Fall in New England means comfortably warm, delightfully sunny days, beautiful foliage, and apples – bushels of them. If you haven’t gone apple picking before, let this fall be the first year you will enjoy this time honored New England tradition. From fresh apple cider to donuts and apple pies, apple picking will get you out of the door and picking in no time.
My favorite places for apple picking
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Apple Crest Orchard Farm located in Hampton's Falls, is less than an hour away from Boston. It's known as New Hampshire's oldest and largest apple orchard. It's the oldest continuously-operated orchard in America. Four generations of the Wagner family have worked this land, dedicated to their simple mission of sustainably growing the finest fruit and vegetables available.You can find over 40 different varieties of apple in this orchard.My daughter recently went to this orchard with friends and brought back home a basket full of apples and some awesome looking pumpkins.
Russell Orchards located in Ipswich,Ma, right by Castle Hill at Crane Estate and the beautiful Crane Beach.This orchard is only 35 miles north of Boston Russell Orchards is a family-owned farm that is perfect for apple picking. Russell Orchards organic farm offers a chance to pick Cortland, Empire, Gala and Macintosh apples, while the farm store sells other fresh fruits and vegetables and the yummiest cider donuts. Russell Orchard is also a really good place to go strawberry picking in the Summer.And I always have a lot fun watching the Guinea hens that are often free, wandering around the farm.
Clarkdale Fruit Farm If you happens to be in Western Massachusetts, this is the place to visit for apples it's located on the beautiful hills of Deerfield, Ma. Clarkdale is on it's Fourth-generation family farm practicing IPM( Integrated Pest Management) sustainable growing practices. Over 40 varieties of apples, 10 varieties pears, 40 varieties peaches, as well as plums and they make outstanding apple cider and the best pear cider I ever had. Perfect place to stop by when we are visiting my husband's family in Western Mass.
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| apple picking etiquette |
In this post I will be sharing an apple dessert recipe with you.
And I decided not to do an apple pie or an apple cider donuts. Although I love both of those things I wanted to showcase my recently picked apple in something different. Something that would be a mix of my brazilian roots and my New England pride to live here.
So,I came up with this apple creme caramel. If you to a brazilian restaurant on the dessert menu for sure you will find "Pudim de Leite"( or brazilian style flan)and in these Apple Creme Caramel recipe below you will find the basic brazilian flan with a New England flair on it.
Apple Creme Caramel
(makes approximately 8 portions I used 8 ramekins to make individual portions)
ingredients:
for the flan
2 large or 3 medium Apples, peeled and diced I used Cortlands.
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of cloves
1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of milk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
for the caramel
1 1/2 cups of sugar
for the garnish
1 apple sliced
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a pinch of salt
How to make it
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a sauce pot cook you diced apples with the sugar ,lemon juice, maple syrup and the spices until the apples are soft for about 20 minutes. With a stick blender puree the apples until they will have an applesauce texture and let it cool down
For the caramel cook the 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until a smooth golden caramel forms, about 15 - 20 minutes. Quickly pour caramel into the ramekins and swirl until the bottom is coated. Set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, mix on a blender the condensed milk, milk, eggs, and flour until thoroughly combined.Whisk that mixture with the applesauce that you let cool down in a bowl. Prepare a water bath by placing the ramekins into a larger roasting pan . Set the whole assembly in the oven and then pour enough hot water into the larger baking dish to come about halfway up the side of the ramekins.
Bake until the custard is set and firm to the touch, about 40 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let cool. Before serving, run a thin knife around the edge of the flan, place a flat plate over the ramekin, and flip it to unmold. Found it easier to unmold when it's still a little warm and I kind like to serve it warm instead of chilled in the fridge, which is what we usually so for brazilian flan.
For Garnish: preheat your oven to 450°F toss the sliced apples with olive oil,maple syrup, brown sugar and a pinch of salt. place them in a baking sheet pan with parchment paper and roast for about 6 minutes until you get a light golden color on the apples. Let it cool down and garnish you dessert with it. Enjoy!
