Ask our expert: My friend has given me lots of apples from her garden and my children have had enough of apple crumble and apple pie do you have any other suggestions for how I can use them up? Jennifer Lake, Sheffield

Beverley Glock answers: Autumn is a wonderful time for apples but you can end up with bagfuls of them and it’s easy to run out of recipe ideas. A quick-fix solution is to peel, core and quarter them, blanch them in boiling water for one minute and then freeze them. Apples keep well for up to three months in the freezer and you can defrost them when you wish to use them.

Apple tarts are tasty, kid-sized and easy to make using ready-made flaky or puff pastry. Peel, core and quarter the apples, then slice thinly. Roll out the pastry and cut into rough 10cm squares; lay the apples on the pastry leaving 1cm around the edge. Place on a greased baking tray, sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake on gas mark 8/220oc for 10 minutes.

Toffee apple muffins are delicious hot or cold, mix together 180g plain flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 40g melted butter, 30g demerara sugar, 1 egg, 150ml milk; add 2 chopped apples and 60g chopped fudge. Spoon into muffin cases and bake on gas mark 6/200oc for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and springy to touch.

Alternatively you can replace the fudge by making up a butterscotch sauce. Melt together 60g butter, 85g soft brown sugar and 75ml double cream, once melted make sure you stir it thoroughly to mix. This can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, swirl a teaspoon of sauce into the muffins once you’ve put the mix into the muffin cases and bake as above. If you have any left over it’s great to dunk apple slices into as well or pour over ice cream with some chunks of apples stirred in.

A bit more grown-up but attractively colourful, grated apple can be added to recipes such as scones, bread, flapjack, fruitcake or added to grated carrot and drizzled with a lemon juice as a side salad, it’s also lovely with cereal or porridge.

For a cheat’s version of toffee apples for bonfire night - core and quarter the apples, mix 2-3 tablespoons of soft brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or one star anise ground to a powder, place the sugar mixture into a non-stick frying pan, heat until just melted and throw in the apple quarters, stir around for 1-2 minutes until coated, remove from the heat and serve.
Don’t leave the apples in too long or the sugar will burn.

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For more information visit: www.splatcooking.net and www.beverleyglock.com

For the best local produce in your area visit the Times Real Food Directory

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