I hear the sound of rain drops on the window while I am standing in the kitchen. They warn me that autumn has just arrived along with the cold. I feel it’s time to turn on the oven and use my apple crumble recipe!
Every season has its positive side. The autumn rain invites us to stay at home, to retreat and spend time with our loved ones. In my case, it means having quality time with my children and sharing my passion for cooking with them.
At this time of the year there are pleasurable contrasts such as staying indoors, sheltered from the rain and cold, or eating warm homemade apple crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top – there’s nothing like enjoying the moment while eating a delicious dessert!
The crumb is sprinkled on top of the apples, and it is what gives the crunch and flavour to the pie. The crumb layer is what tells you when the apple crumble is ready in the oven. When? When you see the crumb hard and golden brown.
The smell of hot apple coming straight from the oven invites me to enjoy the warmth of home surrounded by my loved ones. This fruity, homely aroma fills the kitchen, and I mentally see myself savouring every spoonful of this British dessert.
And what more could you ask for if this dessert with apple has ingredients with healthy properties! Apples provide vitamins, lots of fibre and regulate the intestine. In Spain we use Reineta for cooking, otherwise you can use Bramley cooking apples or Granny Smith apples.
This traditional British dessert can be eaten warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like.
How to Make Apple Crumble
1. Preheat the oven to 356°F ( 180°C ).
Crumble Topping
2. In a bowl, add 1¼ cup of all-purpose flour, ¾ cup of diced unsalted butter, ½ cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar. Rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Put it in the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes (or 5 minutes in the freezer).
Apple Filling
3. Peel 6 apples ( Reineta or Bramley ) and then cut them into 8 or 10 pieces. Tip: Don’t cut them into very small pieces because they will fall apart when cooked and you don’t want a compote-like texture.
4. In a saucepan, add the apple slices, 90 grams of pitted plums, ¼ cup of unsalted butter, 1 vanilla bean and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Sauté over medium heat until the apple begins to brown.
5. Pour 3 tablespoons of water and lower the heat covering the saucepan with a lid. Let it cook and stir occasionally until the apples are tender.
Assembly
6. Pour the apple filling into a baking dish and sprinkle the crumbs on top.
7. Bake for 45 minutes. You will see that it is ready when the apple layer is bubbling and the crumble topping is golden brown. Et voilà… You have just made a delicious apple crumble!
More Apple Pie Recipes
If you love this easy apple crumble recipe, you can also try these delicious traditional pies.
Puff Pastry Apple Tart: The combination of the crunchy puff pastry base and the cream is delicious!
Tarte Tatin: This is the most well-known inverted tart in French cuisine; it is baked upside down but eaten right side up!
Apple Crumble Recipe
In autumn there are pleasant contrasts such as eating warm apple crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
In a bowl mix the flour, butter and sugar with your hands until crumbs form. Put it in the fridge to chill for about 20 minutes (or 5 minutes in the freezer).
Apple Filling
Peel the apples and then cut them into 8 or 10 pieces.
In a saucepan, add the apple slices, pitted plums, butter, vanilla pod and sugar. Sauté over medium heat until the apples begin to brown.
Pour 3 tablespoons of water and lower the heat covering the saucepan with a lid. Let it cook and stir occasionally until the apples are tender.
Assembly
Pour the apple filling into a baking dish and sprinkle the crumbs on top.
Bake for 45 minutes. You will see that it is ready when the apple layer is bubbling and the crumble topping is golden brown. Et voilà… You just made a delicious apple crumble pie!
One of my specialties is this puff pastry apple tart with almond cream.
Everything that is special, or out of the ordinary, catches my attention. And this cake is. It is not like the others: it is light, juicy and … rectangular!
I wouldn’t be surprised if at the multinational Apple they ate this apple pie for its way of breaking with the status quo!
Today is the typical day that I feel like doing something different but easy. And that’s why I’ve decided to make this classic cake. It is a homemade dessert, easy and quick to make.
Although you spend most of the time preparing the cream, the rest of ingredients, such as puff pastry and apples, can be purchased.
Another characteristic feature of this delicious apple pie with puff pastry is the contrast of its texture on the palate, caused by the crunchy puff pastry base and the creaminess of the almond cream. A real explosion of sensations in the mouth.
How to Make Puff Pastry Apple Tart
Preheat the oven to 356°F ( 180°C ).
First step: preparing the puff pastry base
Place the puff pastry dough ( 230 grams – 10″x 13″ ) on the baking paper. Remember to sprinkle a little sugar on the paper before placing the dough.
Cut 3 puff pastry strips of 0,6″x 10″ each. These three strips will give thickness to the edges of the base.
