Healthy baked apple recipes provide several variations on a well-loved theme. Baked apples are a great winter stand-by low fat dessert, but you can make them all year round.
They?re useful if you?re cooking something else in the oven, because you can put them together in a few minutes, and just pop them in alongside.
Baked apples don?t take long to cook. Keep an eye on them, though, and don?t forget to score a line around the skin. If they stay in the oven too long, they?ve a tendency to burst.
Classic baked apple
Adults generally love these just as they are. They?re quite large for children, who may find the apple pulp a little sharp.
I usually give children half an apple each (bake whole and cut in half to eat) and serve with custard.
Serves 4
Use Bramley cooking apples and choose them all the same size. Heat oven to 350F/180C/gas 4.
Wash apples, and remove the core with a corer. Make sure all the core has gone ? you might have to cut out any hard or pippy bits that are left with a small knife.
Score a line around the ?waist? of each apple with the point of a knife.
For 4 apples, mix together 2 tbsp soft brown sugar, ? tsp ground cinnamon, some sultanas and a few chopped walnuts if you have them ? they add a very pleasant crunch.
Stand apples in small ovenproof dish, pour a little water around them. You can drizzle a little honey or maple syrup over the tops if you wish.
Stand the dish on baking tray just in case apples burst, and bake for 25-30 mins.
Baked dessert apples
Eating apples can be baked just as satisfactorily as cookers, and the flesh is sweeter and less watery.
Pick large apples, with a good flavour, like Coxes Orange Pippins.
Make one apple per person
Heat the oven to 400F/200C/gas 6.
Take one apple per person, wash, core and score around the middle with a knife-point.
Stand the apples side by side in a small ovenproof dish. Stuff with a mixture of soft brown sugar and dried fruits and nuts, or to keep it really simple, just drop a knob of butter into each cavity, and pour over the juice of 1 fresh orange for every 2 apples.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Baked apples with spiced honey
A slightly more elaborate variation, with a lovely fruity sauce.
Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C/gas 4.
Put 300ml (1 ? cups) apple juice, 4 tbsp dark honey, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 1 split cardamom pod into a small pan, bring to the boil, stir and simmer for 2 minutes.
Peel, halve and core 4 large eating apples, place cut side uppermost in an ovenproof dish and pour over the syrup.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until fruit is soft.
Serve with natural yogurt.
Other apple desserts
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