Hi Bold Bakers!
As we head into the busy holiday season, I’ve got some last minute tips for make ahead desserts
so you have more time to spend with your friends and family.
Our firs tip is apple pie filling.
So I’m going to make my apple pie filling in a crock pot but you can also do this in
a sauce pan.
It’s totally fine.
I just like to use a crock pot because you can set it and forget it.
So into the bowl, we’re going to add in some chopped apples.
So into our apples we’re going to add in some water.
And the reason you add this in is that it creates steam and it also stops your apples
from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
We’re going to follow the water with some brown sugar for some lovely sweetness and
some caramel flavor.
A little bit of cinnamon, that flavor we love around the winter time when it gets nice and
cold.
This will warm you up.
A little bit of nutmeg, I love that spice.
If you don’t like nutmeg or cinnamon, feel free to leave them out.
You can also add in some vanilla, that’ll work really well.
So next we’re going to add in some corn starch and what this does is it mixes with
the water and gives you a lovely, thick apple pie filling, So that’s an important ingredient.
And lastly we’re going to add in a little bit of lemon for some zesty zest.
Once everything is in there, go ahead and mix it all together really well.
Ok and then on with our lid and we’re going to turn our crock pot on.
If you’re doing it on a sauce pan, you want it on a medium heat.
And we’re just going to let this cook until the apples are really nice and soft.
So it’s been a little while and I am going to check on my apple pie filling.
Look at that, beautiful soft apples.
There’s a nice sauce there.
This is perfect.
So the real beauty of this apple pie filling is that you put it into a sterilized, clean
jar, fill it up, and then pop this guy into the fridge and it will stay fresh for up to
4 weeks.
So during the holidays when people drop into your house and you didn’t know that they
were coming, you have a pie filling ready to go for them.
So we have pie filling ready to go, so next I’m going to show you how you can make ahead
a crisp topping.
Into a bowl we’re going to add in some flour, some sugar, and cubed cold butter.
Ok this is my favorite part, we’re going to go in with our fingers and we’re just
going to rub in the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
So after a few minutes, this is what it will look like.
Some medium sized bits of butter, some small bits.
This is perfect.
Now I’m going to show you my secret trick.
So here I have a ziplock back and a sharpie.
And all I’m going to do while it’s empty is write on it, “crumble, topping” and
then the date so you can always remember when you froze it.
So then just take a spoon and fill up your bag as neatly as you can.
So there you have it, crumble topping ready to go.
Now here’s my tip, you pop it into the freezer.
It bakes perfectly from frozen.
Put it on fruit, on top of any pie.
It will be great when you’re in a pinch during the holiday season.
Now this was my second tip, I’ve got one more fantastic tip for you.
So that was our cobbler topping, next up is a pie crust.
Always have a pie crust in your freezer around the holidays.
They are fantastic when you have them just ready to go.
Here’s the secret about pie crust.
You can put them in their tin, freeze them nice and hard and then you can bake them from
frozen.
And also, a tip about baking them frozen is that you don’t have to blind bake a pie.
I always have these in my freezer they are great to have to hand.
Now here’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to bring all of my tips together so
I have my frozen pie crust, I have my jar of apple pie filling, look at how good that
looks.
Fill it all the way to the top with your apple pie filling.
So to top off our pie, of course we’re going to add on our frozen crumble mix.
Now be generous with this, the more the merrier.
Especially when it’s around the holidays the more the merrier.
I like to do a nice, thick generous layer.
So there you have it, a make ahead dessert that is absolutely delicious and homemade.
From the filling to the pastry to the topping, get it all ready in advance so you can just
pop it into the oven when you have guests.
So these are just a few tips to get you through the holidays.
I have lots more videos like this as part of my Bold Baking Basics series so make sure
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