Anthea’s Apple and Walnut Squares

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These Apple and Walnut Squares are so easy and so delicious, everyone will go nuts for them!

A few weeks ago, I popped round to my neighbour Anthea for a shortbread masterclass. However, I learned so much more than how to make the perfect shortbread – stay tuned for the shortbread recipe – like, how to make these tasty tea time treats.

Anthea and I love talking about food, it’s one of our favourite topics of conversation. While our shortbread was chilling in the fridge, Anthea showed me a charity cookbook that her Cancer Research UK fundraising group had produced raising over £1000 for the Cambridge Cancer Institute – what a result! Fabulous fundraising aside, I couldn’t wait to look at the recipes inside that, each one was a favourite recipe that had been contributed by committee members and their friends and relatives.

There are so many recipes in that book that I’d like to try but of course, I had to start with one of Anthea’s. I knew if the recipe for these Apple and Walnut Squares was nearly as good as her shortbread recipe, this bake would be ah-mazing! And of course, it was!

In her recipe notes in the book, Anthea says that this is a recipe that you will want to make again and again and she is so right! I’ve made this recipe so many times because it’s so quick and easy and apart from an apple, you just need some pantry staples to make it.

Anthea’s tip is to chop and freeze the apple in freezer bags which is a really quick and easy way to add the apple to the recipe. She also recommends having everything weighed and measured before you start this recipe as it needs to get into the oven really quickly once the dry ingredients are added.

I was a bit nervous when I first made this and invited Anthea round to taste test it but she said it was perfect. It’s such a great recipe – a super light sponge, dotted with apple and walnuts and oh, so cinnamony! Is that even a word? If not, it should be!

I promise if you make these squares, this recipe will be the apple of your eye!

If you had to contribute a recipe to a cookbook, what would it be? Are you a cinnamon fan too?

Cuts into 9 squares

Ingredients

125g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

60g butter, melted

1/2 generous teaspoon cinnamon

100g brown sugar

30g caster sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

75g apple, peeled and cored

50g chopped walnuts, plus 9 walnut halves to decorate

FOR THE TOPPING

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

How to – Traditional

  1. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
  2. Make the topping. In a small bowl, mix the caster sugar with the cinnamon and set aside.
  3. Chop the apple finely and set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, mix the melted butter, caster sugar and brown sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth.
  5. Stir in the egg and the vanilla, with a dash of milk to slacken the mixture if necessary.
  6. Blend in the flour until just combined and then quickly stir through the chopped apple and chopped walnuts.
  7. Spread the mixture quickly into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and arrange the 9 walnut halves to mark the top of each slice/square.
  8. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar topping and bake for 25 minutes.
  9. Cool for a few minutes in the tin before cutting into 9 pieces. Allow to cool completely before removing from the paper and cutting into squares.

How to – Thermomix

  1. Preheat oven to C190. Grease and line a 20cm x 20cm square tin with baking paper.
  2. Make the topping. In a small bowl, mix the caster sugar with the cinnamon and set aside.
  3. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in the TM bowl and mix for 5 seconds on speed 5. Set aside.
  4. Cut the apple into big chunks, place in TM bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 4. Set aside but don’t wash the bowl.
  5. Add the butter and melt at 60C on speed 2 for 2 minutes, or until melted. Allow the butter to cool for a couple of minutes.
  6. Add the caster sugar and the brown sugar and mix for 5 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of TM bowl.
  7. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix for 10 seconds on speed 4. If the mixture is looking too thick, add a little drop of milk.
  8. Add the flour mixture and mix for 5 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl and then mix for a further 5 seconds on speed 4.
  9. Add the chopped apple and the chopped walnuts and combine for 5 seconds on reverse speed 4.
  10. Spread the mixture quickly into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and arrange the 9 walnut halves to mark the top of each slice/square.
  11. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar topping and bake for 25 minutes.
  12. Cool for a few minutes in the tin before cutting into 9 pieces. Allow to cool completely before removing from the paper and cutting into squares.