Set the three strips aside and fold the remaining puff pastry dough as if it was a closed book. You will begin to see its rectangular shape.
If you want to give the sides more uniformity, trim them with a knife.
Dip a brush in beaten egg and paint the sides of the puff pastry base. Then, place the cut strips on those freshly painted edges of beaten egg. Two long strips (0,6″) for the longitudinal sides, and the two small strips (0,6″/2) for the two shorter sides of the base. This way, you are creating the edge of the puff pastry. The puff pastry base should resemble a rectangular-shaped frame.
Now that the puff pastry base is ready, the edges are thicker and the centre is flatter ; thus, you can pour the cream and then carefully place the apple slices.
Second step: making apple slices
Peel two yellow apples with a knife or a vegetable peeler.
Remove their apple core. You can use an apple corer.
Cut the apples into quarters and then start making thin slices. With these thin slices you will cover the cream of the tart.
Third step: making the almond cream
Cream 40 grams of sugar and 40 grams of slightly melted butter with a hand held mixer.
Add into the mixture 80 grams of almond powder and keep beating until well integrated. Tip: You can either buy the almond powder or crush the almonds with a hand blender.
Add in a tablespoon of flour, an egg and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Keep beating until well combined.
If you prefer to make pastry cream as filling, instead of this almond cream, here’s how.
Last step: assemble the puff pastry apple tart
Once the puff pastry base is ready, spread the almond cream over it until it covers the entire surface evenly, but leaving the edges free.
Place the apple slices on top of the filling.
Brush melted butter over the puff pastry and apple slices.
Sprinkle some sugar on top.
Bake the pie for 30 minutes.
Take the tart out of the oven and now spread it with apricot jam. You now have a delicious puff pastry apple tart with almond cream!
When is the best time to eat this apple pie?
The great thing about this dessert is that you can eat it whenever you want! You can eat the pie warm and fresh out of the oven ; therefore, it is perfect to enjoy the autumn evenings. Also, it can be eaten cold. But if you put it in the fridge the puff pastry loses.
The finishing touch for this apple pie is to place a scoop of vanilla ice cream by the side.
This is an easy recipe made of apple, puff pastry and a delicious almond cream filling. A characteristic feature of this apple tart with puff pastry is its creamy, light and crunchy texture.
Add in almond powder and keep beating until integrated.
Add in flour, egg and vanilla extract and keep beating until well combined.
Apple Slices
Peel two Golden Delicious apples with a knife or a vegetable peeler
Remove their core.
Cut the apples into quarters and then start making thin slices.
Puff Pastry Base
Sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar on the baking paper before placing the puff pastry dough ( 230 grams – 10″x 13″ ) on it.
Cut 3 puff pastry strips of 0,6″x 10″ each each and fold the remaining puff pastry dough as if it was a closed book.
Dip a brush in beaten egg and paint the sides of the puff pastry base. Place the strips creating the edge of the puff pastry.
Assembly
Spread the almond cream over it until it covers the entire surface evenly, but leaving the edges free.
Place the apple slices on top of the filling.
Brush melted butter over the puff pastry and apple slices.
Sprinkle some sugar on top.
Bake the pie for 30 minutes.
Take the tart out of the oven and now spread it with apricot jam. Et voilá! You now have for dessert a delicious puff pastry apple tart with almond cream!
This pavlova recipe is the one we usually make for special family occasions.
When we all get together, my mother and my aunt Carmela, who are great cooks, always bring this berry pavlova for dessert.
What is Pavlova ?
Pavlova is a light and delicious dessert that was made in honor of the Russian ballerina Anna Pávlova on her trips to Australia and New Zealand.
This pavlova dessert is a delicate and elegant gluten-free cake thatconsists of a delicate meringue nest, crispy on the outside and soft marshmallow on the inside, topped with sweetened whipped cream and berries.
Now that Christmas is approaching, this elegant berry pavlova is the perfect dessert to surprise your friends and family at this time of the year.
Pavlova Cake vs. Mini Pavlovas
Lately I have been making mini pavlovas instead of creating the classic pavlova cake. I believe that if guests taste their own pavlova, they will be able to appreciate the magic of this sweet treat more fully.
The size of the meringue nest is the only distinction between the cake and the mini pavlovas. As shown in the video below, start making a pavlova nest by dumping a drop of meringue onto the parchment paper. Then, begin shaping the nest by creating a well in the center with the concave side of a soup spoon.
How to Make Berry Pavlova
This classic pavlova recipe is very easy to make as you only have to follow a few simple steps. In the end, you just need to assemble meringue, cream and berries. If you like, you can add other fresh fruit suited to your taste.
