welcome autumn

‘if a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.’

...victoria erikson

welcome autumn and 

so much magic to look forward to.. 

this weekend you may pick our

mcgowen, spartan, jonagold, cortland, 

royal gala, silken and macintosh apples. 

the selection is brilliant. the weather may not be!

mcgowen

 

mcgowens are similar to a macintosh, which is one of their parents,  

but much more firm and sweeter with hints of strawberries and spice. 

i love their little ‘freckles’. 

although you can make a lovely crisp with them, 

they are best for eating fresh.. 

their sweet size is perfect for little hands. 

spartan

 also from the macintosh family, spartans are a lovely mellow blend of sweet and tart. 

  exceptionally juicy, they are sought after for making cider and juicing. 

it’s a smaller apple..  a perfect snack for little ones. 

                      spartans are excellent for cooking, maintaining their shape and sweet flavour. 

jonagold 

tangy and sweet with honey like flavour notes.. 

the perfect blend of its parents which are a golden delicious and a jonathan. 

jonagolds are excellent for everything.. eating fresh, baking, pies and sauces.

 

 you can find flavour profiles of the other apples on previous posts, when we began to pick them. 

apples and squash.. two brilliant flavours of autumn together on a pizza.

this may quite possibly become your new favourite! 

drizzled with honey and garnished with fresh thyme, it’s both sweet 

and savoury. with a glass of our fresh pressed apple cider it’s just dreamy. 

you can find the recipe here. 

i was happy to find it in tieghan gerard’s wonderful book ‘super simple’.

 

we have most things you need..

the apples, squash, honey and cider. 

the recipe also calls for apple butter, cheeses, shallots and herbs. 

and your favourite pizza dough. 

don’t you just love the swirls that the squash makes 

when you use a vegetable peeler? 

and how adorable are these swirly squash tendrils?

oh mother nature you are pretty creative!

did you know we still have a sunflower field in bloom?

it’s part of the magic!

autumn in the orchard..

it sounds like a movie doesn’t it?

slip into your rain boots and join us!

we have the best puddles!

warm hugs,

laura

carl laidlaw orchards

good bye summer

ohhh let’s savour this last weekend of summer and 

go apple picking in a favourite summer dress! 

we are picking.. 

royal gala, silken, cortland, macintosh, and ginger gold apples.

our wonky spring weather 

wreaked a bit of havoc this year. 

many varieties have only a 50% yield at best while  

some (of our favourites) have barely any fruit. 

we would usually be picking our honeycrisp apples this weekend, 

but sadly our honeycrisp orchard was one that was hit hard.

there are so very few honeycrisp apples this year.. 

next year will be better. 

royal gala

eaten and celebrated by queens and kings! 

yes..i made that up, but they really are so fantastic.

they are one of the sweetest apples on the farm. 

you will need less sugar if you use them in a pie or crisp.

 being the pinkest apple we grow 

makes them my favourite model for photographing!

silken

sweet, firm and juicy, with the bonus of thin skin 

make these such a popular apple especially with the kids. 

they are best enjoyed fresh!

if you love honeycrisp, you will love these!

cortland

 

oh i am so sad that there aren’t many cortlands this year.. 

they are my favourite! another casualty of our harsh spring. 

brilliant for both eating fresh and baking, 

 they are a lovely delicious, complex blend of tart and sweet. 

they are slow to discolour when sliced. 

before the wheat field was harvested and planted with sunflowers..

 

we enjoyed this apple rose tart.

oh i just love this tart. 

apples nestled in a layer of a hazelnut and almond frangipane

and baked in a sweet shortcrust pastry. 

although it is very time consuming to make, 

it is definitely worth it. 

make it with a sister or friend!

share it and you will be loved!  

it’s from julie jones' book  ‘the pastry school.’ 

i can’t say enough wonderful things about this cookbook.

its full of so many fabulous recipes 

with brilliant instructions that are easy to follow.  

i love how there are multiple pictures to help guide you too. 

thank you to julie jones who so generously 

gave me permission to share her recipe. 

use our cortlands, gingergolds and galas!

happy baking! 

see you soon ish

hugs,

laura

carl laidlaw orchards

apple chestnut mascarpone cake

another school year begins.. another apple season too!

did you bring your teacher an apple?

A+  if you did!

how fun is this A on a mac? 

this weekend we are picking our macintosh and ginger gold apples. 

  

 

if you like a softer pie like mark, macs make a great pie. 

i prefer them for apple sauce.  

 

ginger golds are fabulous eaten fresh..’out of hand’. 

they are also wonderful to bake with. 

perhaps with kids in school you have a little time to bake…

this apple, chestnut mascarpone cake is fabulous! 

apples and chestnuts…

two tastes of home and autumn.

inspired by chiara maci’s recipe. 

250 grams 00 flour

seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

250 grams mascarpone cheese

150 grams sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 medium or 3 small apples..

peeled and 

1 chopped for the cake batter

1 sliced to be placed on top of the batter, 

150 grams cooked chestnuts cut in half 

you can buy them peeled and cooked in a 100 gram package

1/4 cup apricot or apple jelly

1 tablespoon water or calvados 

preheat oven to 356° f.

butter and lightly flour a 10 inch springform pan

mix eggs and sugar in the bowl of a mixer. 

add mascarpone cheese and vanilla and mix well.

in a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt

slowly add this to the egg mixture…mixing until just combined.

fold in the chopped apples and chestnuts.

pour the batter into your prepared pan…levelling with an offset spatula 

arrange the sliced apples in a circle on top..starting at the edges. 

 

lightly sprinkle the top with sugar..  a tablespoon or so. 

place in the oven, and cook for about 55 to 65 minutes..checking every 4 or 5 minutes near the end. 

the top should be golden.. and an inserted toothpick will come out dry.

when your cake is ready..heat the apple jelly and water or calvados in a small pan..

boil for a minute or two. it will be a lovely syrup

brush the entire top of the cake with this apple jelly syrup. 

you won’t need all of it. 

let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes.. then remove to a serving plate. 

sprinkle with icing sugar. 

perfect with a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoon or evening.

a pretty lovely breakfast too.. oh it’s wonderful any time. 

 

i hope your week has been lovely and that your weekend is even better. 

with apple cake it will be! 

hugs,

laura

carl laidlaw orchards