Apple Sauce . . .

I picked yet another basket of Monty Surprise apples today. I usually peel the apples when I bottle apple sauce, however, Bruce has asked me to try a batch with the peel still on, as most of the nutrients and fibre are in this peel I feed to the animals. Time will tell, I'm not so convinced myself, as I like nice light-coloured apple.

After washing and coring the apples, I chopped them up by machine rather than slicing them as I normally would. I'm hoping this will help the skin to break down more. Unfortunately, the smaller you cut apples the quicker they oxidise, this doesn't alter the flavour of the apples just their appearance. I put the juice from two lemons in the water, but maybe I should have put more as it was a very full pot. My basket of apples almost filled my largest stock pot. I decided to put half of it into another pot to speed up the cooking time and slow down the browning. I simmered them until the pulp was soft.

 

I took some apple out to make Bruce an apple sponge dessert and then used the stick blender to prepare the sauce for bottling. This step isn't totally necessary, but I prefer the smoother texture for my sauce. Then as I did when bottling the beetroot, I used the overflow method. However, this time as there is no additional liquid to pour in, I filled the pulp to the top and then covered it with boiling water. Quickly put on a lid and screw band. Like with the beetroot, I kept the other jars in the oven and just removed one at a time to fill.

I managed to get 6 jars from one pot and 7 from the other. I used two styles of jars hence the green and gold bands. It is very hard to see in the picture, but if your jars have Agee Utility written in an oval, or no writing at all they require a green screw band and if the AGEE SPECIAL is in capital letters it needs a gold screw band. 

Bruce appreciated his apple sponge for dessert.

Apple Sponge Recipe . . .

Stewed apple or other fruit - sweeten if preferred 

Sponge Ingredients -

125g butter - softened to room temperature

½ cup caster sugar - this incorporates quicker than normal sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs - at room temperature

1 cup self-raising flour or 1 cup plain flour and 2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup milk

Method -

Pre heat oven to 180°.

Place the apples in a greased baking dish.

Cream the butter and sugar until pale, smooth and creamy with a hand-held beater.

Add the vanilla essence and one egg and beat together. Add the remaining egg and beat to combine.

Sift in the flour and beat on slow speed until combined.

Slowly add the milk while beating on low speed.

Spoon the sponge mixture over the apples.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on the top and cooked through.

Serve with ice-cream, cream or custard.

Enjoy.

Tips - 

* This will keep for 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator.

* You can reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds or in a low oven until warm.

* Freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months

 

7th May 2024