9 Apr 2018

Carey White's apple brownies

From Nine To Noon, 11:34 am on 9 April 2018

If you're baking with apples, Granny Smith are best as they pulp down quickly and easily, says Carey White. The North Canterbury orchardist shares her recipe for (gluten-free) gooey melt apple brownies.

Carey and her husband Nick bought Mill Orchard in the 1980s.

Melty Gooey Apple Brownies

Melty Gooey Apple Brownies Photo: Carey White

They produce 15 varieties of apples and pears, including the popular Cox's Orange, Royal Gala, Red Delicious, Braeburn and one of Carey's personal favourites, New Zealand Rose – an unbelievably sweet apple with a tender skin, she says.

In the past, selling whole apples wasn't as profitable as it is now, so Mill Orchard started producing juice – initially on a machine built by Nick and his brother.

When their juice took off, Nick talked the former beautician Carey into managing the supply chain.

"I got on the road and learnt everything the hard way, from scratch."

Not-from-concentrate juices made only from New Zealand fruit are hard to find, Carey says.

Mill Orchard make theirs by simply crushing and pasteurising the fruit, then adding back Vitamin C, which gets lost in the pasteurisation process.

The juice has a 12-month shelf life and will last up to five days in the fridge after it's been opened, she says.

You can find Carey's recipe for "very soft" apple brownies with salted maple caramel sauce here.