It’s dark, foggy and very damp in London at the moment, and I am officially in full-blown, hood-up, tights-on, Autumn mode. And to harness all the beautiful produce knocking about at this time of year, I’ve been making industrial quantities of pumpkin and squash purée and applesauce, and stashing them in the depths of my freezer. If it’s in season, I’m purée-ing it. I feel like a sort of crazed squirrel, armed with a blender, preparing for Winter. Please join me!

First up is my applesauce aka apple compôte- sharp-but-just-sweet-enough, it comprises only 2 ingredients and tastes infinitely better than anything shop-bought – trust me. You can stir it into yoghurt, bake deliciously moist cakes with it (more on which later…) or even go all Henry VIII on us and use as an accompaniment to goose!

This batch is made with apples picked from my grandad’s garden so tastes especially perfect to me – you can’t beat homegrown produce – but you can easily buy cooking apples from the supermarket when in season.

2-ingredient applesauce

Ingredients:

• 500g peeled and cored cooking apples (I use Bramleys), cut into chunks
• 40g golden caster sugar
• 60ml cold water

Method:

In a large, wide-based pan, simmer the ingredients on a medium heat for 20-30 minutes, until the apples have softened.

Leave to cool slightly and then blitz in a blender until smooth. Tip: If you prefer a chunkier sauce, feel free to mash instead!

Source: Recipe and photos from pip & little blue.