Apricot Buckle Food

APPLE-APRICOT-GINGER BUCKLE

Steps:

• To make the molasses mixture: In a tall 6-quart pan, bring the water and molasses to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up. Set aside to cool.
• In a small saucepan, bring the apricots and 1 cup of the apple cider to a boil. Remove from heat and let the apricots plump for about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• In a medium saucepan, blend the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup apple cider, the butter, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Cook over medium heat until clear and thickened. Stir in all but 1/4 cup of the plumped apricots. Stir in all but 3/4 cup of the apples. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish; set aside.
• To make the cake layer: Sift the flour, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, pepper, and salt together into a medium bowl; set aside.
• In a mixer bowl, using the mixer on high speed, cream the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, beating until creamy. On low speed, alternately blend in the dry ingredients and the molasses mixture. The batter will be thin. Stir in the reserved apricots and apples. Pour the cake batter over the fruit layer in the baking dish. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted just into the cake layer comes out clean. Let cool slightly and serve with whipped cream.

APRICOT & RASPBERRY BUCKLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 23cm square tin. For the crumble mix, put 2 tbsp flour and 25g of the butter with the demerara sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Rub between your fingers until it resembles damp breadcrumbs.
• Tip the remaining flour and butter and the caster sugar, eggs and vanilla in a bowl, then beat until well combined. Lightly fold in half the apricots and raspberries, then spread over the prepared tin.
• Scatter over the remaining fruit, then sprinkle with the crumble mix. Bake for 45-50 mins until light golden, then cool for 10 mins and remove from the tin. Cut into squares and serve warm with cream or ice cream for dessert, or cold for tea.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated, approximately 30 seconds. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add 1/3 of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until everything has combined. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• For the topping: In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients using a fork to combine. Continue until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden in color. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

APRICOT BUCKLE

Steps:

• 1. If you do not have buttermilk, you can use any milk or dairy free milk and just add a tablespoon of vinegar and let it sit.
• 2. Toast the pecans. I prefer to use a little butter and toast them in my cast iron skillet. Then chop them.
• 3. In a small saucepan, on med-low brown the butter. You can also prepare your fruit. I cut my apricots into approximately 1/8's with skin still on.
• 4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
• 5. Next make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour and butter (cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes). With a fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is crumbly. Stir in cinnamon and chopped pecans. Set aside.
• 6. For the cake: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl using the paddle, mix the brown butter and sugar until combined. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Then slowly add in the dry mixture. I did it in 1/3rd's at a time and let it mix fully each time. Once that's all mixed, add in your fruit and stir.
• 7. Spread the batter evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan with a spatula. Sprinkle the streusel over the top. Bake for about 55-60 min. In my oven it was ready at 50 minutes. It's ready when the buckle is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• 8. Cool on the rack for at least 20 minutes before serving. It can be served warm or at room temperature.

APRICOT GELEE

Steps:

• Heat the puree over medium-high heat in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Mix the pectin with half the sugar to "dilute" it. When the puree reaches 100 degrees F, add the pectin/sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the remaining sugar and the corn syrup and cook until the mixture reaches 225 degrees F, stirring slowly and constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides.
• Dissolve the ascorbic acid in 1 teaspoon of water. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the ascorbic acid. Pour into a baking dish lined with a silpat or parchment paper, and let set for at least overnight, until gelled and firm. Cut neatly into rectangles 1-inch by 1 1/2 inches. Spread a few tablespoons of sugar in a dish and roll each square in sugar, to coat. Wrap individually in cellophane or store in an airtight container. At room temperature, they keep up to 4 weeks.
• Notes about the recipe: When golden-brown cookies and dark-brown chocolates threaten to overwhelm my petit-four trays, I can always depend on the bright garnet sparkle of these candies, lively in color and flavor. In France, where I learned to make them, gelees come in a tremendous range of colors and flavors, from grass-green kiwi to deep purple blackberry.
• And if you're a fan of Chuckles candies, these will blow your mind. Pectin is a natural fruit gelatin that you can buy in powder form, especially during canning season (June-October). Ascorbic acid, a natural antioxidant available at health-food stores, keeps the color bright.

APRICOT BRISKET

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, brown the beef on all sides. If the brisket is too large, cut it in half first, and brown in two stages. Place the meat in a large Dutch oven with a lid.
• Add onions to the drippings in the skillet. Saute over medium heat until the onions are beginning to brown. Stir in garlic, and cook for 2 or 3 more minutes. Pour over the brisket in the Dutch oven.
• Empty one package of dry, instant onion soup mix over the browned onions and meat. Arrange all of the apricots on top of the soup mix. Pour enough water around outside of meat, not on top, to cover the sides of brisket. Cover.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check liquid; if dish is starting to look dry, add a bit more water around meat. Cover, and cook another hour. Remove lid, and stir apricots into gravy. Leave uncovered, and cook for another hour. Stir gravy again, and add more water if the gravy is too thick. Meat should be very tender; if necessary, bake for an additional 1/2 hour. Cut across grain to serve.