Apple Cranberry Nut Bread

This a right tasty and textural quick bread.  Heavy on the tart from the cranberry and lightly citrus with a hint of spice.  Perfect for a mid-winter snack or breakfast.  Stupid simple to make.  The hardest task is peeling and dicing the apples.  

Apple Cranberry Nut Bread

• 1 16 oz bag fresh cranberry
• 1 1/2 c whole walnut
• 1 1/2 c diced granny smith apple
• 4 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c brown sugar
• 3 t baking powder
• 2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 1/2 c orange juice
• zest from 1/2 orange
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 2 eggs beaten

Preheat oven 350F.

Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse a couple of times to break them up.  Add cranberry and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped.  Set aside.

In stand mixer add sugars, orange juice, oil and eggs beat until well combined.  Add baking powder, baking soda, zest, and cinnamon.  Stir lightly.  Fold in flour until just combined.  Fold in cranberry and nut mixture until just combined.  Fold in diced apples.

Spray 2 9X5 loaf pans with nonstick spray (or spray 8 mini-loaf pans).  Bake 55 minutes until full size loaf tests clean with a toothpick.  40-45 minutes on the mini-loaves.  Cool 15 minutes and then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Fall Fruit Crisp

Apples, Pears, Cranberry and Walnuts...how bad can it be?

The perfect ending for a wine and cheese night over at my cousins house.  Fall Fruit Crisp, a lovely combo of fresh fall fruit, the crunch of first harvest walnuts under a crispy crumble topping.  A universal hit, and using 1 cup ramekins you get perfect portion control.

You'll want to use firm fruit that is ripe like a Bosc pear instead of the softer Bartlett variety.  Similarly you'll want to use a firm ripe apple like a Fuji, Gala or Granny Smith over a softer Red or Golden Delicious.  The firm fruit holds its shape during baking, the softer cooks to mush and the texture is just wrong in this Fall Fruit Crisp.

Fall Fruit Crisp
Filling

• 3 pears - peeled,cored and 1/2" dice
• 3 apples - peeled, cored and 1/2" dice
• 1/2 c dried cranberry
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c chopped walnuts
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Topping

• 1 c brown sugar
• 3/4 c flour
• 3/4 c quick cooking oats (not instant)
• 1/4 c chopped walnuts
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 salt
• 1/2 c COLD unsalted butter cubed

Preheat oven 375F convection, 400F without convection

Peel, core and dice apples and pears.  Add to mixing bowl.  Add dried cranberry, walnuts, brown sugar, salt and spices.  Toss lightly to combine.  Set aside while making topping.

To make topping in food processor add all ingredients and pulse a few times until butter is evenly crumbled in the topping and you can't see large pieces any longer.

Take 6 ramekins and place on a baking sheet.  Divide fruit filling evenly among the ramekins.  Divide topping over the fruit filling evenly.  Place in preheated oven and bake until rich golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.  Serve warm with a dollop of fresh whipping cream.

Microwave Apple Crisp

First off, sorry for the craptastic photo, the oven mitt is really deep red and the crisp had a rich dark brown topping. When all is said and done with two colors of light in the room it through off the trusty old cell cam and gave me this image. Bummer, as the cobbler was sooooo freakin' good it was devoured before I could do a reshoot with a better camera.

This dessert goes back to the days as an early apt dweller in The Valley when our apt had marginal air conditioning, with none in the kitchen. There is a always a sweet tooth to be satiated and there are times where good old comfort foods like a fruit crisp are the only thing that will do the trick. When its 100+ one does not turn on an oven in an already uncomfortable kitchen. What to do...turn old oven based recipes into one that works in a microwave. This recipe did just the trick. Very simple and it is based on a 1200 watt microwave so you will need adjust times to suit your machine.

With apple crisps (pies and cobbles too) I like to use a couple of different apples. Its all about the textural differences and the juice for the sauce. Some apples hold their shape well with a nice crunch but yield little juice. Others release a lot of juice but wither down to mush. A mix of apples gets you the best of both worlds. For this reason I used a mix of Red Delicious and Gala apples.

Microwave Apple Crisp

• 6 cups (approximately 6 medium apples) sliced
• 2 t lemon juice
• 2 t cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1/2 c uncooked oatmeal
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 c butter - room temp
• 1/2 t salt

Place apples in an 8" X 8" microwave safe baking dish. Add lemon juice and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Toss. Microwave 4 minutes until tender crisp.

Combine remaining ingredients. Mix well. Sprinkle evenly over warm fruit mixture. Microwave on high 9-12 minutes until apples and topping are bubbly. Let set for 10 minutes, serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream topping.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Tatin

I've decided about the pissiest presentation these days for a dessert is in individual ramekins (or in this case a mini-souffle).  Skip the big box store for them, head to your nearest restaurant supply and save a bundle.  I bought mine at Surfas in Culver City for $3.50 instead of the around 10+ at the other places you'd find at the mall.  

Over this last weekend we met at my cousins house for dinner, I was in charge of desserts.  For the kids 1 yr to 17 I opted for cupcakes.  For the adults I took an old favorite pie recipe and kicked it up a bit for the adults.

What makes a "tatin" in french baking is the rich caramel poured over the fruit then it is turned upside down after it cooled just enough to thicken up.  For this version I wanted it to be an over the top caramel so I made it with brandy.

