who has gained herself a reputation in the Albury- Wodonga area for whipping up many a delicious storm!

Claire grew up on her family's farm on the gorgeous Mitta River in the North East of Victoria. A country girl at heart, she has always had a passion for cooking. Wherever she is, be it at work or on the tennis court, there will be a plate nearby filled with freshly baked cake, slice, biscuits or last nights left over of some gourmet dish. Everyone loves Claire's cooking!

Today Claire shares one of her favourite cakes- Maggie Beer's Upside Down Apple Pudding. Claire came across this recipe in a Womens Weekly Magazine a few years ago. I made it on the weekend and it certainly does taste as good as it looks!

I am absolutely delighted to be a guest cook on Town Mouse Country Mouse.

Maggie Beer’s Upside-down Apple Pudding will be perfect for your next special afternoon tea or dinner party.  This classic dessert has layers of apples and lashings of syrup and thick cream…it’s amazingly delicious!

Make this cake on a day that the kids are at kindy, day care or, when they are having a nap, as this recipe is a little fiddly and time consuming and you will need to concentrate…especially when making the caramel syrup!!!  I did find the syrup quite sweet, so I served it on the side rather than drizzle it over the pudding. This recipe does call for a large quantity of verjuice, so if using a small bottle, you may need to buy two!

Enjoy- My Master Taster (Tim) says this dessert is gourmet! Claire x

Upside Down Apple Pudding

POACHED APPLES

3 medium Pink Lady apples

1¼ verjuice

¼ cup caster sugar

2 sprigs rosemary

2 Tabs extra verjuice

VERJUICE AND ROSEMARY SYRUP

½ cup caster sugar

2/3 cup verjuice

1 sprig rosemary

PUDDING BATTER

3 eggs, separated

2/3 cup caster sugar- (1/3 cup for the yolks and 1/3 cup for the whites)

½ cup plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 200 deg cel (180 deg cel if fan forced). Grease and line a 20cm cake tin, ensuring that paper is about 3cm higher then tin. (I used a springform pan and just lined the base).

2. Cut the unpeeled apples into quarters and remove the core. then slice lengthways into 2mm pieces.

3. Place the verjuice, sugar and rosemary in a large, high-sided frying pan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the apples for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

4. With a slotted spoon, remove the apples from the pan. Reserve 1/4 cup of the poaching liquid and set aside.

5. Place the frying pan with the remaining liquid back over a high heat and bring to a golden caramel; add the extra verjuice to inhibit the caramel from cooking further. Return the apples to the pan and gently sauté to give them some colour. Remove from heat.

6. Arrange caramelised apple pieces in the base of prepared cake tin.

7. For the pudding batter- place the yolks and half the sugar (1/3 cup) into a medium bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until pale and creamy. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. Gradually beat in olive oil and reserved poaching liquid.

8. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites (using clean beaters) until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining extra sugar and beat until sugar has dissolved. Gently fold the meringue mixture into the pudding batter, in batches, until combined.

9.  Spread the pudding batter into the cake tin over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the puddings springs back when touched. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn upside down onto a serving plate and gently ease out cake.

10. For the remaining syrup- combine the sugar, 1/2 cup verjuice (keep remaining for at the end!) and rosemary in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar has dissolved and bring to boil. Allow to boil until it starts turning a dark caramel colour. Remove from heat and add the extra verjuice to stop the caramel from cooking any further. I found that the syrup changes to a caramel colour as it cools, so be careful not to overcook this. It is very sweet, so you may also like to alter the sugar quantity.

11. Drizzle the syrup over the pudding and serve with thick cream.

A very special Thank you to Claire for sharing one of her favourite recipes.

Stay up to date with Townmouse Countrymouse by subscribing to Bloglovin, 

via email (see top right of home page), or following us on facebook!