Apple butter is a surprising fruit condiment that can easily make its way into many of your desserts and breakfast staples such as toasts, cereals, bars and even cakes. The recipe is an aromatic, decadent and thick blend of ginger, cinnamon, vanilla bean and most importantly, apples and apple juice.
Yield: Makes 3 cups
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 400 mins
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Ingredients
- 1 kg apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly
- ¼ cup (55 g) caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp cooking salt
- 1 cup (250 ml) apple juice
- 4 whole cloves
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
Steps
01. Combine apples, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt, juice and cloves in a 4.5 litre (18 cups) slow cooker. Cook, covered, on high, for 6 hrs.
02. Uncover, add vanilla bean. Increase heat (use reduce setting on medium if your slow cooker has it); boil, uncovered, for 20 mins, stirring, until liquid is reduced and mixture is thick and browned. Discard cloves.
03. Pour hot apple butter into hot sterilised jars; seal immediately. Label and date jars when cold.
TIP
Serve on porridge sprinkled with sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels), cinnamon and honey.
Photo: bauersyndication.com.au