Over the years, we have come to recognise how our own behaviour matches the seasons. In spring, we feel fresh and rested from our winter’s hibernation, as if we too are sprouting our first shoots with optimism for what lies ahead. In summer, we rush about, our minds and bodies caught up in the heat and frenzy of the long days. But of all the seasons, it is autumn we look forward to most. It’s a time to walk a little bit slower, to lift one’s head, to reflect on the past few months while basking in the myriad colours.
As growers, we rely on a dry, warm autumn to ripen the squashes, tomatoes, sweetcorn and raspberries. Each day the sun makes a slightly lower arc in the sky, its intense golden light casting longer and longer shadows. The farm glows with oranges and reds from the greenhouse to the pumpkin patch and the orchard.
In the hedgerows, we find magenta-black elderberries hanging in heavy clusters. As we walk past the large oak tree, we hear rustling and the ping of acorns and hazelnuts falling on to the corrugated roof of the shed, knowing that squirrels and mice are busy stocking up their larders.
For us, autumn also means harvest time: the moment has arrived to get the ladders out and collect the apples and pears from laden branches. This year has brought a bumper crop: the delicate blossoms weren’t damaged by night frosts in spring, after which followed a good spell of rain – enough to sustain the trees and swelling fruit into midsummer – and then an unusually chilly breeze from the north that made for the temperate climate that apples and pears prefer.
The Bramley apples are at their best now, showing off their fluffy, snowy texture when cooked and outstanding flavour – the perfect addition to a pork gravy, or used in a crumble, or in the apple curd tart recipe that follows.
This year, the wasps have been out in force and have made pear-picking hazardous. Now they have gone, and we can pick the just-ripe pears and pack them carefully into crates, lining them up a few millimetres apart to be stored in a cool, dark shed. We like eating our pears when they are just ripe and a bit crunchy – delicious added to a coleslaw of new season white cabbage, raw grated beetroot and carrots. Or, of course, in the upside‑down cake below.
Apple curd tart
Serves 6-8
350g bramley apples, peeled, cored and grated
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
A pinch of salt
125g butter
250g granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
100g ground almonds
2 tsp demerara sugar
For the pastry
250g plain flour
A pinch of salt
250g chilled butter, cut into cubes
2 tsp caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1½ tbsp chilled water
1 First, make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and add the butter cubes. Cut the butter into the flour using a round-bladed knife. When the pieces are all well-coated with flour, use your fingertips to rub the mixture together, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar. Beat the egg yolk with the chilled water, then pour into the flour mixture and combine to make a firm dough. Turn out on to a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth, then put into a plastic bag or wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least half an hour.
2 Put the grated apple, lemon juice and zest, salt, butter and sugar into a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir gently until the butter has melted, the sugar dissolved and the mixture is warm, but not hot. Pour in the beaten eggs through a sieve, then whisk the mixture over a gentle heat until thick and creamy – about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, fold in the almonds, then set aside until the apple curd has cooled.
3 Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until 3-4mm thick. Line a 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin with the rolled pastry, trimming the edge. Allow the pastry to rest again for 20 minutes in the fridge. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Put a baking tray in the oven.
4 Line the tart tin and pastry with parchment paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Blind bake the pastry for 12-15 minutes, until it is dry to the touch. Remove the paper and beans, or rice, then return the pastry case to the oven and cook for 5 minutes, or until lightly coloured. Allow it to cool for a few minutes, then pour in the apple curd. Sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the top. Bake at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 for about 25 minutes, or until the curd has set and is lightly coloured. When cooked remove from the oven and allow it to cool a little before serving either warm or cold with plenty of cream.
Pear and ginger upside‑down cake
Serves 6-8
140g self-raising flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1-2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
115g demerara sugar
50g butter
115g black treacle
1 egg, lightly beaten
75ml milk
For the pears
3 large pears, firm and ripe, peeled
50g unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, slit open lengthways
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 Set the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Cut the pears into sixths if large; into quarters if small. Remove the core. Put the butter and caster sugar into a 21cm tatin tin or ovenproof frying pan and melt over a gentle heat. Tightly pack the pear pieces in the tin, cut-side up, in a single layer. Put the vanilla pod on top, plus 3 wide strips of lemon zest. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit. Cover with foil and put in the oven. Bake the pears for 15 minutes, or until the fruit is just tender, basting now and then to ensure that each piece is coated with the butter and sugar. Remove from the oven, take off the foil and discard the vanilla and lemon zest.
2 Next, make the ginger cake. Sift the flour, salt and spices into a bowl, then stir in the demerara sugar.
3 Put the butter and treacle in a pan. Stir over a gentle heat until melted. Stir into the dry ingredients along with the beaten egg. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth, then mix in the milk.
4 Pour the cake mixture over the pears and bake for about 40 minutes at 160C/325F/gas mark 3, until the cake is firm to the touch and slightly cracked on top. Allow the cake to cool a little in the tin, then run a knife around the side to loosen it, place a large plate on top and flip them both over to turn out the cake. There may be some excess juices from the pears: just spoon this over with each serving.
Jane Scotter and Harry Astley run Fern Verrow, a biodynamic farm in Herefordshire. Their book, Fern Verrow (Quadrille), is out now. fernverrow.com; @fernverrow
