This dessert can be prepared in a potjie, a trick I discovered on a visit to South Africa’s apple capital, Ceres.
Serves 6 to 8
You’ll need:
8 to 10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup raisins
½ cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tots brandy or rum
1½ cups cake flour
1½ cups brown sugar
125 g salted butter
Method:
Add apples, raisins, water, cinnamon and brandy to a flat-bottomed number 10 bake potjie and mix well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the apples soften. Place flour, sugar and butter in a bowl and rub together with clean hands until it forms a dry, crumbly mixture. Add half of this mixture to the apples in the potjie and mix well. Use the rest of the crumble mixture to cover the apples. Add a few knobs of butter on top and sprinkle over a little cinnamon. Cover and place the potjie on gentle coals, with coals on the lid too. Add extra coals if necessary and bake for 45 minutes or until you see sauce bubbling through the crust. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or cream.
(Photo by Matthys van Lill)
