Our latest reader recipe competition received a massive 179 entries. Here we present our winning recipe plus a selection that also impressed our judges.
Our winning recipe comes from Rosie Bosworth. Chosen because it is a recipe the judges had never come across, it was the sort of recipe we knew people would make and, as Rosie says below, it had even the non-scone eaters on the team converted. So simple, so good. Try it and let us know what you think.
Spicy cinnamon and apple scones
Rosie Bosworth had this to say about her winning recipe, "This recipe is perhaps one of my favourite baking treats of all time. I used to make these years ago while working in a cafe and they would sell out before 10am to a flock of apple scone converts. Even my father - who is not a scone lover in the slightest - has come to crave them. Crammed full of sweet and tangy apples and spicy cinnamon, they are such a delicious winter pick me up on a cold drab day. They are perfect served warm fresh out of the oven, or reheated with lashings of jam and cream. YUM!"
Watch and learn
In this video, Ray McVinnie shows how to make Rosie's apple scones and explains a few tricks and adaptations along the way.
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Twice-cooked belly pork pies
Bite reader Carmen Lo's recipe for the pork belly came from westmeatonline.co.nz and she decided to turn it into pies. The Bite team tested the pork belly as is, serving it with vegetables and the sauce and apples alongside. It was delicious and the judges thought that turning it into pies was a fantastic idea.
Caramel apple pie
This caramel apple pie from Bite reader Vivienne Hill was another finalist in the competition. Vivienne writes: "It is called a pie but is not made with pastry so the amount of butter is minimal, which reflects its era - immediately past Great Depression when butter was very expensive. Beating the egg whites before adding to the topping makes it crisper than a sponge, therefore more like pastry. This recipe was originally published in The New Zealand Apple Cookery Book, 1938. The book was passed from my grandmother to my mother to me. Growing up in Christchurch during the 50s/60s this was a favourite winter pudding. I have rewritten the recipe to make it suitable to today.Mother usually used sturmer apples but the alternative was granny smith."
Vivienne's recipe has been adapted by the Bite team to use less sugar (the original calls for 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar).
Curried apple soup
Renuka Swaroop writes this about her curried apple soup: "My mum used to make this very aromatic yummy soup in India when I was growing up and now I make this often during winters here in New Zealand. It is a very popular soup from South India that is very nourishing as well as tasty."
Renuka's recipe has been adapted by the Bite team to use a blender (in the original recipe the apple and vegetables were strained and mashed).
Apple dumplings
We received quite a few recipes for apple pastry dumplings, probably because they are such a great idea. We’re featuring Anne Murphy’s recipe because she supplied some handy step-by-step photos. Anne says her and a friend, also called Anne, used to get together and do various things in bulk and then freeze them. “This was a favourite of both our families. Frozen or made fresh, they are delicious.”
- Peel and core 6-8 small-medium granny smith apples. Mix ¼ cup sugar, 2 tsp mixed spice and 2 tsp cinnamon.
- Take a puff pastry sheet and roll out just a little and cut into quarters. Place 1 apple in the middle of each quarter. Spoon several teaspoons of the sugar-spice mix down the core area of each apple.
- Wrap pastry around each apple: you can decorate with pastry leaves if desired. Repeat for all apples.
- At this point you can freeze the apple dumplings. It's best to freeze as free flow, so that you can take them out as you need them.
- To cook, place the apples into an ovenproof dish. Make a syrup by boiling ½ cup sugar, 1 cup water, 2 Tbsp butter and 2 tsp each of mixed spice and cinnamon for 5 minutes. Pour over the dumplings and cook 30-40 minutes in a medium-high oven. Baste halfway through the cooking time.
- Place one apple on each plate and spoon over some of the syrup from the bottom of the dish. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream … or both.
More apple ideas
With so many great entries to the competition (over 179 in total), we thought we would share more of the recipes here, plus you might like to try one of these great ideas: