Toffee Apple Squares

Guy Fawkes night will once again be here tomorrow night and aside from keeping warm by the bonfire, sipping on hot cocoa and devouring lot's of comforting food. We will also be creating lot's of sweet treats to keep not only the kids happy but the grown ups too.  Come this time of year the apples are perfectly sweet and just beg to be adorned with some sort of toffee, so we've decided to bake something that combines both of these delicious things, in the form of.... 

Toffee Apple Squares 

Serves 18 | To prepare 40 mins  | To cook 45-1hr

Ingredients 

• 950g eating apples peeled, quartered, cored and sliced
• good squeeze lemon juice
• little caster sugar , to taste

For The Base 

• 100g caster sugar
• 250g pack butter , diced
• 100g ground rice
• 200g plain flour

For The Topping 

• 397g can condensed milk
• 85g butter
• 100g light muscovado sugar
• couple pinches sea salt
• 25g cornflakes
• 100g pecans very roughly chopped
• 100g toasted whole almonds

Method

• Put the apples in a saucepan with the lemon juice and 4 tbsp water. 
• Cook gently, partly covered, for 10-15 mins until softened. 
• Taste, adding any sugar if it needs it - you want it a little sharp though, to balance the sweetness of the topping. Leave to cool.
• For the base, whizz everything together in a food processor. (If you don't have one, rub the butter into the flour to crumbs, then stir in the sugar and ground rice.)
•  Line the base of a roughly 18 x 28cm tin with baking parchment, then press the dough into the base.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. 
• Bake the base for 20-25 mins until golden. Spread the cooled apples over the base.
• For the topping, put the condensed milk, butter and sugar in a saucepan. 
• Heat to melt the sugar and butter, then lower the heat and bubble for 10 mins or so until a pale fudge colour. 
• Stir in the salt, cornflakes and nuts. Spoon all over the apples, gently spreading to cover.
•  Return to the oven for another 15-22 mins until the topping is golden and crisp. 
• Cool in the tin, then cut into squares.

Tip- Can be stored for 1-2 days in an airtight container.

We like to serve ours with ice-cream! 

Enjoy!

LJC

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