bramley apple

Nigel Slater’s apple crumble balances tart Bramleys with an oat crumble topping that’s made extra crunchy by demerara sugar.

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

1kg/2lb 3½oz Bramley apples

sugar,

water juice

grams/3½oz plain flour

grams/2½oz butter

oats

100 grams/3½oz demerara sugar

Sweet and spiced, this strudel is a winner. Be sure to melt the butter used to separate the layers of pastry, as this makes for a great flaky crust.

Apple strudel

grams/1lb 10 ounces Bramley apples, peeled, cored, quartered and sliced

cinnamon

½ unwaxed lemon, zest only

lemon juice

100 grams/3½oz golden caster sugar

grams/2½oz raisins

butter

grams/1½oz white breadcrumbs

filo pastry

tbsp icing sugar

Give your next crumble a dose of oats with this simple make-one freeze-one recipe

Oaty apple crumble

caster sugar

sultanasor raisins

soft light brown sugar

honey

pack butter

plain flour

flaked almonds

Cook the apples with the caster sugar in a large pan, stirring occasionally – add a splash of water if they start to stick on the bottom. When just about tender and a bit saucy, stir in the sultanas or raisins and tip into 2 large ovenproof dishes.

Melt the brown sugar, honey and butter together in a large pan. Off the heat, stir in the oats, flour, almonds and cinnamon until sticky and crumbly. Divide over the apples. To bake straight away, heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 then bake for 40-50 mins until topping is golden and crisp. To freeze, wrap dishes well or freeze the fruit and crumble mixture in separate freezer bags if you don’t have spare baking dishes. To cook from frozen, cover with foil and bake at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 1½ hrs, then turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 8 and bake for a further 45 mins, removing the foil for the last 15 mins.

Eve's Pudding is a British classic, a layer of stewed apples is topped with a vanilla sponge for the ultimate in comfort food, serve with custard or vanilla ice cream!

Eve'S Pudding - Simple And Delicious!

Bramley apples/cooking apples (about 600 grams)

water

g sugar

For the sponge topping:

g self raising flour (sieved)

75 g caster sugar

egg (lightly beaten)

vanilla bean paste

Eve's Pudding - simple and delicious!

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Put the lemon juice and water into a pan.

Peel, core and quarter the apples, then cut each quarter into 3 slices (add the slices to the pan as you go along, giving a stir to coat).

Sprinkle the granulated sugar over the apples and simmer (under a lid) on a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the apples are cooked through.

Once ready take off the heat and transfer to a 15 cm souffle dish to cool.

To make the sponge topping use an electric whisk to beat together the buttery spread and caster sugar until light and fluffy.

Next beat in the vanilla bean paste, followed by the egg a little at a time.

Fold in the flour a tablespoon at a time.

Spread the mixture over the apples.

Bake in the oven for 40 – 45 minutes (or until an inserted skewer comes out clean).

Serve with custard or vanilla ice cream.

The Bramley apples in these easy puff pastry pies pair perfectly with marzipan for a sweet tart hand pie. 


Puff pastry apple pies

grams/1½lb Bramley apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

grams/1 ounces butter, plus extra for greasing

250 grams/9 ounces natural (uncoloured) marzipan, thinly sliced

tbsp demerara sugar

Bramley apples have an unbeatably tart flavour that works perfectly with the sweetness of the marzipan in this recipe.

Bramley apple slice

Follow Gordon's steps for a sensational roast duck dinner, perfect for entertaining

Spiced slow-roast duck & apple sauce

duck

sunflower oil

lemon

star anise

garlic

potatoes

watercress

Bramley apples

apple juice

Heat oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1. Remove any giblets and pull the excess fat from the duck’s cavity. Use a roasting fork or skewer to prick the skin of the duck all over – do this lightly as you don’t want to pierce the meat.

Season generously inside, rub the skin with a little oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, cinnamon, star anise and garlic. Sit the duck in a roomy roasting tin (you will be adding potatoes to the tin later). Roast the duck for 2 hrs, pricking again every now and then. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 10 mins until just cooked.

