Method
Cook the crab apples with a splash of water in a large, heavy-based pan set over a gentle heat. Stirring regularly, cook for 45–60 minutes until the crab apples are very soft and broken down (if the fruit isn’t really pulpy, continue to cook until it is). Add more water if at any point the pan looks dry. Remove from the heat and push the pulp through a mouli with a fine gauge into a clean bowl. (If you don’t have a mouli, you can rub the mixture through a sieve.) Add the honey and then the fennel seeds and stir well to combine. Taste for sweetness, adding more honey if you need to.
Heat the oven to low – around 60°C/140°F/gas mark ¼ is good. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Divide the mixture equally between the two baking sheets, smoothing it out as evenly and as thinly as you can. Place the baking sheets in the oven for 12–14 hours until the thin layers of pulp are completely dry, even at the centre. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Lay out two clean pieces of baking parchment, each slightly longer and wider than the pieces of leather. Peel each leather off the baking sheet and lay it onto a prepared piece of clean parchment. Take one end of the first piece of clean parchment and roll it up with the leather inside. Repeat for the other piece of parchment and leather. The leather will keep in an airtight container for 4–5 months.
