(For this yummy blog post I would appreciate it if you read in an English accent because that is how I am writing it.)

Cheerio fine ladies and chaps and welcome to the Downton Abbey inspired desert, wait, what is Downton Abbey? It’s a jolly good tube show that plays on the Public Broadcast System, but it’s not one of those dreary two-toned shows where you would rather spend a penny then watch, Heaven’s no! It’s one of those masterpiece types with lots of characters and costumes and English actors speaking in wonderful English accents, much like the one you have now. But I digress and onto our dessert:

The Apple Charlotte is a dessert from the Edwardian period and is traditionally a bread mold filled with apple with a pudding texture. You’ll be chuffed as nuts at just how few ingredients you need.

Simple; just apple, sugar, butter, lemon juice vanilla extract, bread. Now, keep your hair on, this dessert has been around for donkey’s years, so there are lots of alternatives if you want to get more creative. Suss it out on the internet and find your cup of tea.

We went the simple route and used the leftover crusty sourdough bread we had from the soup we made, which was just tickety-boo because we think using up all our food is the bee’s knees.

For those of you who are fans of the show, you might remember this is the dessert that Cora wanted Mrs. Patmore to make but she refused barking that she already had the evenings dessert planned, which was complete codswallop, really, her eyesight was going.

Charlotte Aux Pommes {Apple Charlotte}

Need:

•  2 cups french bread crumbs
•  1  stick of butter
•  3/4 cup sugar
•  1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
•  4 cups of  apples (tart or baking)
•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
•  1 tablespoon dark rum or  brandy (optional)

How:

Pre heat oven to 350. Wash, peel and cut apples into small quarters. Take one chunk of day old bread (roughly two slices) if your bread is not old just put it in the oven for 30 mins at a low temp (200 degrees). Rip bread into small pieces and in a food processor, blend to crumbs. Over medium heat in a sauce pan cook 1/2 stick of butter with breadcrumbs. Add, half the sugar into bread crumb mixture and the other half toss with apples. Add, vanilla and lemon juice to bread crumb mixture. In a baking dish add apples and pour over bread crumb mixture. Bake for 35 mins or until apples are tender.

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Don’t judge a book by its cover, these little brown discs may not look appetizing, but the taste doesn’t lie, this little dish is a very delicious treat.

Core and slice apples, dip those puppies in buckwheat pancake batter and you have  yourself a yummy and easy breakfast. We heated up some maple pancake syrup to send these morsels over the edge.

Buckwheat is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Calcium and Magnesium, and a very good source of Phosphorus and Manganese.If you like the sound of that, go buckwild with buckwheat! And you know the saying “An apple a day..”

Buckwheat Apple Ring Pancakes

Need:

• 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup  all-purpose flour (I made mine 100% buckwheat pancake just sub the all-purpose for buckwheat, if you wish)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• pinch of  salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2-3 Apples, washed, peeled and sliced, thin

How:

Heat your seasoned cast iron skillet or non-stick pan on medium heat. Whisk together the dry ingredients (the flours, sugar, salt, baking soda) In Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and start stirring. Beat the egg with a fork and stir it into half of the buttermilk. Add the buttermilk/egg mixture to the dry ingredients, then slowly add in the rest of the buttermilk as needed to get to the right consistency for your batter (you may not need all of the buttermilk, depending on what type of buttermilk you are using and the brand of flour). You will want your batter slightly clumpy. Add tab of butter to heated skillet, dunk your apple slices into the batter, covering the apples and then place on hot skillet. Adding enough to fill your skillet. When edges begin to firm and bubble, flip over. Cooking for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with butter, syrup or even peanut butter!

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The tangy and earthy flavors and cute round shapes are a hit with us. We had some for breakfast and I had some leftovers for an afternoon snack.

Stacey likes to surprise me. Hiding behind doors, jumping out of closets and with her kitchen creations.

The woman keeps me on my toes and my heart and stomach full.

This dessert developed from a special delivery from Stacey’s parents. A large bag of pears from a farm in Creston, Ca.  A generous gift of sweet gems that were destined to be made into a package almost too cute to eat.

At last I did eat the pear, wrapped in pastry and with a cranberry and raisin surprise inside. Gooey, flaky, juicy and a close cousin to my beloved pie. This was a dessert fit for a king or a web designer needing a pick- me up.

I will take any of Stacey’s surprises… even the occasional springing out of the closet in the dark of night with a big smiley cackle.

The Pear Surprise  (6 servings)

Need:

• 6 Pears
• 1 package of puff pastry (sheet, thawed)
• 1/2 cup of dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup raisins
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar

How:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel pears, set aside. In a small bowl mix cinnamon, sugar, cranberries, raisins and pinch of salt together. Cut pears in half. Carefully remove inside of pear core. Stuff pears with mixture. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry sheet crosswise 1/2 inch strips. Begin wrapping strips from the top to the bottom. A pear will need at least 6 strips of puff pastry. Place on baking sheet. Bake pears till golden brown, around 25 minutes. Serve with ice cream or just as is.

To make the pears more sweet. Brush the pastry dough with water and sprinkle with sugar. (I think it is sweet enough without sugar)

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How about some homemade caramel?