Toffee Apple Porridge

Golden Spurtle Nick Barnard recipe
Todays Speciality Recipes from the 2023 World Porridge Making Championships is Nick Barnard’s Toffee Apple Porridge. Nick was Speciality Champion in 2013 and still chases the Golden Spurtle.

Ingredients – all organic

8 eating apples
 
450g Rapadura sugar
 
Oatmeal
 
Highbank Orchard Apple syrup
 
Cinnamon stick
 
Cardamom pods
 
Star anise
 
Clotted or very thick cream

Here is how!

 
Make the apple puree
 
Peel and core 4 of the apples and dice. Cook the apple with cardamom, star anise and a cinnamon stick. Allow to cool. Remove the spices.
 
Core apples
 
Core 4 of the apples to make a bowl shape in the centre of each.
 
Make the toffee and coat the apples
 
Place a large piece of baking parchment on a board.
Tip the sugar into a large saucepan, add the lemon juice and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around, but don’t stir, and be careful it does not boil over until it reaches ‘hard crack’ stage or 150C on a sugar thermometer. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the toffee by dropping a small amount into cold water. It should harden instantly and, when removed, be brittle. If it’s soft, continue to boil. Turn off the heat.
Working quickly, dip each apple into the toffee, tipping the pan to cover it fully. Lift out and allow any excess to drip off back into the pan before placing on the baking parchment. Repeat with the remaining apples. Gently heat the toffee again, if you need to. Leave to set, and chill.
 
Make oatmeal
 
Make the oatmeal as per instructions on the packet/to your style and taste.
 
Serve
 
Layer oatmeal with apple puree into each apple, and swirl apple syrup over each.
 
Serve with a bowl of cream on the side to dip the porridge into
 
When empty, eat the toffee apple….