apple pie with cheddar cheese crust

I love apple pie. Short, rich pastry encasing sweet, soft apples flavoured with cinnamon - what's not to love? I've been hearing a lot about cheese incorporated into the pastry crust of an apple pie quite a lot recently, and whilst it sounds a little weird at first there was something about the combination that seemed to make sense. You can experiment with any kind of cheese but I decided on that for my first attempt I would try a medium mature cheddar.  This pie is delicious with a drizzle of cream, custard or a good dollop of ice cream.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

225g plain (all purpose) flour

100g softened butter

75g grated cheddar

3-4 tbsp ice cold water

For the filling:

5-6 eating apples (such as golden delicious, granny smith, jazz) peeled, cored and finely sliced

6 tbsp soft brown sugar (adjust this to your own taste)

1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp cornflour, regular flour or semolina

1. Start by making the pastry. Combine the butter and flour in a large bowl and rub between your finger tips until everything is combined and is the texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Alternatively you can pulse the two together in a food processor until you have achieved the same consistency.
2. Add all the cheese and a couple of tablespoons of the water and bring together the breadcrumbs until a rough dough ball is formed. You may need to add some extra water or not as much. Be guided by the consistency you achieve, just remember you want to handle and work the pastry as little as possible to make sure it retains its short, crumbly texture when cooked. Cover the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
3. Once the pastry has rested, pre-heat your oven to 220C. Next put the sliced apples, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix together until the apple is thoroughly coated in everything.
4. Cut off a third of the pastry and set aside for the lid. With the remaining two thirds roll it out thinly so that it is large enough to line the base of your pie dish. Alternatively you can coarsely grate the pastry into the pie dish and push together the pieces to form the base. 
5. Sprinkle the cornflour over the base (this will help to avoid a soggy bottom on your pie) then spread the apple mixture over the top. 
6. Roll out the pastry for you lid then carefully place it over the filling. Crimp together the edges and cut a hole in the top to allow steam from the filling to escape. You can use beaten egg on the rim of the pastry to help it join together if you like but I didn't find it was needed. 
7. Brush the top with beaten egg or milk if you want a golden, shiny top then place the pie in the oven. Cook at 220C for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 190C and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes or until the pie is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven when it's done and leave it to cool for 20 minutes or so before eating.

apple and marzipan crumble cake

This recipe is inspired by one of my Christmas presents, The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater. I’ve always had a soft spot for crumble topped cakes, I love the combination of textures. The inclusion of apples in a cake also reminds me of the kinds of cakes my gran used to make that would have large pieces of tart plums or apples nestling in the soft, sweet sponge.

Ingredients

250g apple, peeled, cored and cut in to small pieces

175g softened butter

175g caster sugar

2 eggs

255g plain flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder

pinch ground cinnamon

few drops vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of one lemon (optional)

100g marzipan broken into small pieces

Crumble topping

110g Plain flour

75g butter

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm round cake tin.

2. Beat the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

3. Break the eggs into a separate bowl, beat them gently then add to the butter and egg mixture.

4. Fold in the flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract and half of the apples and marzipan pieces then transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon or spatula.

5. Scatter the remaining marzipan and apple pieces on top of the cake mixture.

6. Quickly blitz together the crumble ingredients in the food processor or bring together by hand in a large bowl. You want the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Add a couple of drops of water to the mixture so that the crumbs look more like gravel then scatter over the cake with a little extra cinnamon and demerara sugar if you like.

7. Bake for about an hour in the oven or until a skewer comes out clean.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool before cutting into slices and enjoying with your cuppa.

slow cooker red cabbage

I made this to go with my blue cheese meatloaf but it goes well with many other dishes too. Red cabbage and apple is also a staple on my family's Christmas table too. I made this in a slow cooker but it could just as easily be made on the hob or in the oven, remember to keep it covered, cook on a low heat for a long time and check back every so often to make sure things are going ok.

Ingredients
1 small red cabbage, cored and finely sliced
2 eating apples, cored and cut into bite sized chunks
1 onion finely sliced
300ml stock (I used beef stock but use veg or chicken if you prefer)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp honey
1 star anise
1 tbsp butter

Add everything to your slow cooker or saucepan then cover and cook for around 2-4 hours. I cooked mine on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours. I added the butter and honey to the hot stock, stirred then poured over the cabbage, apple and onion in the slow cooker.