Home
Calendar
Mailing List
Who We Are
Links
Market Reports
Farmers' Markets Schedule
Freedom Elementary School Garden Program
Restaurants & eateries
Past Events
Sources
Recipes
Contact Us
By the ContestantsFirst Prize, Samuel Lathrop: Ultimate Apple Pie
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups butter-flavored shortening
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp cold water
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
8-10 large Prevedelli apples, mixture of Jonagold and Mutsu, peeled and sliced
1 ½ cups sugar, plus a few pinches
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
To make crust, mix flour, shortening and salt together. Mix water, egg, and vinegar together; add to flour mixture. Divide in half and gather each half into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for one hour. Roll out one piece of dough and place in a 10-inch glass pie plate.
Mix together sugar, cinnamon and remaining 1/3 cup flour. Place half of apples in bottom crust. Sprinkle half of sugar mixture over apples. Repeat with remaining apples and sugar mixture. Dot with abut and sprinkle additional brown sugar over the top. Roll out second ball of dough for top crust. Brush with milk and sprinkle white sugar over top. Crimp edges to seal.
Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes then reduce oven to 350 degrees and bake additional 55-60 minutes.
Second Prize (tie), Lindy Martin: Glazed Apple Tart
Pastry dough for one 10” tart pan (recipe follows)
3-5 medium Golden Delicious apples
1 cup red port wine
1 cup water
1/3 cup honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 drops red food coloring
1 8-oz. package cream cheese or mascarpone
1 Tablespoons half-and-half or amaretto
1 Tablespoon honey
1 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch
Pastry:
1 ¼ cups flour, half pastry flour and half all-purpose
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 Tablespoons ice water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine flours, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into ½” cubes. Using a pastry blender, fork, your fingers or two knives cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Leave chunks of butter about the size of small peas in the dough. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture a little at a time and toss the mixture. Add just enough water so that it holds together when squeezed. Flatten into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll dough out on floured surface so that it is at least 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Place in the tart pan and blind bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until just golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Apple Filling
Pare, core and thinly slice apples. If using an apple slicer/corer, cut the apple slices in half after using the slicer. Combine the port, water, 1/3 cup honey, lemon juice, salt, and food coloring in a large skillet with a lid. Bring to a gentle boil. Add enough apples to form a single layer. Cover and cook slowly about 5 minutes until the apples are barely tender. Remove apples with a slotted spoon and arrange in a single layer in a shallow pan to cool. Cook the remaining apples in the same manner. Chill the apples and save the cooking liquid for the glaze.
Cream Cheese or Mascarpone Filling
Beat cream cheese with half-and-half and the 1 tablespoon honey to a spreadable consistency. If using Mascarpone, beat with 1 tablespoon Amaretto to a spreadable consistency. Spread in an even layer over the bottom of the cooled crust.
Glaze
Boil the syrup from cooking the apples down to one cup. Mix the cornstarch with 1 ½ tablespoons of cold water. Put a little of the syrup into the cornstarch mixture and stir before adding to the syrup in the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the mixture clears and thickens. Set pan in cold water and cool to room temperature.
Putting it all together
Carefully arrange the cooked apples in two rows in a fan shape around the edge of the pan. With a pastry brush carefully smooth the glaze over the apples and chill before cutting.
Second Prize (tie), Lloyd Martin: Apple Cheese Danish
Danish or other laminated yeast dough
Apples
Mild cheddar cheese
Egg wash
Cinnamon sugar
Roll out dough approximately 1/8” thick. Cut dough into diamond shapes, 5” by 9” across. Fold each diamond in half in the long direction and make a cut ½” from the edge from the fold almost to the tip. Unfold the piece onto a baking sheet and brush the top with egg wash. Fold each cut side over so that it forms a little nest in the middle. Lay thin slivers of the cheese in the center and cover cheese with thin apple slices. Cover baking sheet and let dough rise until it is soft and puffy, one half to one hour. Brush the top to the dough with egg wash and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the apple slices. Bake in a 375-degree oven 15-20 minutes until done.
Third Prize, Marc Reeve: Apple-Ginger Spice Cake
Bring to a boil:
7/8 cup apple juice, preferably unfiltered
1/8 cup Tuaca liqueur
Stir in:
1 cup raisins
½ cup (loose fill) candied ginger, finely chopped
Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine in bowl:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. cinnamon
Strain liquid from raisin/ginger mixture into 1-cup measure. If necessary, add water to make 1/3 cup liquid. Reserve liquid and raisins and ginger separately.
Stir into batter:
1/3 cup liquid from above
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
Beat in:
2 eggs
At the last, add the raisin-ginger mixture.
Place batter in greased 13x9” pan. Top with:
4-5 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Dust with a mixture of:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
First Prize, Junior Division, Michio Poppleton, aged 12: Apple Poundcake
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups (2 large) finely chopped apple
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup raisins
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large mixer bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla at medium speed until combined. Gradually add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Batter will be stiff. Fold in apples, pecans and raisins. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake one hour and 15 minutes or until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing . If desired, prick top and sides of cake with fork and sprinkle with brandy. Wrap well to store. Makes one 10-inch tube cake.
Eileen Poppleton: Fresh Apple Layer Cake
Makes 10-12 servings
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups finely chopped, pared tart apple
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups salad oil
2 eggs
Cream Cheese frosting (recipe follows)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well and flour three 9-by-1 ½ inch round layer cake pans. Sift flour with baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine chopped apple, ½ cup chopped nuts and the lemon peel. 2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, salad oil and eggs; beat well with wooden spoon. Add sifted dry ingredients, mixing until smooth. 3. Add apple mixture; stir until well combined. Spread evenly into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until surface springs back when pressed lightly with fingertip. 4. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool thoroughly on wire racks. 5. Meanwhile, make Cream-Cheese Frosting. 6. Fill and frost cake. Press remaining 1 cup nuts on side. Refrigerate until serving.
Cream-Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1. In medium bowl, with portable electric mixer at medium speed, beat cheese, butter and vanilla until light and creamy. 2. Add confectioners’ sugar; beat until of spreading consistency.
Makes 2 ½ cups.
Ellen McCarthy: Apple-Ginger Cobbler
For the filling:
½ cup sugar
1 ½ Tbs. flour
2 oz. unsalted butter
3 lb. assorted apple varieties, according to taste, peeled, cored and sliced
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cardamom
For the crust:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, chilled
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
Zest of one orange
1 cup heavy cream
Filling:
In a heavy pan, over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in apple, lemon juice, sugar and flour. Cover partially and cook just until tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom. Transfer to a buttered 10-inch pie dish. Cool.
Crust:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ginger. Stir orange zest into the heavy cream and then stir the cream into the flour mixture until it holds together. Gather the dough into a ball and knead briefly on a floured surface. Roll out to a little larger than pie dish and transfer to dish. Trim or shape the edge. Cut a vent on the center of the cobbler. Brush with additional cream. Bake for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Serves 6-8.