Bonfire Night Recipes

Toffee Apple Gingerbread Loaf

INGREDIENTS

Cake

• 100 g (7 tbsp) softened butter
• 100 g (1/2 cup + 1tbsp) dark brown soft sugar
• 125 g (4.5oz) golden syrup
• 50 g (1.75oz) treacle
• 2 large eggs
• 175 g (1 + 1/2 cups) self raising flour
• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 large eating apples peeled and cored, one cut into small dice, one thinly sliced

Toffee Sauce

• 100 g (3.5oz) chewy toffees
• 1 1/2 tbsp milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas mark 3. Grease an approx 22x11cm (8.5x4in) loaf tin and line with a strip of baking parchment.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle together until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ground ginger and cinnamon.
3. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one at a time, whisking well after each addition and adding a heaped tablespoon of the flour mix with each one. Add the rest of the flour along with the milk and salt and mix until just combined. Finally fold in the diced apple.
4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and level the top. Arrange the sliced apple in a row along the middle of the loaf. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean; cover the top of the loaf with foil after about 40 minutes to prevent it from getting too dark.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for about half an hour then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
6. To make the toffee topping, place the toffees and milk in a small saucepan over a low heat. Stir until the toffees have melted and the sauce is smooth, add a drop more milk if it is too thick to drizzle.
7. Drizzle the sauce all over the cake and serve. The cake will keep well in an airtight container for up to a week, though the toffee sauce will lose it's shine.

 

Pork & Apple Sausage Rolls

INGREDIENTS

• ½ medium sized red onion, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 red apple, grated and juices squeezed out
• 1 tablespoon HP sauce or chutney
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, roughly chopped or 1 teaspoon of dried sage
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked pepper
• 500 grams good quality plain pork sausages
• 1 egg, whisked
• ¼ cup sesame seeds
• 2 sheets flaky puff pastry

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. 
2. In a large bowl, place the finely diced onion, garlic, apple, chutney, sage, parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cut a large hole in the end of each sausage and squeeze the meat into the bowl and discard of casings. Mix until well combined. 
3. On a floured surface, roll out pastry sheets until 30 x 25cm in size. Cut each piece of pastry in half lengthways so you have 4 long rectangles. Place a quarter of the sausage meat on each pastry sheet, evenly distribute the meat along the edge of the pastry lengthways. Brush the egg wash over the uncovered pastry, roll and seal placing the outer edge underneath.
4. Cut into 3cm sausage rolls, prick the tops with a fork 2–3 times, brush with egg wash and sprinkle over sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 25–30minutes or until golden and puffed up.

 

Sausage & Toffee Apple Traybake

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Sausages – I used Pork and Apple, but plain sausages would be just as good!
• Approx 350g Sweet Potato
• 1 large Apple
• 1 Red Onion
• Bag of Marshmallows
• Oil
• Butter
• Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees for a fan oven.
2. Put a splash of oil in a roasting tin or casserole dish and put it in the oven to heat up.
3. Peel and chop the sweet potato into chunks.
4. Once the oil is heated (I normally leave it for 10 minutes) add the sweet potato to the dish and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
5. While this is cooking peel and chop the red onion into wedges, and core and cut the apple into wedges.
6. Heat a teaspoon of butter in a frying pan and brown the sausages.
7. Add the sausages and red onion to the roasting tin or dish and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
8. Add a tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of sugar to the frying pan and heat until the butter is melted and frothy.
9. Add the apple wedges and cook for 3-4 minutes or until they are starting to caramelise.
10. For the last 10 minutes of cooking time add the apples to the roasting tin and pour over the butter and sugar mixture in the pan. Top with a large handful of marshmallows dotted around, about 6-8.
11. When you take it out of the oven you should have a sticky melted puffy marshmallow crust and a sweet gravy in the bottom of the pan.