The problem with that is that it is messy compared to a regular pie and not exactly the kinda wow you want when people get the dessert.  Putting each serving in its own ramekin allows for good presentation without having to hack up the dessert to get it on a plate.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Tatin

Caramel

• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 2T water
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1 T brandy 

Tatin

• 4 lightly buttered ramekins
• 6 medium apples (I used fuji, but gala work nice too)
• 1 T cinnamon (adjust to taste)
• 1/8 t fresh ground nutgmeg
• 8 T fresh ground walnuts
• 1/2 c dried cranberry
• 1 sheet ready made pie crust (like Pilsbury ready made)

For caramel place sugars and water in heavy pan.  Over medium heat bring to boil.  Whisk slowly until dissolved.  Boil gently until thick and turning deep caramel color (about 5-10 minutes).  Reduce heat and whisk in butter 1 T at a time.  It will foam up and stir constantly to reduce the foaming.  Once foaming has settled, REMOVE pan from flame.  Add Brandy and stir constantly until foaming stops.  Carefully return pan to med-low flame, use caution as it could ignite remaining brandy.  Cook gently until it is soft ball stage about 234F.  Remove from heat and allow to cool while preparing the rest of the dessert.

Cut pasty dough into 4 circles slightly larger than the ramekin.  Save remaining pasty bits to cut into decorative shapes.

Peel, core and slice apples.  Toss lightly with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Divide between two bowls.  Lightly butter the ramekins.  Using first batch of apples divide between ramekins, layering neatly into dish.  Divide walnuts and cranberry, using one division to be split between all 4 ramekins in even layers.  Repeat layers ending with the nuts.  Pour about 2T caramel into each ramekin.  

Top each ramekin with pastry, tucking edges in and against the rim.  Cut some vents into the dough to allow steam to escape.  Top each with a pastry shape (I used a leaf shape) that is dampened on the bottom to help it stick.  You can brush with an egg or cream wash then sprinkle with some raw sugar if you want a shiny more decorative top.  Place ramekins on rimmed baking sheet to catch possible boil over and drips.

Bake 30-40 minutes in 350F oven, or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

Assembling the first layer as evenly and flat as possible helps with minimizing the collapse as the dessert bakes and the fruit shrinks while being cooked.

  

Mmmmmm....nice rich caramel, just enough left over to toss on a scoop of ice cream as bakers treat while making these.
Top layer of fruit comes just to the top of the ramekin.   Crappy phone-cam doesn't show the fine details on the one that has its dough top on, but you get the idea of tucking inside the dish and up against the rim.
All fresh out of the oven.  Note the steam vents are clearer in this pic.  Of course since this is fall I opted for a "leaf" design, but you can use hearts, diamonds, or even fruit shapes as decoration made from the left over pastry dough.

Individual Tart Tatin

Some will argue, mostly the French, that the Apple Pie that we love so well was invented by them. They call theirs "Tart Tatin" and is quite tasty...sort of an apple upside down pie where the apples are bathed in rich caramel. Interesting, but I was looking for one I could do individually to break in the nifty mini souffle (like a tall ramekin) I had picked up at Surfas earlier in the month.

So after some googling around and figuring out what the basic's of a Tart Tatin were I came up with this recipe:

Individual Tart Tatin

• pastry for a 9 inch pie
• 8 medium Granny Smith Apples
• 1/2 c water
• 6 T butter
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t fresh grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425F. Butter and put 6 (about 1 C capacity each) Ramekins and put aside.

Heat a large non-stick skillet, add butter, brown sugar and water. Heat over medium heat until butter melts and it begins to bubble and thicken into a light syrup. About 4-5 minutes.

Peel and core the apples, cutting into even wedges. (A handy-dandy apple corer with the cutting blades make fast work with this chore). Add to hot sugar syrup and cook 3 minutes, stirring often until all apple slices are coated and starting to soften. Sprinkle on spices, toss to mix and coat.

Roll out the dough, cut 6 circles the size of the ramekin. Poke holes in the dough to allow steam to escape.

Lay apples on their sides dividing between the ramekins. Divide syrup evenly over the apples. Place one dough round in each dish, lightly pressing the edges against the sides.

Place ramekin's on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until tops are golden brown and some caramel is bubbling up around edges.

Cool 5 minutes on wire rack. Run a knive around the inside of the crust to loosen. Place dessert plate over the ramekin and invert. Serve with ice cream.

Laying the apples isn't hard just a bit time consuming as the traditional Tart Tatin in France is them closely packed. Since I wanted to stay true to the concept I followed through that way.
I did simple little fork pricks for the steam vents. The traditional Tart Tatin is done in a 9 inch or so pie plate with the pastry tucked over and under the apples along the edges. I took the easy route and did it more like a pot-pie as my fat fingers just don't have the dexterity to tuck all those little edges under. Doesn't affect the flavor or appearance so it worked for me. Knock yourself out if you want to be traditional.
Here's one, probably not the best example as the syrup kind of ran up and over the dough. This one I didn't serve right away...a reserve for breakfast but you get the idea of what the baked variety looks like.

I opted for Granny Smith apples over some of the others as it keeps it shape well and has a natural tartness that would not become overly sweet when baked in a rich caramel. Sweet is great, but keeping some apple tartness is good too.

The big surprise of the night was that Paul brought along some ice cream not knowing what I had up my sleeve. He brought the Mashti Malone Ginger Rose Water ice cream. Hmmm...I knew apple and ginger would good food paring. What I didn't expect was that it would be the best freaking ice cream I have had in ages. How it pared with the tart tatin was unbelievable. Both standing on their own in each bite yet playing together really well on the way through. Much better than the Vanilla Bean ice cream was planning would have worked. Thanks Paul!