These are a delicious, hearty and a not-too-sweet afternoon tea snack with the poppy seeds giving them a little something extra in terms of texture and taste.  They are not a cake but not a bread either – a lovely something in between.

I made these because I had some of the slow cooked Fruit and Nut Compote left over and I’m glad I did!  They were very popular with everyone at home.

Great for autumnal picnics on a headland somewhere or under the trees.

Ingredients

2 cups/300g self raising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
60g butter, chilled and cut into little cubes
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup/125ml milk.

Ingredients for the gooey, yummy middle part.

1 cup spiced compote, sieved, draining off the juices OR stewed, spiced apples* (see below for recipe)
1 cup almond meal (more or less depending on how runny your compote or spiced apples are – you are looking for a nice thick paste)
1/4 cup maple syrup.

Method

Preheat oven to 200degrees C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Stir together flour, sugar and spices.  Drop in little butter cubes and rub into the flour until your mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir through the poppy seeds.  Pour in milk and cut through the ‘breadcrumbs’ until you have a dough.

Turn out and knead for a couple of minutes.  Roll out into a big rectangle.  Spread the spiced paste over the whole thing and roll into a big sausage.

Using a wet, sharp knife, cut into slices (you choose thickness) and arrange on a lined baking tray.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until they are nice and golden.  Cool on a wire wrack.

*Stewed, spiced apples:

Peel 2 apples and slice thinly, put in saucepan with a cinnamon stick, 1 clove, a sprinkle of brown sugar and a smidgen of water.  Simmer gently until the apples are soft.