Apple & maple syrup glazed ham

Inspired by these two bloggers with Marion's 5-spice & blackberry ham and Nagi's ultimate glazed ham guide where she offers a simple sauce made from maple syrup and oranges, I decided to make my own based on what I had in the freezer - real chunky apple sauce and beer!

Ingredients

4 to 5 kg cooked ham (Nagi says 1 kg feeds about 5 - 6 people as a mains or 7-8 people as a side)

1 C (250ml) of water in the tray to catch the drippings (I used 1 can of beer)

Method

Prepare baking tray with rack and foil (see Nagi's instructions about how to prep the tray and how to lay the ham on top, as well as how to paste foil on extra burnt bits to prevent further burning. Also how to deco the ham and serving plate if required). I like to use parchment on top of the foil as well cos I want to use the pan juices and don't like the metallic taste of foil.

Bring ham to room temp at least 1 hour before. Prepare the glaze. 

For the maple glaze (adapted from Nagi's recipe and Marion's)

Ingredients

1C cooked apple sauce

½ C maple syrup (or honey as substitute)

½ C brown sugar

1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder

½ tbsp mustard

Splash of Chinese rice wine

Method: Bring to a simmer in a small saucepan for 5 mins, stirring until smooth. Let cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the ham while the ham is sitting out and sauce is cooling. See either Nagi or Marion's video. If studding the ham, need about 30 cloves for deco.

To bake and glaze the ham, watch the videos.

1. In a prepared tray, pour the liquid (beer or water) into the bottom. Add the rack and ham, and adjust the level of the ham using foil underneath to prop up.

2. Baste with sauce, making sure to get into the crevices. Reserve the sauce/

3. Bake at 160 deg C in the centre of the oven (lower shelf) for 1.5 (for approx 5kg) - 2 (bigger hams) hrs, basting every 20 - 30 mins with remaining glaze and pan juices. 

4. If places are burning, gently paste on bits of foil.

5. Once out of the oven, allow to rest for 20 mins. CONTINUE TO BASTE as the sauce thickens.

Apple flakey pie

I bought puff pastry some time ago and never quite knew what to do with it. When I had 4 lingering apples in the fridge, hey, make apple puff pastry tart!

Came across four different recipes but the base recipe was similar, the only difference was the presentation.

Open faced: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/quick-easy-and-yummy-apple-tart/
Apple pie ie closed faced: http://www.justonecookbook.com/easy-apple-pie/
Croissant rolls: http://theblondcook.com/apple-pie-bites/
Apple strudel: https://www.puffpastry.com/recipe/apple-strudel/

With apple poking through

Ingredients
2 sheets of puff pastry
4 medium apples, peeled and cored
Juice and zest of ½ a lemon
Bowl of salted water.
1 tbsp raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
2 to 3 tbsp brown sugar (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp corn flour - this is key because raw apples are used, otherwise the pastry becomes soggy
1 egg, beaten

Method
1) Peel and core the apples and then halve it and cut thin slices.
2) Thaw the pastry in the fridge (½ hour) or countertop (10 minutes). If it becomes too hard to work with, stick it back into the freezer but make sure that it is well wrapped otherwise it dries out.
3) Place the apple slides in a bowl of salted water to prevent oxidation. In a bowl, add the lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar and toss in the apple slices to coat. Taste. It should be slightly too sweet for your palate.
3) Take 1 sheet and cut into four. Invert onto a parchment covered baking sheet and peel off the baking plastic. Leave a gap between each slide.
4) Lay the apple slices on top neatly but leave an edge. Brush egg wash on the edge.
5) Cut the next sheet of pastry into 4, and make 3 slits in each pastry. Lay this second piece on top of the apple slices and crimp all around the edges using a fork.
6) Bake in an oven at 220 deg C for 5 minutes as the pie will be very soggy. Turn down and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, turning the pan halfway to ensure even browning. Check to see that it has browned and puffed up, and you should also see the liquid inside bubbling away.
7) Serve hot but be careful as inside would be scaldingly hot. Place the remaining tarts on a wire rack to cool fully before storing.

Apple Crumble

I had a hardened packet of light muscovado sugar and didn't know what to do with it. It was rock hard and I wasn't going to break my spoon chipping away at it. I remember reading a tip somewhere that if you put in a slice of apple, it will soften up the sugar. Well, no harm trying. I left the slice of apple there for about 6 hours and it really softened up the sugar! However, the downside is that part of the apple juice seeped out and made it soggy. I was afraid it would go mouldy so I transferred the dry bits into another container. But what was I supposed to do with the soggy melted sugar?

Just happened that I bought Granny Smiths. Brown sugar, apples and cinnamon = apple crumble!

So here's the recipe, also thanks to something learnt off the Internet, the proper proportions for crumble = 3 parts flour : 2 parts butter : 1 part sugar.

Ingredients
4 cooking apples (Bramleys or Granny Smiths), peeled. Quarter them, remove the core and then thinly slice each quarter, about 4 or 5 slices each.
60g muscovado sugar, packed tightly
180g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
120g butter, softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
60g caster sugar (or damerara for the crunch if you have it)
2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup raisins

Method
1) In a mixer, add the flour, caster sugar and butter and blitz until a fine crumble. Set aside in the fridge to rest.

2) Add the muscovado sugar to the apple slices, together with the lemon juice, cinnamon powder, 2 tbsp flour, vanilla extract, zest and lemon juice. Mix well and add the raisins, before mixing well again. Be careful not to break up the apple slices.

3) Layer the apple slices in a pie dish.

4) Pour on the crumble and pinch it together so that it resembles biscuit crumbs rather than fine powder.

5) Preheat the oven. Bake at 180 deg C for 40 mins or until the top is golden and the filling is bubbling. Be careful because it can go from golden to burnt very fast! Serve with ice cream or whipping cream.