Alabama home bakers at the Alabama National Fair took part in Alabama Living’s “Celebrating your ancestral roots” cooking competition. The cooks, who competed in the dessert competition, were judged by the fair and the Alabama Rural Electric Association. The top three winners received a cash prize and a ribbon.

Winners of the 2024 Alabama Living baking competition are, from left, Jamie Davis, TerreLynn Huston and Melissa Welch, shown with Alabama Living editor Lenore Vickrey. (Allison Law / Alabama Living)

Old-Fashioned English Apple Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 package double crust pie pastry
• 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon allspice
• Dash red cayenne pepper
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup butter, cut into 8 cubes
• Additional butter for greasing the pan

Sauce:

• 2½ cups water
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch oven-proof baking pan. Peel and core Granny Smith apples; set aside. Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cayenne pepper, pecans and raisins in small bowl. Fill cavity of apples with brown sugar, spice mix and 1 cube butter.

Roll pastry into a rectangle. Lightly flour if needed. Cut into 6-inch squares. Place an apple on each square and carefully pull pie dough up to cover the apple, gathering it at the top. Mash carefully to completely seal the apple. Repeat with each apple. Place them in the buttered dish. Optional: Cut decorative leaves from leftover pie crust and attach two to top of dough. Roll or twist a marble-sized piece of dough to make a stem. Press into top of dough to adhere.

Make sauce by adding water, sugar and remaining butter to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and heat 4-5 minutes until sugar is completely melted, stirring often. Carefully pour over apples and put them in the oven. Once or twice during baking, carefully spoon sauce over the apples. Bake until golden brown, about an hour to an hour 10 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Serve apple dumpling with additional sauce from apples; ice cream is optional.

Melissa Welch

Old-Fashioned English Apple Dumplings. (Allison Law / Alabama Living)

English Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

• 5½ ounces chopped, pitted dried Medjool dates
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ⅔ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 medium eggs
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1½ tablespoons golden or dark corn syrup
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (to put in date mixture)

Toffee sauce:

• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the dates and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for a couple of minutes. Let stand for a few minutes while preparing the rest of the batter. Cream together the butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the molasses and syrup and beat well.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in three equal portions, mixing until smooth after each addition. Puree the date mixture in a food processor or blender before mixing in the baking soda. Add this hot mixture immediately to the batter and mix until smooth. Pour batter into well-greased and floured 6-cup baking dish and bake about 50 minutes until the center is just firm.

Sauce: Bring all the ingredients to a slow rolling boil for about 2 minutes before serving over the baked pudding. Serve warm with extra sauce and ice cream on the side.

TerreLynn Huston

English Sticky Toffee Pudding. (Allison Law / Alabama Living)

Nana’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen peaches, pureed in a food processor
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 1 can Pet milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Whole milk
• 1 box ice cream salt
• About 10 pounds crushed ice

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix peaches with sugar and pinch of salt with mixer. Slowly add 1 cup whipping cream and cans of milk, incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla. Pour into the silver canister of an ice cream freezer. Add whole milk to the fill line. Using the paddles, mix milk into the mixture of peaches. Secure lid and place in freezer. Add crushed ice and rock salt until filled to cover container. Turn on freezer. Takes about 20 minutes on average to make ice cream. When freezer turns off, check to see if ice cream has firmed. If not serving right away, can serve in one hour in ice or place silver container in freezer until ready to eat.

Jamie Davis

Nana’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream. (Allison Law / Alabama Living)