If you love a warm apple turnover doused in lashings of sticky caramel sauce then this simplified - but every bit as delicious - recipe is for you. Spicy cinnamon, sweet apple, light puff pastry and heavenly salted caramel sauce with a sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts - are you drooling yet? And the best bit... very little baking skill is required, it's the perfect fun festive bake!
ingredients:
For the apple pastry rings
2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry
100g caster sugar
2tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp cornflour (not essential but helps to absorb some of the apple juices thereby keeping your pastry crispy)
4 apples (I use Granny Smiths)
1 egg for glazing
bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon juice to stop the apple browning
For the salted caramel sauce
200g granulated sugar
85g unsalted butter
120ml double cream
1 tsp salt (obviously leave this out if the sweet/savoury thing is not your vibe)
For the topping
handful of chopped hazelnuts
sprinkling of sugar
method:
The sauce & topping
Heat the granulated sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps but eventually melt into a thick brown syrup as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn it.
Once the sugar is completely melted, immediately stir in the butter until it's melted and combined. Be careful with this step because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from the heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. Keep whisking until it comes back together.
Once the butter has melted and combined with the caramelised sugar, stir constantly as you slowly pour in the cream. The mixture will rapidly bubble when added. Allow to boil for around one minute.
Remove from the heat, stir in the salt and allow to cool slightly before using (if you can wait that long!).
For the nut topping, place your chopped nuts and sprinkling of sugar in a frying pan and heat until lightly toasted (the sugar will melt and coat the nuts). Be careful not to burn them.
The apple pastry rings
Preheat the oven to 180c and prepare a couple of flat baking trays with a sheet of baking paper.
Unroll your pastry and flatten out any creases then cut into strips approx 1/2" wide with a pizza cutter. Set the pastry aside.
Mix the sugar, cinnamon and cornflour in a bowl then pour onto a plate.
Cut the top and bottom off the apples, peel and slice into roughly three or four rounds per apple. Take a corer, small circle cutter, piping tip or simple metal bottle cap and cut the centre/core out of each apple slice so you're left with rings.
Place the apple rings in a bowl of cold water with a squeeze of lemon to stop them going brown while you work.
Take one ring at a time, pat dry with kitchen roll and coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture then take one strip of pastry at a time and simply wrap round the apple ring slightly overlapping as you go so it's completely covered. Use a tiny dab of water to help each strip stick to the next one. Don't worry about being too neat because the pastry will puff up in the oven and hide any dents or squished areas but do try and ensure that the apple is covered otherwise it may leak out in the oven.
Place your wrapped rings on a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg then sprinkle with a little of your cinnamon sugar.
Bake for around 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on the baking tray before serving with lashings of warm salted caramel sauce and a scattering of caramelised nuts.
Devour immediately and thank me later!
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