Savoury Braids and apple cake – Everyone’s kitchen

Everyone’s kitchen

Harvest of the day: Rosemary, leeks, greens

Puff pastry braids

Butternut squash, goat cheese and honey 

Ingredients

• 350 g butternut squash peeled and chopped into wedges
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 50 g walnuts
• 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry 320 g
• 2 tablespoon tomato chutney or any chutney of your choice
• 100 g goats cheese
• 2 medium rosemary sprigs roughly chopped
• 1 small egg beaten, for glazing

Also Leek and mozzarella – Greens of the garden and feta 

Apple cake

Ingredients

• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 113 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 130 g granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling over cake
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons dark rum or 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 baking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1.5 cm cubes 

Instruction

Preheat the oven to 175°C and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 23-cm springform or regular cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. If using a regular cake pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease again.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Using a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and rum. Don’t worry if the batter looks grainy at this point; that’s okay. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even the top. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan. Once cool, run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake. If using a springform pan, remove the sides. If using a regular cake pan, carefully invert the cake onto the rack, remove the parchment paper, then gently flip the cake over and place right-side-up on a platter. Using a fine sieve, dust with confectioners’ sugar (if using). Cake can be served warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Freezer Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminium foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.