Old fashioned apple pandowdy

From the food-with-irresistible-names series: pandowdy. :)

You already know I choose recipes because of their unusual names, so no secrets here. And just to prove you I’m not that shallow, I can’t wait to try all the other desserts on the link the pandowdy came from. If you want to know more about pandowdies, Elle has a great post here, with a delicious recipe on the side.

Old fashioned apple pandowdy
from here

Filling:
1/3 cup molasses (not robust or blackstrap)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice – I used lime juice
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
5 Gala or Granny Smith apples (900 to 1.2kg / 2 to 2 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into 1.25cm (½in) wedges
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup (100g) sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Biscuit top:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder – oh, yes, that much
3 teaspoons sugar, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¾ stick (85g/6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1.25cm (½in) pieces
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream plus additional for brushing
heavy cream, extra, to serve

Start by making the filling: preheat oven to 190°C/375°F with rack in middle. Stir together molasses, water, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Add apples and stir to coat, then stir in flour and sugar.
Transfer apple mixture to a buttered 22cm (9in) square baking pan and dot with butter. Bake, covered with foil, 25 minutes.
Now, make the biscuit top while filling bakes: whisk together flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and stir with a fork just until a dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times to bring dough together. Pat or roll dough into a 20cm (8in) square. Brush with a little additional cream and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.
Cover hot fruit with dough and bake, uncovered, until biscuit is just golden, about 20 minutes. Use a spoon to break up biscuit top and mix slightly with filling, drizzling some of apples and liquid over biscuit.
Continue to bake until apples are tender and biscuit is golden brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool to warm, about 20 minutes. Serve with cream.

Serves 6 – I halved the recipe above, used 3 Gala apples and a 20cm (8in) round flan dish