Old-fashioned
Baked Apples.

Time. 20min prep; 2-3hrs cooking. Serves. 4 as a main dish; 6 as a side dish. Why. “It’s such a basic thing. But, simple can really be best when it comes to food. I love the apple. It’s always in the shops and never disappoints when cooked up savoury or for sweets. I also love these baked apples for breakfast with granola.”

12 large mixed organic apples, I use golden delicious, granny smith and pink lady
125g unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
A little Celtic sea salt
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup orange peel
1/2 cup glace ginger
1 cup walnuts, crumbled
1 cup mixed dried cranberries and barberries*

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Scoop out the core from each apple, leaving it whole, and place in large baking dish (ensuring they aren’t packed too tight). In the resulting core cavities, pop in a blob of butter, sugar and salt. Mix the remaining ingredients together and fill the apple cavities. Add another dob of butter to the tops and sprinkle over some more sugar, then bake for 2-3hrs, until it’s caramelised. Best to enjoy straight from the oven or I enjoy heating up for breakfast the next day.

* I buy my dried cranberries and barberries from Kakulas Sister, Fremantle.

Apple Calvados Crepe Cake.

Time. Overnight refrigeration for different sections required. Assembly: 2hrs prep; 3 days to set. Serves. 12. Why. “I dare you to try it… while a monster to make, it’s so satisfying once you take the first bite!”

For the crepe layers
Makes 24 crepes. Refrigerate overnight.

12 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups milk
1/2 tbsp butter, melted
6 tbsp raw sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups plain flour, sifted
Extra butter, for pan

For the Calvados Apple Puree
12hrs cooking. Refrigerate overnight.

125g unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 green apples, don’t peel
1/2 cup Victor Gontier Calvados 2003 Domfrontais*

For the Almond + Hazlenut Calvados Creme
Refrigerate overnight. 

500g unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup local honey
2 cups almond meal*
2 cups hazelnut meal*
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Victor Gontier Calvados 2003 Domfrontais*

* For my almond meal and hazelnut meal, I lightly roasted the nuts, then ground them to a coarse consistency for extra texture.

For the Whipped Vanilla Cream
Refrigerate overnight. 

600ml whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 vanilla bean, scraped

To assemble
3 long wooden skewers
Gooseberries*
Mulberries*
Fresh flowers*

*Gooseberries and mulberries available from Peaches, Fremantle.

For the Crepe layer, in a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt until smooth. Gradually add flour while whisking, then let sit for at least an hour (or refrigerate overnight). Heat a frying/crepe/saute pan (I use a 25cm pan) and, once hot, add a small amount of butter. When melted, pour in about half a cup of the mixture, tilting pan until evenly coated. Brown one side, then flip over using a spatula. When both sides are nicely brown, remove from pan and place on a plate. Repeat the process until all crepe mix is used and you have a fabulous stack of 24 crepes on your plate. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the Calvados Apple Puree, melt butter and sugar in a large cast-iron pot (or a slow cooker) until caramelised. Add 12 whole apples (with skin intact), cover and cook on lowest temperature possible for about 12 hrs. When mixture is brown and reduced to half the original volume, remove from heat and cool. Once cooled, pour into a sieve over a big bowl and use a spatula to remove seeds and skin from the puree. Once smooth, mix in Victor Gontier Calvados, cover and refrigerate overnight.
* I always use Victor Gontier Calvados 2003 Domfrontais because I think it’s particularly delicious.

For the Almond + Hazlenut Calvados Creme, cream butter, sugar and honey in an electric mixer. Using a spoon, gradually stir through nut meals and salt. Stir through calvados last (at this point I dip in my finger for a taste test… or two). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For the Whipped Vanilla Cream, place all ingredients into an electric mixer and mix on a high setting until whipped. Place in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

To Assemble
Allow 2hrs construction + 2 days to set in fridge.

Firstly, all ingredients must be cool! Using two pieces of extra-thick aluminium foil, make a cross over a 40cm serving plate. Make sure there is plenty of foil on each of the four sides as these will be used to hold cake together while setting.

Place first crepe in centre of plate (in centre of foil cross). Next place Almond + Hazlenut Calvados Creme in the centre of the crepe and smooth out with a spatula to about 1cm thick. Don’t worry about going right out to the edges of the crepe as the weight of the cake pushes the filling to the sides. Place second crepe on top of first and follow the same process, but use the Calvados Apple Puree. Alternate this process until all 24 crepes have been stacked up with filling between each (but not on top).

At this stage, pull up the four sides of the foil to firmly wrap the cake and secure with three skewers (evenly space them across the top, secured into the cake to hold it firmly upright). Refrigerate for two days.

After two days, take cake from fridge, unwrap, but leave the skewers firmly in place. Using a spatula, cover the cake with vanilla cream and sprinkle with fresh flowers. Serve.

* I purchase my edible fresh flowers from Peaches, Fremantle, and The Boatshed, Cottesloe. Let me know if you’ve seen them elsewhere.
** If your cake begins to slip during construction, pop the cake and all the ingredients in fridge to cool down for a while. Then pull it out and continue. This will help its stability.