Remove the duck from the oven and increase the heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Place the duck on a board and pour off half the fat from the tin. Toss the potatoes in the tin so they are completely coated in the juices, then push them to the side of the tin. Sit the duck back in and give it a final 20-30 mins in the oven to crisp up.

Meanwhile, make the apple sauce. Peel and finely slice the apples, discarding the core. Melt the butter in a pan until sizzling, add the apples and spices, then stir to coat.

Pour in 100ml apple juice, cover and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add a splash more juice if the apples are becoming a bit dry. Cook until the apples have collapsed into a fluffy sauce.

Remove the duck from the oven to a board to rest, then place the potatoes back into the oven for 20 mins to crisp up. When the duck has rested and the potatoes are brown, you are ready to carve and plate up.

This is easy apple pie like mum used to make, with large pieces of Bramley apple enclosed in rich shortcrust pastry. Douse in cream and get stuck in.

Proper apple pie

flour

salt

Bramley

Here's a little reminder of a delicious British pudding you probably haven't eaten in years

Eve's pudding

Bramley apples, finely sliced

unsalted butter

raisins

soft brown sugar

eggs

self-raising flour

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Peel, core and slice the apples. Grease a large serving dish, about 2.5 litre/3 litre with 25g/1oz of the butter and tip in the apple. Scatter the raisins over the top.

In a separate dish beat the remaining butter and sugar together for 10 mins until the butter turns pale and the sugar starts to dissolve. Beat in the eggs, then carefully fold in the flour with a large spoon. Spread the batter over the apples, then bake for 45 mins until golden. Serve with the custard, below.

Try our classic Bramley apple pie with homemade shortcrust pastry. Simplicity is key to this traditional dish which makes for a comforting family pudding.

Ultimate apple pie

1kg Bramley apples

golden caster sugar

tbsp flour

butter, room temperature

golden caster sugar,

plain flour, preferably organic

cream,

Put a layer of paper towels on a large baking sheet. Quarter, core, peel and slice the apples about 5mm thick and lay evenly on the baking sheet. Put paper towels on top and set aside while you make and chill the pastry.

For the pastry, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until just mixed. Break in a whole egg and a yolk (keep the white for glazing later). Beat together for just under 1 min – it will look a bit like scrambled egg. Now work in the flour with a wooden spoon, a third at a time, until it’s beginning to clump up, then finish gathering it together with your hands. Gently work the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film, and chill for 45 mins. Now mix the 140g/5oz sugar, the cinnamon and flour for the filling in a bowl that is large enough to take the apples later.

After the pastry has chilled, heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Cut off a third of the pastry and keep it wrapped while you roll out the rest, and use this to line a pie tin – 20-22cm round and 4cm deep – leaving a slight overhang. Roll the remaining third to a circle about 28cm in diameter. Pat the apples dry with kitchen paper, and tip them into the bowl with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Give a quick mix with your hands and immediately pile high into the pastry-lined tin.

Brush a little water around the pastry rim and lay the pastry lid over the apples pressing the edges together to seal. Trim the edge with a sharp knife and make 5 little slashes on top of the lid for the steam to escape. (Can be frozen at this stage.) Brush it all with the egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, then remove and let it sit for 5-10 mins. Sprinkle with more sugar and serve while still warm from the oven with softly whipped cream.

Forget fiddly stuffing balls, this clever roll tastes delicious, plus its practical shape makes it ultra-simple to slice

Chestnut & cranberry roll

olive oil

onion, finely chopped

Bramley apples, approx 140/5 ounces each, peeled

x 450 grams/1lb packs good-quality pork sausage

parsley, leaves

sage, leaves

thyme, leaves

white breadcrumb

cranberry

rashers streaky bacon

butter,

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then gently fry the onion for 5 mins until softened. Finely chop the apples either by hand or in a food processor.

