autumn

The kids are back at school and Autumn on the way. We are hurtling towards Halloween and harvest time. This time of year always gets me thinking about something delicious from my childhood days, Toffee Apples.

When I was young my Nan lived in a street on the edge of a housing estate. If you walked to the end of the street and through an entry way between two houses, you would find yourself in a field. Not just one field but lots of them, rolling off into the distance. Upon discovery, and many miles of walking there were all sorts of delights to be found, cows, sheep, an old church, a reservoir, bluebell woods, beech trees and a lot more. But today I’m talking about the apple trees that lined one of the fields.

Nan would send us scrumping over the fields. Now, I didn’t realise at the time what scrumping actually was, apart from going to collect apples. Of course the very act of scrumping means to steal the apples. I was a very conscientious child and would probably not have taken part if I’d know we were taking the apples illegally. I was going because I was doing what I was told and because it was fun! We went every year and never got so much as a telling off. Did the farmer even notice his apples missing? Did he care? If we went back later there would be loads of rotting apples lying beneath the trees and I used to wish we’d been back to take more while they were edible.

So, me and my cousins would go to the field and they boys would climb the trees and shake off the apples. The girls would pick up as many as they could, often using our skirts as carriers. Then we would hurry back to Nan who would be waiting with her big pot of toffee.

Nan would make the toffee in a huge iron pan, loads of sugar and a big tin of golden syrup. She would stir it constantly with a big wooden spoon. We would butter trays for the apples, she always had loads to hand. She also had loads of twigs that we’d brought back along with our apples. The washed apples would have a twig stuck inside then Nan would dip each one into the toffee and place them upside down on the trays. We would end up with loads of gorgeous sticky toffee apples, what a treat. We didn’t eat them all ourselves though, there was plenty to go around so we’d take them into the street and share them with the neighbours. 

I always looked forward to Nan’s toffee apples. They would be left with a buttery film from the trays which tasted delicious against the toffee.

Toffee Apple Recipes

With my mind full of these delicious (ill gotten) treats I have decided to look up some lovely toffee apple inspired recipes to share with you. 

I love this idea from Fussy Eater, she has noted that a whole toffee apple can be too much for little mouths, so she came up with Toffee Apple Slices. Apple slices, dipped in chocolate and drizzled with a toffee sauce, sounds delicious.

The lovely Eatz Amazing has several apple recipes but I particularly liked her Unicorn Chocolate Apples.

I’ve also done a toffee apple recipe myself, but of course, it had to be a Toffee Apple and Pecan Cake.

I love apple and cinnamon together and you can find this marriage in The Crazy Kitchen’s  Toffee Apple Cinnamon Bun Rings. 

Apple Crumble has always been a desert favourite of mine and A Mummy Too has made one with toffee too. Yes it’s a Toffee Apple Crumble delight.

Finally, if you are gluten free then the Free From Fairy has a delicious gluten free Spiced Toffee Apple Traybake that you will love.

Have you ever made toffee apples, or even chocolate coated apples? I really have the urge to make some apple inspired deserts now.