Toffee Apple Cobbler

The nights are starting to draw in, the evenings are becoming cooler and the apples are beginning to fall from our tree. Jack collected a couple of boxes full of windfall apples whilst helping his Dad tidy up the garden at the weekend, and after a bit of a clean up and chopping out the bugs and bruises, I had enough for a pie. I didn't have any cream cheese in to make cream cheese pastry, I wasn't going to risk a rubbish shortcrust, and I've exhausted crumble recently, so a cobbler it was to be - kind of a cross between pastry, cake and scones.

It was to be a caramel apple cobbler, but the caramel sauce didn't go exactly to plan, although it did have a very happy ending and the result was a lovely smooth and dark toffee sauce. You only really need around 5-6 tbsp of toffee sauce in this cobbler but the recipe below makes a full jar full, leaving plenty to pour over ice cream or use in other recipes (if it lasts that long!)

Toffee Apple Cobbler

100g butter
200g self raising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
75g caster sugar + 1tbsp for sprinkling on top
1 egg, beaten
enough peeled, cored & sliced apples to fill your pie dish
5-6 tbsp toffee sauce

toffee sauce - makes enough for this recipe + 1 jar extra
400g caster sugar
40g butter
200ml double cream
pinch of sea salt (optional)

• Rub the butter into the flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs
• Stir in the cinnamon & caster sugar
• Mix in the egg until everything starts to come together - if it's too dry, add a dash of milk
• Fill the pie dish up with apples and pour over the toffee sauce
• Roll some of the dough into a ball and flatten between your palms, and lay on top of the apples
• Repeat with the remaining cobbler dough
• Bake in a preheated 170C oven for approx 45 minutes, until cobbler topping is cooked all the way through and the apples are soft, and the toffee sauce is bubbling.

To make the toffee sauce

• Add the sugar to a large frying pan or wide saucepan
• Heat over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and turned a rich silky brown liquid (if you want a lighter caramel sauce then don't leave it as long - my toffee sauce was completely unintentional but completely delicious!)
• DO NOT STIR THE SUGAR - instead, keep shaking the pan
• Once you have reached your desire brown-ness then remove the pan from heat
• Whisk in the butter and then the cream, and salt (if using)