Granny Smith and I

You've probably worked it out by now that I love cooking. I find it very therapeutic especially after a long week at work. Today is another relaxing afternoon with more baking! Having baked the sinful chocolate cake yesterday, I wanted something more traditional as I promised friends at work that I will bring something for afternoon tea. I decided to try my hand at baking an apple slice. This will be my first attempt, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.. (its baking away in the oven!).

There are two parts to this recipe, (a) the apple sauce (b) the base & crumbs

(a) Apple sauce

There are also to parts to this, the base and the apple topping. This is my improvisation, I find that the traditional apple sauce doesnt have enough apple bits and even if there are apple bits, its too soft. So I have worked out a different approach, make the base first and then throw in apple bits towards the end of cooking time.

I use two types of apples: granny smith for the base and royal gala for the bits. I also grind my own cinnamon as I find it more economical (no need to buy two variation of the same product) and you will also find that it is more aromatic as it is freshly ground (not like those bottled stuff).

Boil the hell out of granny for about 20 minutes. You'll get a lumpy consistency which you need to put through a blender. Once you have done this, dump in a cup of sugar and ground cinnamon, and boil somemore till mixture thickens. Once it resembles jam-like consistency, throw in the royal gala and boil for another 5 minutes or so to slightly soften the apples. Make sure you keep stirring throughout.

(b) Base

The base is a replication of any pie crust recipe of your choice. I add in more butter to soften the texture. Set aside a small portion of the base to be used a the crumbs. Spread out mixture on a slice pan and bake. Remove from oven and top with apple sauce and then spread the crumbs coarsely over the topping. Bake until crumbs turn golden brown.