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Tag Archives: apple

Caramel Apple Butter

08 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook, Read

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

apple, apple butter, canning, caramel, cinnamon, clove, cook, gift, Mother's Day, nutmeg, Pink Lady, preserve, read, recipe, spice

applebuttermain

Making apple butter has become a fun Mother’s Day tradition for me, a yummy homemade gift to share not only with Mom, but also with several close friends who consistently bless me in my own beautiful, complicated parenting journey. This year I decided to spice things up a little bit by making a variation of one of my all-time favorite flavors, caramel apple.

The inspiration for this recipe came from one in Paul Virant’s fantastic cookbook, The Preservation Kitchen. His Caramel Apple Jam is a savory shredded apple preserve, flavored with thyme and black pepper, but it begins the same way: by making a deep amber, intensely apple caramel. There we parted ways, as I added chopped apples, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, then reduced and blended the mixture into tangy, sweet fruit butter.

Caramel Apple Butter contains the same amount of sugar and apple juice as traditional apple butter, but the caramelization process brings out the warmth of both. The results are thick and velvety, equally at home slathered on a ginger scone or a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich. I love apple butter on pancakes or cheddar biscuits, and it makes a beautiful sauce for roasted pork loin when added to the pan juices with a bit of grainy mustard.

A note: this cooking process is not one that lends itself to multi-tasking; although not complex, it requires some time and attention. Because making caramel involves hot sugar, this also isn’t a good time to invite little ones into the kitchen. Canning preserves is an ideal late Sunday afternoon activity, just right for when the house is quiet, everyone is absorbed in their own tasks, and the kitchen is otherwise empty. I love this hour of productive peace, with nothing more urgent to do than stir caramel and enjoy the fragrance of warm apples. Because I am a kitchen romantic, I also like to think that a little of my calm and focus seeps into what I am cooking, and what mom couldn’t use more of those?

applebutter02

Caramel Apple Butter
makes 8 calm and focused half-pint jars

12 sweet-tart apples, preferably Pink Lady, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/2″ chunks (can substitute Cripp’s Pink, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, or Fuji apples)
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. water
4 c. whole-pressed, unsweetened apple juice or cider (I like Simply Apple or Mott’s Natural)
1 tsp. kosher or coarse sea salt or 1/2 tsp. fine salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

8 half-pint jars with metal bands and rubber-sealed lids (like these)
canning supplies as specified in recipe, including pan, tongs, and funnel

Use a large, deep, wide-bottomed pan, preferably with rounded sides. Stir together sugar and water until sugar resembles wet sand, then cook over medium-high heat until sugar begins to melt, about 6-8 minutes. Do not stir or swirl pan during this stage, just watch. (Movement will cause the sugar to crystallize further and make big lumps. Trust me on this one: don’t leave the kitchen because it’s important you start stirring as soon as it begins to melt, but be your best, most patient self until then and don’t touch! :)

The sugar will turn crispy and crackly, then finally begin to ooze into a pale brown syrup at the edges. Once this happens, begin stirring with a wooden spoon, and continue to stir as the sugar melts completely. Once all the granules are dissolved, allow sugar to caramelize another 5-7 minutes, until it’s deep, dark amber in color and smells rich and nutty. Do not taste or touch it, as hot sugar burns are very painful.

Once the sugar is caramelized, remove it from the heat and stand back a bit as you pour in the apple juice. Once your caramel geyser quits bubbling and frothing enough to safely approach, return it to the heat and stir. The caramel will have crystallized into a solid lump in the bottom of the pan, but patient stirring will help it dissolve again. Continue stirring constantly as the apple juice caramel simmers and reduces by half, about fifteen minutes. Add the salt and ground spices and stir another minute or two to thoroughly combine.

Once the spiced apple caramel has thickened, it’s time to add the fruit. (Quick tip: For practicality’s sake, I often peel, core, and chop the apples the night before, toss them with the juice of a lemon, and then refrigerate until ready to use.) Stir in the apples and cover until it comes to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes, until apples are very tender and liquid has further reduced.

While apples are cooking, use a water-bath canning pan to immerse eight half-pint jars in water and heat for ten minutes. (I use a 21 1/2-quart pan and rack, available for less than $20. I also use a set of silicone-lined jar tongs and a wide-mouth funnel, available individually or as part of a set.) This heats the jars enough that the hot apple butter won’t crack the glass.

When the apples are finished cooking/reducing, turn off the heat, and use an immersion blender on its highest setting to process the preserves until completely smooth. (As I explain in these recipe notes, I love my inexpensive immersion blender. If you don’t have one, you can process your apple butter in batches in a traditional blender.)

