Washington Apples come to India, We steam them into puddings and bake them into Apple Crumble

Steamed Apple pudding.... mix them with fruits or mix them with chocolate chips n walnuts or just bake them with a crumble.... either ways we're keeping the doctor away.....

Washington Apple Commission India office contacted me about the launch of Washington Apples in India. Had to excuse myself as I was busy with my sister's wedding. They very sweetly sent across a lovely gift pack of the produce for me to try out....

The varieties in my box-of-goodies were Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Cripps Pink and Braeburn. There is loads of more information on their website http://www.bestapples.com/ You can view the rest of their varieties here. Since apples are seasonal fruits... view their availability here. They have some nice dessert recipes here(wish they had original pics and ran a contest for user's pictures). What I kept wondering was... How are these apples so picture perfect??? just no marks on their skin.... Then I read about the concept of 'Edible Wax' on the fruit for protection and meant to be washed off in a good wash before consumption. I am not quite comfortable with this idea... hence spent ages washing the fruit well before consumption.

Now that they are washed n clean... let me bite into these juicy, flavourful n gorgeous produce.
Since I had hurt my foot and was barely able to hobble around the kitchen so something complicated was out of question. Washington Apple Commission India office informs me that the apples have a shelf life of about a week when kept in refrigerator... How could I let such lovely produce wait even for a day.... So I had my neighbour come over to help.... He kept me in great company and yes did earn his dessert by zesting some oranges for me.... while making a presentation for work...

Using my new corer cum slicer, I set about very purposefully... couldn't stop grinning at the lovely Apple Flower I got .... This time I added chocolate pieces to the Apple crumble... they were lovely melted n gooey after baking. The next addition was Cinnamon Sugar from FabIndia... Yes I did over indulge with this shaker....

My flavour mix for the pudding bowls.

Fruity:Cherries soaked in Brandy, BlackCurrant Jam.

Warm Spice: cinnamon and cloves.

Chocolatey: Chocolate Chips, Orange Jam and Fresh Orange Zest

The beautiful ramekins were gifted to me by Gauri of Backyard Baker for my Birthday, earlier this year. I was waiting for something suitable to bake in them especially with me hobbling around... These apples were just the right thing.... Thank you Gauri :)

Red Delicious(sweet, juicy and has crisp yellow flesh; for eating as is or for salads), Golden Delicious(very well suited for salads; for Squishy used like sauces), Granny Smith(tart and crisp; mostly pies and baking, even salads) and Cripps Pink(sweet, mildly tart and crisp in texture; for eating, salads and baking.) were used in my pudding bowls.

I made a homogeneous mixture of 2 beaten eggs(1/2 for each bowl used), 1 cup Flour(1/4 for each bowl used), 4 level tablespoons of Sugar (1 for each bowl used), 1 scraped Vanilla Bean (1/4 for each bowl used). Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Divide the batter amongst, chopped apples into each bowl. Sprinkle some cinnamon to bring out the flavour.

Add the different flavours for each bowl.... I went quite over board with them, 1 was with Orange Jam, Fresh Orange Zest and chocolate chips. Another was with nutella(ah good old nutella... *huge starry eyed grin on my face*) Walnuts and Chocolate chips....
After all the preparation... I find out that sometime between the time I put on the onen to pre-heat and my mixing the flavours... THE-OVEN-STOPPED-HEATING.... Wails of distress....

Raced my mind quickly, how do I save these fabulous bowls of flavour...... I remembered my 1st Daring Baker Challenge where the cooking method was steaming. I quickly set about heating some water in small water baths to steam these apple pudding ramekins...

Verdict:

Apple Crumple: was a real quick fix for my dessert craving neighbour(who refuses to be photographed) His dad liked it too. The over board shaker of Cinnamon Sugar was toned with Vanilla Icecream..... Apple Crumple with Icecream was a yummy combination.

Chocolate Apple Pudding:This was rated the best by my neighbour in appearance.

Fruity Apple Pudding: This was rated the best by my neighbour on taste cause I also put in a few grapes and they added a tanginess to the fruity flavours.