Fresh Fruit for the Office with Fruitdrop, The Quince Tree and Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

Fresh Fruit for the Office with Fruitdrop, The Quince Tree

and

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

Ripe quince on my Quince Tree

Fruit, one of my favourite snacks as well as a favourite baking and cooking ingredient…….I love ALL types of fruit – apples, pears, quince, oranges, tangerines, plums, peaches, nectarines, mangoes, bananas, kiwi fruit, grapes etc…….so, when I was approached by Fruitdrop a few weeks ago to ask if I would like to receive and review one of their “Fruitdrop office fruit delivery” boxes, as well as create a couple of recipes with the left-over fruit, I was delighted to accept the fruitful challenge! Fruitdrop deliver boxes of your “five-a-day” all over the UK, as well as offering a handy fruit delivery in London service, which, must be a boon to all those who are office bound from Monday to Friday. My fruitdrop box duly arrived and I was, to put it bluntly, gobsmacked! The box was filled to brim and almost overflowing with the most amazing fruit……..apples, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, bananas, grapes, a lovely ripe mango, limes, tangerines and oranges. There was enough fruit in the box for a fairly large office for a week, say for about five to six people. The fruit was delivered in a recyclable box and all of the fruit was in tip-top condition and was obviously very fresh.

Fruitdrop Box

I was delighted with the variety and quality, as well as the fact that the apples, pears and plums were British too. Although there would be no problem (with me) with eating all of the fruit fresh that arrived, on a daily basis and with help, I was left with lots of fruit by the end of the week, hence the excellent idea create a recipe or two. I have managed to create TWO lovely new recipes with some of the apples and pears that were left over, and I am sharing my first recipe here today, a delightful autumn dessert, Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey; the honey (Manuka honey with lemon) I used was also a left-over ingredient from my hamper of New Zealand honey that I received a month ago, you may remember I made some Porridge Pancakes with my honey for Better Breakfast Week…….so, a VERY thrifty (as well as healthy) recipe, especially as the fruit was “bulked out” with some quince, from the quince tree in my garden. 

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

This baked “compote” is easy to cook, plus I used the residual heat from a roast dinner to bake my fruit……so, also saving on energy too.  Once it is cooked, it can be served hot with cream or custard, or it can be popped in the fridge for another day, for a pie or crumble, or, for a quick family pudding, as I did the other evening when I served it with a slice of stale cake – I popped it all into a bowl and then into the microwave for one minute, and eh voila! An instant pudding, served with cream (but custard would have been great too) and it went down a treat. 

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey – served with stale cake and cream

There is one tip I want to share with you when making this recipe, make sure that the quinces are sliced thinly, as they normally take longer to bake than apples and pears, and plums, so by cutting them into thin slices, all the fruit bakes beautifully together, as you can see by my photo. I used the apples and pears from my Fruitdrop box, as well as a few plums, and then added some more plums as well as the quince of course……..I would have used my limes, but, they were gone in two days, as I used them to make some Guacamole for a Mexican meal I prepared! I hope you enjoy my first fruity recipe – I will be sharing my second recipe later this week.….that’s all for now, I am off out to dinner tonight, so I am not cooking later – which makes a change! See you later, Karen

Disclaimer: I was sent a box of fruit for review and was asked to create some recipes with the fruit that was left over; all opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way by Fruitdrop. Karen S Burns-Booth

The benefits of fruit at work:

• We spend up to 60% of our waking hours at work so need to eat 3 of our 5 A DAY at work. Healthy eating in the workplace can also help employees be happier at work.
• Eating more fruit and veg is the second most important cancer prevention strategy after giving up smoking.
• For each portion of fruit eaten there is up to a 40% greater level of protection against having a stroke.
• Having fruit at work means we are more likely to reach for a banana than something unhealthy and fattening from the vending machine.

Baked Orchard Fruits uncooked…..

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

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Serves	4 to 6
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	50 minutes
Dietary	Vegetarian
Meal type	Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Misc	Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party, Halloween, Thanksgiving
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A delicious baked orchard fruits compote with Manuka honey and vanilla - this is fabulous when served warm or cold, with yoghurt, cream or crème fraîche. The cooked fruit is also wonderful for a cheat's crumble - simple spoon fruit into a bowl and scatter granola or muesli over the top. I also love this when served for a healthy breakfast with yoghurt and cereals. I also serve this warm over slices of cake for an instant fruity pudding, with custard.

Ingredients

• 2 pears (cut into quarters and cored)
• 2 apples (cut into quarters and cored)
• 12 plums (halved and stoned)
• 2 quinces (peeled, cored and cut into thin slices)
• juice of one lemon
• 2 vanilla pods (cut into halves)
• 6 tablespoon honey (I used New Zealand Manuka honey)
• water

Note

A delicious baked orchard fruits compote with Manuka honey and vanilla - this is fabulous when served warm or cold, with yoghurt, cream or crème fraîche. The cooked fruit is also wonderful for a cheat's crumble - simple spoon fruit into a bowl and scatter granola or muesli over the top. I also love this when served for a healthy breakfast with yoghurt and cereals. I sometimes serve this warm, spooned over slices of cake for an instant fruity pudding with custard.

Directions

Step 1	Heat oven to 220°C / 425°F fan assisted or 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
Step 2	Place the prepared fruit in a large oven-proof roasting tray or gratin dish. Spoon the honey over the top of the fruit and then place the vanilla pod strips in and amongst the fruit.
Step 3	Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and roast in a preheated oven for 25 to 30 mins or until the fruits have softened, but not collapsed and the fruit juices and honey have made a sauce.
Step 4	Serve with yoghurt, cream or crème fraîche or use to make a simple crumble with granola scattered over the top. (Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.)

Baked Orchard Fruits with Vanilla and Honey

The Quince Tree!

The Quince Tree

The Quince Tree – Laden with Fruit

What’s your favourite fruits?

Do you buy fruit for work?