Many apples

I have a quantity – indeed quantities – of yellow transparent apples to work with, so it has been apple everything of late.

These apples are tart and soft in the cooking, and so sometimes give the illusion there’s been lemon at work. I use them while they’re still green but even when fully ripe they are sharp and puckery. I stew some with blackberries and freeze that; I juice some, using carrots for sweetener and freeze that; and I make a bit of applesauce. I might try dehydrating some, but they are awfully tart. For the rest, I peel, chop and freeze in ziplock bags and leave a few in the veg bin in the fridge. They don’t last as well as some apples, they shrink and wrinkle, but will endure for some months – in fact I made a cake from some 2008 vintage ones I found malingering in the fridge back in April. And they can be chopped and added to everything from soup to curry to dog food (if you make your own!).

Some of the best things I’ve made include Apple Crème Brulée; Dan Lepard‘s Apple, Walnut & Custard pudding; Apple Raisin Cake; my enduring favourite, Delia Smith‘s Caramelised Apple Flan (cheat’s Tarte Tatin);

the recently remarked Blackberry-Apple Clafoutis; and a variation on German Apple Cake. Recipes yet to be attempted might include an Apple Soufflé, and one day when I am feeling ambitious enough to marshal the ingredients: Delia’s Prune, Apple & Armagnac Cake with Almond Streusel Topping.