Apple charlotte: The perfect dessert to use up your leftover fruit

Got some spare slices of bread hanging about? Transform them into a sweet apple dessert, says Prudence Wade

Simple, but delicious (PA)

We’re well and truly into apple season now, and what better way to celebrate this crisp fruit than in a baked dessert?

Rick Stein’s recipe for apple charlotte is simple but delicious – if you’re feeling like amping things up a bit, add your favourite spices such as cloves or cinnamon.

Apple charlotte

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

125g butter

350g Bramley apples

350g Cox’s apples

2 tbsp sugar

A little grated lemon zest, to taste

6-8 slices white bread, about 5mm thick, crusts removed

Custard, clotted cream or ice cream to serve

Method:

1. Grease a pudding basin, about 15cm in diameter and 10cm deep, with plenty of the butter. Peel, core and finely slice the apples. Rinse in cold water and put them in a saucepan with the sugar, lemon zest and 30g of the butter. Cook to a pulp over a low heat and then beat to a puree with a wooden spoon. Allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C.

2. Melt the remaining butter. Dip each slice of bread into the butter and then line a pudding basin with about three quarters of the slices. Pack them in tightly and don’t leave any gaps. Spoon in the cooled apple puree and cover with the remaining buttered pieces of bread and gently push down.

3. Tightly cover the pudding with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further eight to 10 minutes until the top is golden brown. Leave the pudding to rest for five minutes before turning out on to a serving plate. Serve with custard, clotted cream or ice cream.

Recipe extracted from ‘Rick Stein At Home: Recipes, Memories And Stories From A Food Lover’s Kitchen’ (published by BBC Books, £26; photography by James Murphy), available now.