Early morning in the orchard

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There are two ways to deal with these dark, damp mornings: stay in bed and ignore the world, or to get up, make your loved one a cup of tea (and thereby place yourself in early credit) and get outside. Today, I chose the later.

There a few things I love more than an empty orchard in autumn, early in the morning. The dog has the scent of unknown nocturnals, the mist lifts like steam off the kettle, and everything you get done feels like a win at this time of day.


Ten minutes and I’d picked enough fruit to make sufficient medlar jelly for the year. I’ll have to buy another 5 kilo bag of sugar. This apparently healthy living and a diet of homegrown produce really is no good for you.

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Today’s medlars are firm and hard. In a fortnight, the cold will have softened those left unpicked, and that second harvest will go to make this, a recipe from A Year at Otter Farm. This is what dimpsy Sunday afternoons were made for – medlar sticky toffee pudding with an old film, perhaps this one. I haven’t seen it since I was off school ill, aged 11 or so, and this is exactly how I intend to spend a Sunday before Christmas, with a far-too-large bowlful of that pud.

Of the many reasons to plant a medlar in your garden or in a large pot, this is the only one you need.

Medlar sticky toffee pudding

Serves 6, if you’re not too much of a lard ass

For the sauce:
125g unsalted butter
70g golden caster sugar
50g dark muscovado sugar
150ml double cream

For the sponge:
200g medlar pulp
60g unsalted butter, softened
85g golden caster sugar
70g dark muscovado sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
180g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
85g walnuts, crushed

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Lightly butter a baking dish approximately 24cm x 20cm.

Put the sauce ingredients in a pan, and heat gently until the butter melts. Turn the heat up and boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Pour a little over half of the sauce into the dish, allow to cool and refridgerate to firm up the sauce.

Beat the butter and sugars together, then add in the eggs, one and a time and beat until combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cloves and salt until incorporated. Thoroughly stir in the medlar pulp and the walnuts.

Spoon the mixture into the dish, over the toffee sauce. Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn the grill on to a moderate heat. Make holes in the cake with a knife – just large enough to allow the sauce to soak in to the sponge – and pour over the remaining sauce. Grill for just long enough to bubble the top a little. Serve with a lake of double cream or a skipful of vanilla ice cream.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][products columns=”4″ orderby=”title” order=”” ids=”915, 5242, 4942″][/vc_column][/vc_row]