Making the nests can be the hardest part; however, I have made a video so you can follow along with me making the meringue nests. Eventually you will find them very easy to make!
Pavlova Recipe: Step by Step
Meringue Base
1. Preheat the oven to 248°F ( 120°C ).
2. Separate 5 egg whites from 5 egg yolks. Preferably eggs are at room temperature.
3. In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff with an electric handheld / stand mixer on medium speed. When you hit soft peaks form, add in 2½ cups of icing sugar slowly while whipping until it gets stiff peaks. Tip: You hit stiff peak stage when you have glossy peaks.
4. Add in 3 teaspoons of cornstarch through a strainer. Keep whipping with the stand / hand mixer on medium speed. Then, add in one teaspoon of vinegar and keep whipping.
5. Once the meringue is ready, it’s time to create 6/8 mini pavlova nests or an 8-inch diameter pavlova cake nest. Using the concave side of a soup spoon, make the sides of the meringue nest a little higher than the center, creating a volcano shape with a hole in the center that will then be filled with sweetened whipped cream and berries.
While to make a pavlova cake you need the full amount of meringue to make a nest, to make mini pavlovas you use a small amount of meringue for each nest.
6. Bake for 1 hour in case you are making the mini pavlovas ; otherwise, bake for 1 hour and a quarter if you are making the cake. Note: As it bakes, the meringue will rise and crack, becoming crisp on the outside and soft inside like a marshmallow.
Whipped Cream
7. In a separate bowl, pour 2 cups of whipping cream and whip with the handheld / stand mixer on medium speed. Gradually, add in ¾ cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar. Keep whipping for about ten minutes until stiff peaks form. Tip: Do not whip too fast or for too long, otherwise the cream will achieve a buttery texture.
Pavlova Assembly
8. Pour and spread the sweetened whipped cream in the center of meringue nests; then top each one with berries, crushed pistachios and raspberry coulis. Et voilà! You have just made a delicious classic berry pavlova!
I recommend serving this delicacy right after making it, so that it keeps its consistency. Other than berries, you can also use fresh fruits like strawberries or mango to garnish this dessert.
Raspberry Sauce
If you don´t have time to make a raspberry coulis, another way to make raspberry sauce is to add a spoonful of raspberry jam in a bowl and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then pour in a teaspoon of water and stir until it looks like a sauce. If you want to remove the seeds of the jam from the sauce, you can strain through a sieve.
From one dessert comes another dessert! After making the meringue, I had five egg yolks left over, so I asked myself what should I do with these egg yolks? So I decided to make thiscrema catalana!
If you liked this easy pavlova recipe, I invite you to make this no bake cheesecake.
Classic Berry Pavlova Recipe
This elegant berry pavlova is the perfect dessert to surprise your friends and family at Christmas or any other special celebration.
In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff with an electric handheld / stand mixer. When you hit soft peaks form, add in icing sugar slowly while whipping until it gets stiff peaks.
Add in cornstarch through a strainer. Keep whipping with the handheld / stand mixer on medium. Now add in vinegar while whipping.
Once the meringue is ready, it is time to create 6/8 mini pavlovas nests or a 8 inch diameter cake nest.
Bake for 1 hour in case you are making the mini pavlovas. Bake for 1 hour and a quarter if you are making the cake.
Cream
In a separate bowl, pour whipping cream and whip with the handheld / stand mixer on medium speed. Gradually, add in both granulated sugar and vanilla sugar. Keep whipping for about ten minutes until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
Pour and spread the sweetened whipped cream in the center of meringue nests; then top it with berries, crushed pistachios and raspberry coulis. Et voilà! You have just made a delicious classic berry pavlova!
This Philadelphia no bake cheesecake recipe is definitely one of my favorites.
“This is the best no bake cheesecake you’ll ever taste,” he told me over and over again.
2008 was a special year for Victor; he has two fond memories from that year.
The first one was watching Spain beat Italy on penalties in the Euro semi-finals. The second memory was eating the best no bake cheesecake he has ever tasted.
That summer, Victor took a trip to South Africa with his family. They wanted to visit Johannesburg and the surrounding area. In one of their stops, they went to visit a farm called “Acacia“. In that farm, he tells me, there were animals of all kinds: giraffes, ostriches, impalas…. Authentic African fauna.
Animals and light of dawn was what he liked most about that place far from home.
But at dinner time everything changed.
They were sitting at the table, when suddenly, exquisite dishes began to arrive. No fashionable restaurant in Madrid or New York would have envied the level of cuisine achieved that night.
