In praise of the Baked Apple

Without fail around late autumn our neighbours give us a bucket of Bramley apples harvested from a tree in their garden. I was always jealous of this tree as a child and sometimes vaulted the fence to nick an apple or two; in our garden we had (and still possess) a gnarled, glorified stump of a pear tree that supports a tree house. No fruit has ever fallen from this tree apart from one year when it was clearly trying to die, dropping onto the vegetable patch all of four small, stumpy pears which were promptly scoffed by crows and the dog. Once a year with my bucket of cookers I’d set out to try a range of new, exciting, crumble, chutney or pie recipes I’d been hoarding since the summer but the baked apple only featured once in my repertoire. This was because the few I made were cooked in the microwave and were understandably disgusting. I mean look at them, they’re like the Elephant Man of desserts.

Armed with this season’s crop of apples and my trusty Jewish cookbook I made a pretty successful reconnaissance a few weeks ago; sultanas, walnuts and golden syrup all featured, as did an actual baking process rather than a few spins in the microwave. The result was tasty but a bit slushy; think a thick skin holding together apple sauce and you’re on the mark. Reluctant to shelve the baked apple I sifted through my Bibendum cookbook after hearing about Amy’s recent trip there and lo, a new baked apple recipe appeared with a winning formula; use Braeburns! Look, the Bramley apple’s hardly going to waste; he’s a great lad for a crumble so let’s keep him there. We’ve all bought a naff bag of eating apples and not really known what to do with them; they seem too precious for stewing but too woolly to eat with cheese so baking them gives them a chance to shine. What’s more, they’re the perfect size for a single serving; I may have a healthy appetite but even I struggle forcing a cooking apple down after dinner…

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized Braeburn apples

A handful sultanas/raisins

A handful soft brown sugar

One small handful of each of the following: chopped dates, prunes, walnuts or flaked almonds

A tablespoon mixed peel, roughly chopped

The zest of one lemon or orange

Cointreau or any other sweet liqueur

Knob of butter.

Method:

1)      If you’re very snazzy or very antiquated you may have an apple corer. If so, use it. If not, do as I do and try not to stab the palms of your hands by removing the cores from the apples.

2)      With a knife score a thin “equator” around the middle of the apple so that it doesn’t burst during cooking. Then place the apples in a snugly-fitting baking dish.

3)      In a bowl combine the sultanas, sugar chopped dates, prunes, walnuts and mixed peel. Stir in the lemon or orange zest then cram as much of the filling as you can into the cored apple holes. Sprinkle any remaining mix around the apples or balance on top!

4)      Pour a dessertspoon of Cointreau over each apple and top with a small knob of butter.

5)      Bake on the middle shelf, 180˚C for 45 minutes to one hour, until a skewer glides smoothly through the flesh.

These apples take a lot less time to bake which is brilliant. I’ve taken to putting them in the oven just before I make the dinner so they’re all ready just as we’re finishing up. I like to serve the apples in a puddle of custard sauce, cream or ice cream. A sweet hit that makes you feel you’re getting one of your five a day!