Apple and Raisin Flapjacks

Flapjacks are worth making just so you can eat the mixture, especially if you pack them full with chocolate, fruit...or anything for that matter.

A fuss-free flapjack recipe is the best as you can add whatever you want to them (well that's what I tend to do anyway). To begin, melt the butter in a pan and then add in the golden syrup and sugar. Depending on how goeey you like your flapjacks to be, add in more golden syrup at this point.

When the sugar has melted (once it no longer feels grainy) pour it over the dry ingredients. This would normally be just the oats but as you can see I added a chopped apple and a (generous) handful of raisins.

Then stir to make sure all the ingredients are combined.

Then they're ready to go in the oven, flapjacks always to tend to take longer than you think but if like me you like them nice and gooey, take them out before the recommended time of 40 minutes as they firm up as they cool down.

Hummingbird Bakery Apple Streusel Cake

Apple streusel cake is a three layer cake consisting of Victoria sponge, layered apples and a crumble topping. What's not to like?

The first step is to make the 'streusel' which is the crumble topping. Rub the sifted (70g) plain flour, (1 1/2 tsp) cinnamon (I prefer to use mixed spice instead) and (40g) cubed butter together to form breadcrumbs before adding in the (70g) light brown sugar. 

To make the sponge; cream the (60g) butter and (100g) caster sugar together until pale and fluffy, then add the egg and (1/2 tsp) vanilla essence, followed by the (140g) plain flour, (1 tsp) baking powder, (1/8 tsp) salt and (80ml) milk - this last part is added in two halves.

 Then you can move onto the apples by peeling, coring and slicing three granny smiths into quarters and then into 3/4 slices, depending on the size of the apples.

Then comes the fun bit, layer the cake by evenly spreading the cake mixture on the bottom, layering it with apple slices and then sprinkling on the crumble topping.

Place it in the oven at 170c for between 35-45 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy on the top. To check it is baked the whole way through, insert a skewer (or end of a teaspoon) and if it comes out 'clean' (no trace of raw cake mixture), it's done.

Then all that is left to do, is to get the cream out of the fridge and put kettle on.

Spiced Apple Pie Samosas

I know what you're thinking, apple samosas? I thought the same thing before trying them out.

The BBC GoodFood recipe I used only has six simple ingredients; cooking apples, caster sugar, mixed spice, sultanas, filo pastry and margarine/butter. I used up left over eating apples but I would reckon you use cooking apples as the recipe suggests, as eating apples tend to be a lot softer and sweeter to begin with.

Once you've peeled, chopped and stewed the apples (with the mixed spice and sultanas), add a tablespoon (roughly) to each strip of filo pastry before folding them into triangles.

To make sure they're extra delicious and crunchy, lightly coat the top of the samosas with the melted margarine/butter and sprinkle with sugar before placing them in the oven.

Delicious served with a big scoop (or two) of vanilla ice-cream.