Spiced Apple and Walnut Loaf

 

Hi there!  How are you going?  So we are in the middle of COVID lockdown number 5 here in Melbourne, Australia... yeah, I know... number 5!!!  Like everyone else, we have been in the need of some comfort food lately so yesterday I created this delicious Spiced Apple and Walnut Loaf.

Ok, so we had some granny smith apples that were looking a bit tired, you know, the kind you would cook with but not necessarily want to bite into.  That was the inspirational starting point for this loaf.  I knew it would be heavy with fruit so I thought a loaf was probably the best shape to bake it in so you could slice it thick and smother with butter... yum!

Ok, to the nitty gritty stuff...

INGREDIENTS:

• about 3 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into smallish cubes
• 2 cups of wholemeal self-raising flower
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 cup of roughly chopped walnuts - plus extra for top
• 3/4 cup of butter milk (be warned you may need to add more if your batter still feels a little dry)
• teaspoon of cinnamon
• half teaspoon of nutmeg (with the spices, feel free to add more for your tasting)
• teaspoon of vanilla extra - the one with the vanilla seeds is my preference.
• tablespoon of raw sugar to top the loaf

HOW TO:

• This is so simple, I seriously just dumped everything into a bowl and mixed it up by hand.  Be careful to not over mix, just combine. You want a firmish batter that isn't too wet just together - what you would expect a muffin batter to look like.
• Usually I would mix the wet ingredients together first but I was kinda lazy for this one (disclaimer)
• Put batter into a loaf pan that measures about 23cm x 13cm - I always use a baking paper to line my pan so there's no issues getting the cake out!
• top with a scattering of walnuts and sprinkle with raw sugar for a streusel like topping
• bake in oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
• cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes, then on a rack until cool.
• slice and serve with butter.

And I'm back... and a truffle Mac n Cheese

Wowsers, I haven't added to this 'blog' for quite some time.  I do use it quite a bit for my own personal reference - particularly when I'm hunting for an old favourite recipe and need to remember if it's 1 cup or 1 and a half, you know, that kinda thing.

So much has happened since I last posted.  There's been this thing going on - COVID-19 which has meant that we've been inside our houses, cooking up a storm.  I know lots of people have been making sourdough bread (yeah, sorry - that wasn't me but my husband kept us carb loaded!) and I know that many of us have sought comfort in food.

As a 'hey I'm back to the blog' I thought I would share my all time favourite winter comfort meal - Miss Mardi's Mac n Cheese.  What makes this meal different from your usual mac n cheese?  The addition of leeks, vermouth, cauliflower and truffle butter... it's a bit lighter with the addition of the cauliflower but still hits the spot!

I always make this with the philosophy of "that looks about right and that's enough" so I don't really measure anything but here are my tips if you are keen to try at home.

• I break down a head of cauliflower into small florets
• Sweat down 1 brown onion and a sliced leek - finish off the cooking with a splash of good dry white vermouth - I use Martini brand extra dry
• Cook about half a bag of spiral macaroni (about 250 to 300 grams).  I always cook mine in salted water for about half the time it says on the pack - so about 5 minutes
• Make the white sauce - start of with a traditional roux (butter and flour, then add milk).  For this version I used truffle butter - totally decadent!  Also I use skim milk, I know, I know but it is what we have in the house and seriously I prefer the less creamy sauce, it kinda allows the flavours to do their thing
• Flavours for the mac sauce - I add a combo of sweet Hungarian paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, small amount of chili powder, mustard powder, white pepper and salt. This is all eyeballed but generally speaking, go light on the 'hot' flavours and heavy on the mustard.
• Mix sauce with leek, onion, cauliflower etc - stir through with this your grated cheese mixture.  I use about a cup and a half of a premixed grated cheese combo of cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella.
• Pop in a container or two and top with some extra cheddar, sprinkle some panko breadcrumbs on top and add small little squares of truffle butter on top (maybe about 5 - don't go crazy!!)
• Into the oven it goes at about 200 degrees celsius for approx 25 - 30 mins.  keep an eye on it for brownness.

Serve with some fresh parsley, hot sauce if that's your thing and additional truffle oil if you want that really earthiness.

Ps. that is me pointing at the specks of black truffle - delicious!!!