Kitchen Projects for Autumn
Apples? Pears? Quince? Pumpkin? I got you!
As the gloves come out (the woolly kind, no fighting here) and we search through our wardrobes to find out which of our favourite jumpers have been visited by moths in their fallow summer months, I know that some of the year’s best baking is now upon us. Though berries, peaches and rhubarb have their place in my heart, there’s nothing like orchard fruit. For me, apples, pears and quinces are the ultimate trifecta of comfort. Once Pumpkin joins the gang, you know it’s time to get cosy and settle into the season.
To celebrate all things Autumn, here are some of my favourite recipes from the newsletter, and my debut book SIFT (available now in the UK, and out in just a few weeks in the US! Order it here) for you to add onto your ‘must bake’ list this season. And don’t forget, you always have the Kitchen Projects archive with hundreds of recipes and projects - big and small - to explore.
Apple Butter
Well worth making, apple butter is made by cooking, reducing and blending apples until you get a thick consistency. It can be used to add a pure apple flavour to anything - from spreading on the base of galettes or pies, swirling into buttercream on a layer cake or whisking into caramels. You can make it with just apples (like Claire does here) or you can add sugar and apple cider vinegar for a tangy profile.
I’ve shared a slow cooker version on KP+ today, but you can find the original recipe for salted apple caramel bars here.
Apple Butter Thins
Over on KP+ today, I use apple butter to make these rich, snappy oat biscuits. With frilly crisp edges and a warm undertone flavour from the apple butter, this is the kind of biscuit you’ll want to keep a consistent supply of. And they’re egg-free! If you don’t want to make apple butter or have the time,
I’ve included a recipe for an additional lacey oat biscuit (aka my 3am oat biscuits) that doesn’t require it. Click here for the recipe
Quince Recipe Index
From how to poach quinces to a cheese and quince pie, to making membrillo to jelly, this newsletter will tell you how to find, what to do, and how to fall in love with quince. The first part is hard, but the other bits are easy! Click here to read it.
Apple Tart
Combining Specuulos spiced tart dough, rye frangipane, apple custard compote and thinly sliced apples with reduced apple juice, this tart is a showstopper with heart. It has such a depth of flavour and feels like a slice of autumn. Click here to make it.
Crispy Apple Custard Pie
Crisp, sugary filo with a custardy, caramelised apple filling, similar to bread and butter pudding, hits all the right notes. Serve with extra custard, of course! Click here to make it.
Sticky upside-down walnut and pear cake
This might be the perfect Sunday lunch dessert. Served warm, it has incredible earthiness from the walnuts, and the sticky goo makes it a rival for sticky toffee pudding. The recipe is in SIFT—click here to get it.
Pear Pies
I think pear loves being in a pie - here you’ve got two choices. A chocolate pecan frangipane pie, in mini form, or this caramel pear pie, one of my favourite recipes. Both noble options for October and the months ahead.
Pumpkin & Parmesan Torta
In this edition of the newsletter, I get to grips with all the different varieties of pumpkins with a guide of what to buy and what to avoid (in my opinion), finishing with an Italian-inspired torta rich with parmesan and sage.
Apple Cake
My perfect apple cake is baked in a low wide tray and has lots of thinly sliced apples on it to maximise the fruit-to-cake ratio. Let’s normalise thin cakes, guys, especially if you’re not a fan of that gummy apple-to-cake ratio. With a demerara crust, it’s a total treat. Click here to make it.
Apple Tarte Tatin
ICYMI, last week Clodagh Manning, pastry chef of Lyles, London. The classic in question? Tarte Tatin. Glassy and perfect, it’s everything you could want in a TT recipe. Click here to make it!
Sticky Pear and Ginger Shortbread
Herb-scented shortbread with a sticky ginger and pear filling, chocolate optional. I HAD to make these after finding this cute pear-shaped cutter, but any shape will do!
Fluffy Apple Creme Fraiche Pudding / Classic Apple Clafoutis
This newsletter has a 2-for-1 recipe - by altering the method, you can get a fluffy sponge pudding, or you can keep it classic with a dense custardy clafoutis. You do you! Click here to make it.
What a generous post Nicola, I kept saying to myself, yom, yum, yum……
All of it, but pear clafoutis has ny heart forever