Once blended smooth, use a funnel to fill heated, dried jars, leaving 1/2″ of space at the top of each jar. Screw on the bands and lids, then process your jars by immersing in boiling water bath for ten minutes. Remove the sealed, processed jars to allow them to cool. When the lids make a popping sound, you know they’re sealed tight. Unopened jars of apple butter can be stored at room temperature for up to six months, but they should be refrigerated after opening. If a jar doesn’t seal after processing and cooling, the apple butter is fine, but it should only be kept in the refrigerator.

applebutter01

P.S. — If you want a little more apple butter inspiration, check out my recipe for Apple Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting. Yum! :)

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Apple Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

06 Sunday Nov 2011

Posted by createdforjoy in Cook

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

apple, autumn, caramel, cook, cupcake, dessert

cupcakesm02 cupcakesm01 cupcakesm03
cupcakemain

These sweet, spicy treats are a wonderful way to celebrate autumn. I originally conceived this recipe for a friend’s Rosh Hashanah festivities; the cupcakes are a play on the traditional apple slices and honey served to mark the Jewish New Year. I kept fiddling with it until it became the final recipe below, just right for my grandmother’s November birthday. The cake recipe is my own, the frosting an adaptation of one found on the King Arthur Flour web site. It is sugary, warm, and beautifully flecked with vanilla bean.

This recipe may call for a few ingredients you don’t have in your pantry. Please don’t let that stop you — I’ve provided substitutions for each if you don’t have or can’t find the originals, and the recipe notes explain more. If you feel adventurous, I’d encourage you to try one or two that are new to you, though. Some of my favorite current cooking staples are items I’d never even seen a few years ago. If you never try, you’ll never know… Help me be more adventurous too: I’d love to hear about your favorite oddball ingredient or food discovery. :)

Apple Butter Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
makes 18 cupcakes

For cake:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. unsalted butter (one stick), softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. apple butter (preferably juice-sweetened, no sugar added)
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract
3/4 c. creme fraiche or all-natural sour cream (see Recipe Notes below)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with paper or silicon liners. (Quick tip: spray insides of paper liners with non-stick spray for easier cake removal later.) In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices, then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg, apple butter, and vanilla, then mix well; add creme fraiche and mix again. Finally, add flour mixture and beat on lower speed, just until evenly combined. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (I use a large ice-cream scoop) and bake 20-25 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on wire rack while making frosting.

For frosting:
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. turbinado sugar, also called demerara or raw sugar (or substitute brown sugar, see Recipe Notes below)
2 Tbsp. golden syrup or light corn syrup
3 Tbsp. milk
2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or real vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans, optional

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, then stir in salt, turbinado sugar, and golden syrup. Cook and stir several minutes until sugar melts. Add the milk and turn up heat until mixture comes to a foamy, rolling boil for about 30 seconds. Pour caramel into mixing bowl and allow to cool for ten minutes. Stir in sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix well until completely smooth. If frosting is too thin to spread, add another tablespoon or two of powdered sugar; it will thicken more as it cools. Spread generously on cupcakes while frosting is still warm, then top with chopped pecans if desired. There will be a little frosting left over to do with as you see fit. (I personally saw fit to eat it with a spoon. ;)

Recipe Notes + Tips:
If you’ve never tried creme fraiche, you’re missing out on a delicious, versatile ingredient. It is similar to sour cream, but sweeter and more buttery, with a thinner consistency. It plays well with both sweet and savory dishes, and I use it in everything from cupcakes, to omelets, to chicken enchiladas. If your grocery store doesn’t carry it, ask them to start — creme fraiche costs about the same as sour cream, but you get a much bigger bang for the buck. My favorite is from Vermont Creamery. If you can’t find creme fraiche, feel free to substitute all-natural sour cream or whole-fat plain Greek yogurt.

The Recipe Notes in my post for Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Sauce wax poetic about golden syrup. The other sweetener about which I feel passionately is turbinado sugar, also known as demerara or raw sugar. My initial decision to use turbinado sugar was born of necessity, but it didn’t take me long to fall in love.

Turbinado sugar is natural brown sugar. What the food industry calls “brown sugar” is actually a bizarre reconstruction of turbinado; it is made from further processed, bleached, granulated sugar with sulphured molasses added back to it in order to mimic raw sugar. In the process, brown sugar loses the caramelized, smoky warmth of turbinado sugar and gains sulfites, one of the most common sources of food allergies. Brown sugar is a classic example of food production practices instituted to best serve profit margins, rather than flavor or good health.

Turbinado sugar can easily be substituted for light brown sugar in any recipe without adjusting measurements. It is less moist and much coarser than brown sugar, so it stores better as a result. Turbinado does not melt as quickly as brown sugar because of its texture, so recipes like the frosting above require an extra minute or two cook-time for it to dissolve completely. I can detect a miniscule-but-pleasing sugary crunch in cookies made using turbinado instead of brown sugar, but it dissolves completely in cakes and muffins. If you don’t like that difference, look for raw sugar labelled “demerara,” as it is usually smaller-grained. If a recipe calls for dark brown sugar, simply add an extra tablespoon of unsulphured molasses per cup of raw sugar used.

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