And just when it seemed like nothing could top that dinner. She appeared. Shy and elegant. Creamy and smooth.
That cheesecake was the grand finale to that gastronomic feast. It became the queen of the party.
Cheesecake with a Biscuit Base
Two days after our conversation, I made the decision to try this no-bake cheesecake recipe. The original recipe was made of local cream cheese, but we use an equal which is Philadelphia cream cheese. The cake still comes out just as delicious!
This is a very special homemade recipe, as Victor’s mother discovered it in a faraway and wonderful place that is more than 10,000 kilometers away from her home.
As soon as I made it, I tasted it. It blew my mind.
I gave it to my sister Lucia to try it so I wasn’t being biased. She confirmed my suspicions: it’s one of the best cheesecakes we’ve ever eaten in our lives.
How to Make Philadelphia No Bake Cheesecake
This delicious no bake cheesecake is made up of a filling that’s made with Philadelphia cream cheese, whipped cream and condensed milk, and a biscuit base.
Filling
Squeeze 100 ml of lemon juice.
Pour 370 grams of condensed milk into a bowl and add in the squeezed juice. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, add 500 grams of Philadelphia cream and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It is important that before you beat cream cheese it is at room temperature so that it mixes well. Whisk all together with a hand held mixer. Set aside.
In another bowl, whip 300 grams of heavy whipping cream with the hand held mixer until stiff.
Add the condensed milk mixture into the Philadelphia cheese mixture, then beat on low speed until combined.
Add the whipped cream into the mixture little by little and, with a spatula, combine with slow folding movements, a bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom motion, until well integrated.
Biscuit Base
For the biscuit base, I use oatmeal digestive biscuits.
Crush 14 digestive biscuits previously mixed with 2 teaspoons of softened butter. You can use a either hand blender or a food processor. Other method is to place the biscuits into a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
Line 10 inch cake pan with parchment paper, so later it will be easier to unmold the cake.
Cheesecake Assembly
Place the crushed biscuit in the cake pan and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon.
Pour the mixture and spread it evenly with the spatula.
Put the assembled cake in the refrigerator for 3 hours to give it consistency. Take it out of the refrigerator 1/2 hour before serving, so you will be delighted by its incredible creaminess. Et voilà! You have just made a delicious Philadelphia classic cheesecake!
You can eat it with a raspberry sauce on top.
If you liked this Philadelphia cheesecake recipe, I also invite you to try our pavlova recipe.
Pour the condensed milk and the lemon juice into a bowl. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, add Philadelphia cream and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk all together with a hand held mixer. Set aside.
In another bowl, whip heavy whipping cream with the hand held mixer until stiff.
Add the condensed milk mixture into the Philadelphia cheese mixture, then beat on low speed until combined.
Add in the whipped cream little by little and mix with a spatula with folding movements until well integrated.
Biscuit Base
Crush 14 digestive biscuits previously mixed with 2 teaspoons of softened butter.
Line 10 inch cake pan with parchment paper, so later the cake won´t stick to the pan.
Assembly
Place the crushed biscuit in the cake pan and press it down firmly with the back of a spoon.
Pour the mixture and spread it evenly with the spatula.
Put the assembled cake in the refrigerator for 3 hours to give it consistency. Take it out of the refrigerator 1/2 hour before serving, so you will be delighted by its incredible creaminess. Et voilà! This delicious cheesecake is ready to conquer your palates!
Although this recipe comes from South Africa, the origin of cheesecake goes back thousands of years to Ancient Greece. The first confirmed history of cheesecake comes from the island of Samos, in 2000 B.C. Later, the athletes of the first Olympic Games, in 776 B.C., found in this cheesecake the source of energy needed to compete.
The first original recipe dates back to 230 AD and is attributed to the writer Athenaeus. It is recorded as the oldest cheesecake recipe. The elaboration consisted, first, in crushing the cheese until it was smooth and creamy, then mixing the crushed cheese in a brass pan with honey and wheat flour, and, finally, it was heated until it became a dough. Then was set aside to cool and then served.
This cheesecake original recipe reached all the countries of Europe as the Roman Empire expanded throughout the continent. This gave rise to a great variety of cheesecake recipes, each one containing each region´s native ingredients.
And from Europe we took the cheesecake recipe to the United States where cream cheese became the signature American ingredient. In 1872, a New York dairy farmer, William Lawrence, tried to make a product similar to the French Neufchatel cheese. However, he accidentally discovered a process to create cream cheese. In 1880, this cream cheese began to be marketed under the name Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
One of my favourite cakesin our recipe book is this birthday cake with dulce de leche.
We all like to taste over and over again those flavors that remind us of our childhood.
