AT THE TABLE WITH JOHN ADAMS

Apple pandowdy

Name: Apple pandowdy
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 900 g tart apples, peeled and sliced (about 6); 60 g brown sugar (⅓ cup); 2 tbsp molasses; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 30 g butter (2 tbsp); 1 sheet ready-rolled pie pastry, about 250 g; Vanilla ice cream, optional

The best part is breaking the crust.

Dessert1 hr 10 minServes 6

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Apple pandowdy — a painted table — A painted table · Serving illustration

THE STORY ON YOUR PLATE

A diary entry you can serve for dinner

More about John Adams →

A Massachusetts lawyer, independence advocate and the second president.

Historical reconstruction

Apples, pastry and a New England household provide the basis for this dessert. It completes the menu as a regional reconstruction. Ready-made pastry and a modest baking dish put the emphasis on tender, warmly spiced fruit.

The president & the table

On 18 November 1777, John Adams recorded a meal of salt pork and cabbage, roast beef and potatoes, pudding, grog and port. The entry predates his presidency, but it gives us something more useful than a modern list of favourites: a meal he actually ate.

Behind this story

John Adams diary, 18 November 1777; New England culinary context.

APRON ON. HISTORY CAN WAIT.

Make it at home.

Our home adaptation · Serves 6 · Not yet kitchen-tested

Let’s make it

Heat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Butter a 23 cm / 9 in baking dish.
Toss apples with sugar, molasses, lemon, cinnamon and cornstarch. Transfer to the dish and dot with butter.
Cover with pastry, tuck the edges inside the dish and cut three steam slits. Bake for 30 minutes.
Carefully cut the lid into rough squares and press a few edges into the apple juices. Bake 20–25 minutes more, until the apples are tender and the juices bubble. Rest for 10 minutes.

About this home version

Ready-made pastry and a smaller baking dish make this an easy modern dessert.

Metric and US measures are approximate equivalents. For baking, use weights when you can.

Apple pandowdy

A diary entry you can serve for dinner

Make it at home.

What you’ll need

Let’s make it

More from this table.

Salt pork, cabbage & potatoes