Strictly Suppers #5 – Apple Charleston (Apple Charlotte)

Well it’s the end of the Strictly Series of 2014 (until the Christmas Special and the return of the legend that is Sir Bruce) 😀 ! Here’s a quick little dessert you can enjoy the Strictly Christmas Special with (or if you’re sad like me you can watch the re-run of the final 😳 ). This is an Apple Charleston…. or more commonly known as Apple Charlotte, it’s an adaptation of James Martin’s recipe, which can be found here. This brings the end to my #StrictlySuppers Series, I know I haven’t been as pie hot as I should have been but let’s be honest it was ambitious… take it from me I won’t be doing Bush Tucker Trials Treats next year lol.

Caroline and Pasha performed two fantastic Charleston dances in this series, on week 9 (Around The World Week) they scored 39 dancing to “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”. They topped the 39 score by one point in the second dance of the final to the same song…. and they went on to be deserved winners of the series.

This is part of my Dinner Party Menu I hosted on the 13^th of December with my guests the good mates Greg and Ginge…. no they’re not a double act :D.

I enjoyed making this, normally I make Tiramisu or Cheese Cake but it was nice to make something different…. and probably nice for my guests too :D.

You’ll notice from the pictures above that there aren’t many ingredients and I’m not using a great deal of equipment, it really is fairly straightforward to cook. Firstly preheat your oven to 220⁰C/425⁰F/Gas 7, remember all the measurements, temperatures and times in this recipe are open for interpretation depending on your circumstances.

Butter the moulds, I bought some Dariole Moulds years ago in my “I must have lots of equipment phase” just after I started cooking. I used these because, well, I’d never used them before, equally you could use a ramekin or some other form of container. Put to one but you can use ramekins, obviously the amount of bread you use varies on the size of your moulds. Sprinkle sugar around the moulds being careful to tap off any excess, set aside for later.

Peel and chop the apples into bite sized pieces,

Once you’ve chopped them up place in a sauce pan with the butter and cinnamon, remember to use as much cinnamon or as little as you like. If I’m honest cinnamon is something that I never really liked, but in keeping with broccoli and cauliflower it’s growing on me.  You’ll notice in the image below there are two different types of pans, the first one was too small lol,so I had to swap pans ^^'. Gently cook the apple, cinnamon and butter in a pan until the apples soften, stirring occasionally. I added some water to the sauce pan as it was a little dry but that’s optional.

Once the apples are soft (like the bottom half of the picture above), take off the heat and allow to cool, set aside for later. Now here’s the Blue Peter “sticky back plastic” bit (well almost), butter the bread slices with the butter.

The above image looks a bit chaotic but honestly, cut the bread into strips to make the side of the moulds and then circles for top and bottom.  I found this the most potchy (fiddly) part of the process, cutting all the bread to the right size. Remember to cut circles for the top and bottom. Use the bread to line the bottom, and sides of your moulds.

Spoon the apple filling inside and sprinkle with the brown sugar. I didn’t have brown sugar so I used granulated, it worked ok but brown would be better for more of a crunch. Place in the oven and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden.

Take your vanilla pod, cut the end off and slice down the middle, then scrape all the seeds out. I had difficulty in doing this, I was lucky to have a friendly ginger person to assist me (hand model above) as my Sous Chef, if like me you have difficulty in getting them out then use vanilla extract (not vanilla essence). Whisk the vanilla and double cream together until it becomes thick.

When ready to serve place a plate on top of your mould and turn upside down, if the Charleston doesn’t come out straight away, loosen with a knife. Add a dollop of the cream to the side of the plate, serve warm or cold.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, I know my guests and I did, don’t forget to download our step-by-step recipe from the link here. We’re almost at the end of 2014 :D, I’m not going to get all soppy now don’t panic but this is the last of our #StrictlySuppers Series ;), don’t all cry at once. I promise new things for the new year including #MicroMonday which will be an incorporate our #ReadyMealMonday theme along with cooking in the Microwave.  Feel free to get in touch with ideas, questions etc, you can email enquiries@wheeliegoodmeals.co.uk or go to one of our Social Media pages.

Ta ta 😎