Squeeze the sausagemeat from the sausages into a large bowl, then add all the other ingredients, except the cranberries and streaky bacon. Season generously, then get your hands in and mix well. Weigh out 450g of the stuffing and mix a handful of the cranberries into it. Use to stuff the neck of the turkey (see 'Goes well with').

To assemble, butter and season a large sheet of foil. Stretch out the bacon rashers slightly with the back of a kitchen knife, then overlap 12 rashers on the foil. Spoon half of the stuffing mix evenly over the bacon, leaving a border of about 3cm. Scatter with half the cranberries, then pat them in. Tuck the long edges of the bacon over the stuffing; then, using the foil to help, roll the stuffing up into a log shape. Repeat to make a second roll.

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the foil-wrapped rolls onto a roasting tin and roast for 45 mins. Unwrap, draining off any juice, then finish roasting for 15 mins until the bacon is crisp.

Chutney is great make ahead gift for Christmas – you can substitute marrows, pumpkin, green tomatoes or other fruit for some or all of the apples and the results will be just as good.

Equipment and preparation: You will need eight 330ml/12fl oz jars.

How to make chutney

apples

onions

fresh root ginger

grams/3½oz sultanas (or other dried fruit

chilli flakes

500 milliliters/18fl oz distilled malt vinegar

sugar

Our simple step-by-step recipe video shows you how to make a quick chutney.

One of my favourite bakes is a recipe for apple cake I created many years ago. This is a version of the same recipe but made up into individual cakes, which could be served warm as a dinner party dessert or cold as a delicious picnic treat. 

Equipment and preparation: for this recipe you will need six 7cm/2¾in cooking rings.

Mini apple and almond cakes

grams/2¾oz butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

grams/3½oz self-raising flour,

grams/3½oz caster sugar

egg,

almond extract

60 grams/2¼oz Bramley apples, peeled and thinly sliced

almonds

(optional)

The Hairy Bikers' Bramley apple pie recipe will help you perfect your pastry. A deep pie dish is essential for fitting in as many hot, fluffy apples as you can. Serve with vanilla ice cream.


Perfect apple pie

tbsp cornflour

400 grams/14 ounces plain flour, plus extra rolling

tbsp caster sugar

lemon, zest only

250 grams/10 ounces cold butter,

free-range egg,

Try making your mincemeat well in advance of Christmas to give the flavours maximum time to mature

Traditional mincemeat

currants

brandy

lemon, juice of ½

shredded suet

dark brown sugar

chopped mixed peel

nutmeg,

Bramley apple, peeled and grated

Soak the raisins and currants in the brandy and lemon juice for 1 hr until plumped up, then drain and set the brandy aside. Mix all the ingredients together in the order given, then pour in the brandy when everything else is well mixed. Spoon and press into sterilised jars, to exclude any air (the easiest way to sterilise jars is to run them through a dishwasher on its hottest setting). Cover and leave for at least a fortnight. Will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

This gooey pudding has a sweet apple sauce at its base and makes a delightful winter dessert. 


Top 15 bramley apple recipes from across the web

The most viewed bramley apple recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

Apple strudel

Oaty apple crumble

Eve'S Pudding - Simple And Deliciou...

Puff pastry apple pies

Spiced slow-roast duck & apple sauc...

Proper apple pie

Eve's pudding

Ultimate apple pie

Chestnut & cranberry roll

How to make chutney

Mini apple and almond cakes

Perfect apple pie

Traditional mincemeat

Toffee apple self-saucing pudding

Top 15 bramley apple recipes from across the web

The most viewed bramley apple recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

Apple strudel

Oaty apple crumble

Eve'S Pudding - Simple And Deliciou...

Puff pastry apple pies

Spiced slow-roast duck & apple sauc...

Proper apple pie

Eve's pudding

Ultimate apple pie

Chestnut & cranberry roll

How to make chutney

Mini apple and almond cakes

Perfect apple pie

Traditional mincemeat

Toffee apple self-saucing pudding

The most viewed bramley apple recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine