Apple-Pay

The crypto-currency of the Auvergne!




Sorry to go on about my glut of fruit and veg this year- but in addition to everything else, it has proved to have a surprisingly good exchange rate. Certainly a lot better than poor old sterling!

So far, I have exchanged my trays of excess fruit with friends and neighbours for : marrows, tomatoes, courgettes, blackberry cordial,  3 dozen eggs, two boxes of jam jars, eau de vie, more tomatoes and 5 tubs of donkey manure. Not to mention bringing a smile to the faces of our wood supplier, boiler service engineer and electrician when presented with gifts of jam.

Thanks for the poo Josephine!

Only a week left before we return to the UK so I will be looking for profitable transactions on my pears, cabbages, chard and potimarrons before I go.

However, I am still using up the fruit that wouldn't fit in the freezer- spreading it over the top of cheesecakes, baking cakes and clafoutis and making chutney.
Here are a few recipes to take you into October.

Apple Clafoutis

2 apples
100g flour
50g sugar
400ml milk
20g butter
1 sachet of vanilla sugar
pinch salt

1. Separate the eggs and beat the whites until they form soft peaks

Beat the egg whites to soft peaks

2. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, milk and melted butter
3. Beat in the flour until you have a smooth batter
4. Pour half the mixture into a buttered oven dish
5. Add slices of peeled apple
6. Gently fold in the whites into the remaining batter and pile on top of the apple mixture

Mix the egg whites into the remaining batter

7. Bake at 180 degrees until risen and golden.

Apple Clafoutis

Chestnut and Cherry Bars

125g unsalted butter

175g sugar

1 egg

250 g crème de marron

1 tsp vanilla essence

375g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

200ml  cherry jam 

150g roasted peanuts or hazelnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees

2. Cream together the butter and sugar, then mix in the vanilla essence , egg and chestnut cream and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs etc with an electric mixer

 3.Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined
4.Grease and line a baking tray or gratin dish and spread 2/3 of the dough along the bottom

Spread two thirds of the dough over the base of the lined dish

5. Spread the jam evenly over the dough
6. Drop blobs of the remaining dough randomly over the top

Spread with jam and the remaining dough in blobs

7. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes until golden on top and cooked underneath.

8. Cut into slices when cool.

Chestnut and Cherry Bars

Jam Duffins

We made these little buns at Cookery Workshop this time. I have made them again at home using rice and cornflour mixed to make a gluten free version and they were just as good.
They are a cross between a doughnut and a muffin. What's not to like?

To make a dozen:

150g of flour
2 heaped tsp baking powder
1 pot natural yoghurt or milk
1 egg
40-50g sugar
75g melted butter
2 tsp vanilla essence
jam of choice

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Beat the egg and the sugar together

Beat the egg and sugar together

3. Add the yoghurt/milk, butter, flour and baking powder and beat well

Beat in the other ingredients

4. Add the vanilla
5. Butter the insides of a muffin tray and half fill the cups with the mixture

Half-fill the muffin cups with batter

6. Add 1 spoon of jam to each cup

Add 1 spoonful of jam

7. Cover  with the remainder of the mixture and bake for 15 minutes until (you guessed it) risen and golden.

Cover with the remainder of the mixture

8. Leave to cool before unmoulding so the jam can soak well into the cakes.

Jam Duffins

And so, if you are looking for a safe investment I can thoroughly recommend Auvergne Apple-Pay. It looks like the best bet at the moment!

Poor old Pound!