When you come across with a dessert that you liked so much in your childhood, you start to eat it with calmness and self-control, but you see that for some strange reason you lose that apparent control and you can’t stop eating … until you get sick of it! Then you rest for a while … you even think you’ll never try it again … but after a while you get back on track. This has happened to me sooooo many times!
And it’s the same for Victor with dulce de leche. He is capable of eating a whole pot in one day; furthermore, he eats it in every possible way: crepes with dulce de leche, dulce de leche cake, dulce de leche ice cream and so on…
When eating dulce de leche, the moment he likes most is when dulce de leche curls up on his spoon.
Birthday Cake with Dulce de Leche
Can you imagine a giant alfajor? Well, that’s the image Victor always pictures this birthday cake with.When you taste the texture of it´s different layers at the same time, sponge cake and dulce de leche, it is impossible to leave a crumb on the plate!
It’s the perfect cake for birthdays!
Happy birth… mmmmmm. This cake will challenge all guests at your birthday party when it’s their turn to sing or congratulate without having their mouth full of cake. Well… maybe I exaggerate a bit… but I’m sure it won´t let you down. Furthermore, as you make this cake for more birthday parties or other events, you can customize the presentation of the cake to your liking.
How To Make Birthday Cake with Dulce de Leche
1. Preheat the oven to 356°F ( 180°C ).
Sponge Cake
2. Separate 4 egg yolks from 4 egg whites in two different bowls. Set aside the egg whites. Preferably eggs must be at room temperature.
3. Add 200 grams of sugar into the yolks, and beat with a hand held mixer until the yolks whiten and the sugar has dissolved.
4. Gradually add the sunflower oil into the yolks while whisking with handheld on medium speed, until the mixture absorbs the oil.
5. With two oranges, grate the peel of one orange and set aside it´s zest; then, squeeze the two oranges to make juice, and add it little by little into the yolk mixture with the handheld on medium speed until combined.
When wet ingredients are well mixed, it´s time to add dry ingredients.
6. In a third bowl, mix 250 grams of flour, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder. Add a third of this mixture to the strainer, sift over the yolk mixture by gently tapping the sieve. At the same time, keep beating with the hand mixer on medium speed. Repeat this process three times until no lumps are formed.
7. Add the grated orange zest into the batter, and whisk on medium speed.
8. It’s time for the egg whites! Wash well the wire beaters to avoid mix any trace of egg yolk with egg white. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff peaks, and then add into the batter with a spatula making folding movements from bottom to top.
9. Pour the batter into a 8 inch cake pan. The pan has previously been buttered and floured so that the batter does not stick. Another option is to line the cake pan with parchment paper.
10. Bake for 45 minutes. I recommend you not to open the oven door during this time. When the time is up insert a cake tester (or a knife) into the center of the sponge cake to check whether it is done. If the tester comes out clean it is ready. If it comes out stained or wet, leave it for 5-10 minutes more.
Assembly
11. When the cake is ready, unmold it and let it cool on a wire rack. When it has completely cooled, cut it into three parts and fill each layer with dulce de leche. Be generous with the dulce de leche, each layer will give the cake its juiciness.
12. Now it’s time to cover the cake. Whip together 500 ml of heavy whipping cream and 150 grams of sugar with the hand held mixer until soft peaks. Then, cover the cake with the whipped cream… Et voilà! You have made a delicious birthday cake with dulce de leche.
Separate 4 egg yolks from 4 egg whites in two different bowls. Set aside the egg whites.
Gradually add the sunflower oil into the yolks while whisking with handheld on medium speed, until the mixture absorbs the oil.
Now gradually add the sunflower oil to the yolks while whisking with hand mixer at medium speed.
With two oranges, grate the peel of one orange and set aside it´s zest; then, squeeze the two oranges to make juice, and add it little by little into the yolk mixture with the handheld on medium speed until combined.
In a third bowl, mix flour, salt and powder. Add a third of this mixture to the strainer, sift over the yolk while beating with the handheld on medium speed. Repeat this process up to three times.
Now add the grated orange zest to the batter, and whisk on medium speed.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Then, add into the batter with a spatula making folding movements from bottom to top.
Pour the batter into a 8 inch cake pan. The pan has previously been buttered and floured so that the batter does not stick. Another option is to line the cake pan with parchment paper.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Assembly
When the cake is ready, unmold it and let it cool on a wire rack. When it has completely cooled, cut it into three parts and fill each layer with dulce de leche.
Whip together cream and sugar with the hand held mixer until soft peaks. Then, cover the cake with the whipped cream… Et voilà! You have a delicious birthday cake with dulce de leche!
