Spiced Crab Apples

A fabulous and surprising addition to the cheese board or pre dinner drinks, all year round.

Combine in a large saucepan:

350g sugar

350ml red or white vinegar

Cover and boil until the sugar is dissolved; about 5 minutes.

Add:

450g whole crab apples with stems. Firm, tart fruit is best.

Simmer briefly, until just tender, depending on fruit and ripeness. Do not let them get mushy. Remove from the syrup and place into jars.

Add to the syrup in the pan:

1 x 2.5cm piece cinnamon stick

6 allspice berries

4 whole cloves

Boil until thickened a little then pour over the fruit in the jars. Seal. Leave for a month before using.

Serve with cheese by removing each piece by the stem. The pickling syrup may be re-used for more pickling or poured over ice cream.

Pineapple and Ginger Upside Down Cake

Made for gardening, June 2018

Cake 250g butter, softened 1¼ cups rapadura sugar 5 eggs 1 cup milk kefir or thin yoghurt 2½ cups flour 2 tspns baking powder 1 Tbl ground ginger or 4 drops ginger essential oil 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 2 drops cinnamon essential oil ½ tsp ground cloves or 1 drop clove essential oil

Caramelised Pineapple 1 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced into ½ - 1cm thick slices 85g butter ½ cup rapadura sugar _________________________ Melt butter and sugar, add half the pineapple slices and cook 3 minutes, turning once. Remove and cook the other half. Remove. Reserve syrup. __________________________ Fresh Ginger Syrup Into the last of the reserved syrup grate a good knob of fresh ginger and heat gently.

• Make caramelised pineapple
• Pre heat oven to 170°C
• Grease a deep 23cm round cake pan; line base and sides to above the sides of the tin
• Set butter and sugar to beat until pale
• Make caramelised pineapple
• Drizzle cake tin with 2 Tbl reserved syrup and arrange caramelised pineapple slices, overlapping. Use them all. Doubling up is ok. Keep rest of the syrup for the sauce. Make more if necessary.
• To beaten butter and sugar, add 2 spoons of the plain flour then gradually add the eggs, beating well between additions. Add a little more flour if it looks like curdling.
• Beat in kefir / yoghurt
• Stir in the rest of the flour mixed with the baking powder
• Spread mixture over the pineapple
• Bake 1 hour and check. If necessary, top with foil
• Bake a further 10 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
• Meanwhile make suryp
• Stand cake 5 minutes then turn out onto a beautiful serving plate.
• Serve with fresh ginger syrup
• Enjoy!