Fall is here again and the big question, What to do with all these apples. I love fall, I love baking, and my friend told me about an old family recipe – Pandowdy. Interesting, never heard of it – so Google I go.
Well – what I found is about 20 different recipes -but basically, it’s fruit and crust or batter topping. I’ve found recipes from apple “cobbler” type to a traditional “pie” style…. Pandowdy is a very old New England dessert. The colonists used what they had on hand, and those were mostly very basic ingredients. White sugar was expensive and not very common in more rural areas. To sweeten things, they commonly used maple syrup, honey and molasses.
I did my first test run – way too much dough, not enough apples – I found if served upside down with whip cream anything tastes amazing!
So another version maybe? Any suggestions? Anyone tried this?
Ok – here’s a blog I found – I’ll try this next
The recipe is the author’s take on an apple pandowdy that she enjoyed one winter evening at the Bethel Inn in Maine. It doesn’t have the pie or pastry crust, or even a biscuit crust. What it does have is a tender, lightly sweetened cakelike crust. No matter what type of fruit you end up using, I guarantee you’ll love this one.
Mixed Berry Pandowdy
slightly adapted from The New England Cookbook
5 to 6 cups of berries or apples
(if you’re using apples, peel, core and slice them)
3 tbsp maple syrup (I used a real maple syrup/agave blend from Trader Joe’s, but at least, if you can, try to use real maple syrup)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (You can use all vanilla, if you like)
Heat the oven to 350.
Lightly grease a shallow 2 quart baking dish.
Pour the berries (or arrange apples) in the baking dish and drizzle with the maple syrup.
Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the fruit–toss to combine.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
**For tender berries, I probably wouldn’t bake them for that long, but I had a good amount of frozen berries, so I followed this step.
Also do this if you’re using apples.
While they’re in the oven, whisk the rest of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Just when you’re ready to add the topping to the pan, whisk the milk and egg in a smaller bowl, then stir in the melted butter and extracts. Stir the wet mixture into the dry, and pour the batter over the berries, spreading out gently with a rubber spatula.
Return it to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. It should be lightly golden brown and a tester should come out clean.
Cool for a bit and serve warm.
http://www.ellesnewenglandkitchen.com/blog/2010/6/11/mixed-berry-pandowdy.html
Let’s perfect this for the holiday season!!!!
adventurebarb 