Apple caramel pudding

{this recipe originally appeared in the October issue of VRAI magazine}

I love falling for fall.

At first, I felt a little resentment about the end of summer but then… it’s apple season, and Halloween party season, and crispy, colorful foliage season, and I am excited all over again.

To celebrate fall, here is a fresh new take on a tarte tatin. The caramelized apples – hopefully, from your local orchard, particularly if you’re here in the Northeast – get a gooey, warm caramel pudding-like topping that finishes baking in the oven.

And what’s not to love about that.

Apple caramel pudding

You’ll need:

• about 5 tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
  1/2 cup raw sugar
  1 stick butter, plus a little extra for greasing baking dish
  1¼ cups AP flour
  1/2 cup + 1/4 cup brown sugar
  1 cup milk
  1 egg
  5 T Lyle’s golden syrup
  1 tablespoon cornflour
  1 tablespoon almond flour
  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  1/3 teaspoon allspice
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. This starts off similarly to a classic tatin. Cook the apples with raw sugar and 1/3 stick of butter on medium-high heat in a pan until caramelized, about 8-10 minutes. You’ll be able to smell the beautiful caramel and the apples will be fork tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

2. Preheat oven to 360F. Butter a baking dish and spoon the apple mixture into the dish.

3. Melt the remaining 2/3 stick of butter. In a mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter, flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, milk, egg, vanilla, 2 T golden syrup, and all the spices until smooth.

4. Pour and smooth the batter over the apples. Mix together remaining brown sugar, cornflour, and almond flour and sprinkle over the batter.

5. In a bowl, combine remaining 3 T golden syrup with about 1/3 cup boiling water. Pour carefully – you can pour over an upside down spoon – over the topping.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes. The filling will be bubbly and the topping will be a little like a sponge cake. Serve with creme fraiche or vanilla ice cream.