It's so easy I'm not even going to write up the recipe properly. But you really can't go wrong (and I'm sure Google would find you hundreds of recipes for this if you feel the need for specifics). Start by pre-heating the oven to 180 C. Then get an apple for each person you're making it for. So, for Mr Cake and I, that would be two apples. So far so good...
You'll need to core them - an apple corer does a neater job but as you can see gouging through the middle with a knife also works perfectly well (it means you can make a bigger hole, and therefore cram more stuffing inside. Aha!).
Next you need to make the stuffing. Brown sugar and some sort of dried fruit are the only vital elements here (in fact, if you were on a super health kick you could probably even omit the sugar, though I'm sure that wouldn't taste nearly as good). When I was a kid it was usually raisins; tonight, because I was feeling fancy I got some mixed dried berries from the supermarket - and they were divine! You can also add nuts - I used some slivered almonds, a bit of leftover almond meal to help make it a bit crustier (think apple crumble, sort of), and some leftover walnuts, cut into small pieces. Also feel free to add cinnamon, nutmeg, or any other spices you like (though I'd suggest tumeric or cumin might be a bit odd).
The next step is to cram the stuffing inside the apples. The more that's inside the better, as bits left on the tray are liable to burn. If you want to make for extra lusciousness use cider or apple juice to baste it - pour in the bottom of the pan and during cooking a couple of times spoon it back over the fruit. This will give a little extra flavour, and keep the fruit and filling nice and moist. Bake for 20-35 minutes (depending on how large your apples are and whether you like them firm or soft - or how impatient you are!).
Voila! There's dessert. Best served with a small scoop of vanilla ice-cream, or unsweetened yoghurt.
What's your favourite quick dessert to whip up when the sweet tooth hits?
Hi! I'm Rosa, a.k.a. Mrs Cake, and I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I love food in all its forms, my fabulous family, and a bit of good old-fashioned Kiwi DIY. This blog started around food but has evolved to include some other bits and pieces - I hope you'll join me for the journey!
Love this blog, has some amazing recipes and takes me all over NZ again...a question tho' - is there an easy way to print off the recipes, provided you don't mind of course??
ReplyDeletePenny, Brisbane, QLD
It all sounded good until I got to the walnuts lol.
ReplyDeleteMum taught us to cut a thin strip around the apple to stop it bursting.
Yours looks good though.I really enjoy checking in to see what you're up too.
Ah, that sounds smart! It was still tasty and although sometimes I can be very picky how things look sometimes it's fun to have a bit of kitchen chemistry and the odd exploding apple. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not the biggest fan of walnuts but as a background flavour they were pretty good. Just drown 'em in sugar and it'll be fine!
Penny, sorry but I haven't set up any fancy printing abilities. I think the easiest way would probably be highlighting the recipe you want to print, right-clicking to copy, then pasting into a Word or text document to print. You could also print multiple recipes to a page then. I definitely don't mind - please do print all you want! Let me know if you have any feedback that would make it easier to use them, too - like if my formatting could be better.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a roll - tried your sticky date pudding and not much left which speaks volumns...thanks for the reply re the printing, no problems with formatting, will try the copy and paste thing..
ReplyDeletePenny, Brisbane
Glad you liked the sticky date pud, Penny. Always a good sign when it vanishes mysteriously quickly! ;-)
ReplyDelete