Try this original recipe from the 18th century, but be careful readers of the Yorkshire Evening Post were warned in 1896 that this new toffee apple craze among the young was dangerous
I have the best memory of eating this simple pudding on a rather chilly day in May in an old Cumbrian longhouse owned by food historian Ivan Day. The apples were baked in an authentic wood-fired stove and filled the house with that unmistakably comforting scent apples give to a breeze in the air. They came out of the oven black as if theyd been to hell and back, and were eaten after a deliciously memorable meal in the company of the most diverse of food history enthusiasts.
I was told by my host that this is the original toffee apple. Recipes for toffee apples only appeared around the end of Victorian times, while venerable publications such as the Yorkshire Evening Post on 14 July 1896, warned of the dangers of this new craze among the young. For black caps, a few recipes can be found in the 18th century; each writer has their own way of creating this dish, so I would say make it your own by altering it to your taste.
Take six large apples, and cut a slice off the bottom end, put them in a tin, and set them in a quick oven till they are brown, then wet them with rosewater, and grate a little sugar over them, and set them in the oven again till they look bright, and very black, then take them out, and put them into a deep china dish or plate, and pour round them thick cream custard, or white wine and sugar. It is a pretty corner dish for either dinner or supper.
Elizabeth Raffald, The Experienced English Housekeeper, 1782
The recipe
Serves 6
6 dessert apples, such as jonagold or orange cox
about 2 tbsp sugar, to sprinkle
1 tbsp orange flower water or rosewater
A naughty drizzle of Grand Marnier (orange-flavoured liqueur) or brandy (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Wash the apples and slice off a strip of the skin around the middle to prevent the apple from popping. Sprinkle the apples with sugar. Arrange them in a baking tray and drizzle the rosewater or orange flower water over so each apple has some splashes. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little more sugar and add Grand Marnier or brandy, if using, before the apples go back in the oven. Makes for a rather festive dish, but is not a must. Put them back in the oven for a further 30 minutes until quite tender but not reduced to pulp. The apples should be blackened, hence the name black caps.
Fabulous with custard, clotted cream and ice cream, I mostly enjoy them with a thick, strained yoghurt for breakfast or an afternoon nibble.
Cooking over a fire?
To use the Dutch oven method, place a heatproof dish holding the apples on a trivet in your Dutch oven. Fire the coals and let them go grey, then stand the pot over the coals on a trivet and place some of the coals on the Dutch ovens lid. As fire is unpredictable I cant give you an exact cooking time, but check after 30 minutes; if they arent already well on their way, the coals arent hot enough.
Regula Ysewijns Pride and Pudding is available from the Guardian bookshop here
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