Toffee Apple Crumble

'Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness,' It's the time of the year for one of my favourite Keats' poems.   Autumn is such a beautiful season, and I have been enjoying some autumnal walks with my son. We have collected lots of conkers ready for a family tournament on our half term holiday to Scotland, and autumn leaves and twigs. This week I have been loving wrapping up warm, and having snuggles in blankets.

My father-in-law gave us a veritable hoard of apples that he had been growing, so I have been busy making plenty of apple puree, as we are currently weaning our son onto solid food. With the kitchen full of delicious fruity scents, I thought it only fair that I made something for the rest of us. One of my husband's favourite puddings is an apple crumble (in fact he tells me he is a connoisseur), so I felt obliged to make one. I thought I would try something a bit different, and attempt to create a toffee apple crumble. I must admit I am not a fan of fruit in puddings, but the scent of spice and toffee in the air was magical.

Ingredients

Fruit filling

8 eating apples cored, peeled and chopped. (I used eating apples, but add more sugar if you use cooking)

3 tbsp Golden syrup

100g Caster sugar

1 and a half tbsp Mixed Spice

6 tbsp Water

Crumble topping

150g Butter

150g Flour

150g Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 190°C.

2. Add the sugar and water to a pan stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Add Golden syrup and bring to boil.

4. Add apple and mixed spice. Cook until fruit beginning to soften (Adjust water if going dry, but these apples had plenty of juice)

5. Put into ovenproof dish.

6. For crumble topping, rub butter, flour and sugar together then spoon onto top of fruit. (You can add oats for extra crunch)

7. Put in oven for 20 minutes. (I then put the grill on briefly- just to make the topping extra crunchy - be careful not to burn.)

Hope you have had a lovely weekend filled with autumnal treats. I'm just off for a long soak in the tub and a hot chocolate! I love getting warmed up after a bracing walk. 

Posh chicken nuggets

I’m guessing this is not the healthiest tea, but it is delicious. My friends know I’m of a delicate constitution. Quite a sickly young thing – my character would not make it to the end of a Victorian novel. I therefore try to avoid eating takeaways, so made this as an alternative to KFC. My niece also enjoyed a variation of this instead of driving to McDonalds for Chicken McNuggets and French Fries.

1 egg

Bowl of flour (Sorry but not sure of exact measurements – just enough to cover however much chicken)

Chicken breast (Chopped into bite size chunks)

New potatoes

Olive oil.

4 garlic cloves or garlic infused oil.

Your choice of spices (I used a spice mix of paprika, chilli flakes, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper)

Chicken Oxo.

Salad optional.

Preheat oven at 200° c. Chop your new potatoes into slices and put them on to parboil for 10  mins or until you can stick a fork in . Then put these into the oven in either garlic infused olive oil or put in some whole smashed garlic cloves and olive oil then sprinkle with chicken oxo. Place flour in a bowl and your choice of spices and one Chicken Oxo cube. In another bowl break your egg and mix until egg yolk and white is combined. Put a frying pan on a high heat with some olive oil in. Dip your chopped chicken first into the bowl of egg – wait for the excess to drip off then dip them into your flour mix. Place them in your hot frying pan. Once you have got some colour and outside is crispy turn the heat down and cook until cooked throughout. Serve with salad. If you have an uncertain oven like mine and your chicken is nearly ready and there isn’t colour on your potatoes – stick the grill on for five minutes to finish them.

My salad dressing used here is balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard seeds, crushed garlic and pepper.