Ingredients apple
sugar
butter
bread
spice (optional)
Equipment baking tin
apple corer or small knife
oven:
time in oven: 40 mins
preparation time:
peel and cook apples
make toffee
Cooking process
I haven't given amounts!
Peel and core the apples and chop into pieces. Cook with a little water in a saucepan until nearly soft.
Put some butter and brown sugar in another saucepan. Heat gently until butter melts and mixes with sugar, then a bit more until it starts turning into toffee. Cut a couple of slices of breead, and tear into bits (especially the crust). Put in with the toffee and stir until it's mixed. (There won't be enough toffee to soak the bread - just enough to have bits throughout).
Put half the apples in the tin, then half the breadcrumbs, then the rest of the apple, then the rest of the crumbs. Cook in oven for about 40 mins.
Other ideas
When I did the above, I found that the middle layer of crumbs were soggy with apple juice. The sceond time, I cut up the bread (especially the crust) as much as possible, then fried it in the butter over a low heat. I mixed in the brown sugar as well. The butter was promptly absorbed by the bread crumbs, but it did brown a little. This made the final Brown Betty far crunchier. However 30 mins at the temperature above did make it burn a little on top. So next time, either I'll cover the dish while cooking, or cook it at a lower temperature.
