Hot desserts are a great British tradition (commonly referred to as “puddings” or “puds” by the Brits, though in Dutch-land a pudding refers to a set custard or blancmange).
I wasn’t born with a very sweet tooth, but since moving to England, I admit I have fallen in love with the delights of treacle tart, sticky toffee pudding and all kinds of fruit crumble. All preferably served with lashings of custard or a good ice cream for that hot/cold contrast.
One particular hot pud the Brits and the Dutch have in common, is baked stuffed apples. If there’s custard poured over after baking, the Dutch call it “Apples under a Blanket”. I like mine sitting on a duvet.
This autumnal treat seems to have fallen out of favour in most restaurants and home kitchens. But I think it’s worth reviving, as these baked beauties take little effort and are eternally comforting when the weather reminds us of the demise of summer.
Whereas the Brits might favour a bramley cooking apple, the Dutch prefer to use eating apples in desserts like this. Cooking apples break down too much, whereas eating apples retain a little bite. I reserve my cooking apples for “appelmoes” (apple sauce).
The purest version would be to bake whole apples, with a small slit around their waist to prevent them from exploding, simply stuffed with brown sugar and butter.
But the possibilities are endless.
Stuff with your favourite nuts. Add dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, cranberries, cherries, candied peel or dates. Fresh blackberries work wonderfully too. Add warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger or allspice and a dusting of coconut palm sugar or rich muscovado. Drizzle with unctuous honey, agave or maple syrup and top with a knob of butter.
Several options for stuffing the apples too: either core with an apple corer, cutting off the bottom bit of the core you removed and stuffing that back into the bottom of the cored apple to help keep the filling in; cut off the top and hollow the core out with a melon baller to allow for the filling; or halve the apples, cutting out the core of each half with a melon baller to accommodate the filling, then either cement the 2 halves back together, or bake them as halves with the filling piled high.
The “fresh” Madagascan vanilla custards now widely available in supermarkets are pretty decent and absolutely fine when you’re in a rush.
But a home-made custard can’t be beaten and is actually fairly easy to make once you’ve got the hang of it. So give it a go, it’s worth the effort.
THE RECIPES
Baked Apples with Maple Syrup, Nuts and Boozy Sultanas (serves 4 – GF LC V RSF)
Ingredients
4 eating apples such as golden delicious, braeburn, gala, fiji, pink lady or even a tart granny smith
60-80 gr unsalted or slightly salted butter at room temperature plus a little extra for topping
3-4 tbsp sultanas
A generous shot of booze of choice (dark rum, gin, Amaretto, Grand Marnier) or apple juice or orange juice
3-4 tbsp chopped walnuts (I used the last honey salted ones left over from my duck salad)
3-4 tbsp almond slivers
3-4 Mejdool dates, stoned and chopped
1 tbsp coconut palm sugar (optional, depending, on your sweet tooth as the dates provide plenty of natural sweetness)
Zest of half a lemon
1/2 tsp apple pie spice mix (I like Steenbergs organic, available from Amazon), mixed spice or your own mix of ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger
3-4 tbsp good maple syrup, agave or honey
150-200 ml apple or orange juice (optional)
A few toasted almond slivers and vanilla ice cream or custard for serving
Method
Preheat the oven to 185 C
Soak the sultanas in enough booze or juice to generously cover.
Make the filling by mixing 60-80 gr of butter with the spices, coconut palm sugar (if using) and dates, either with a fork or in a mini food processor. Stir through the walnuts, almond slivers and lemon zest.
Cut the top off each apple and remove the core with a melon baller. You don’t want to take out much more than the core. Gently cut out any core remaining in the apple “hat” with a paring knife.
Cut into the skin (not too deep) all around the middle of each apple to prevent the apple from exploding in the oven (I forgot to do this and indeed they exploded slightly which made for messy fun to get semi-decent pics)
Place the apples into an oven dish that will fit them snugly and keep them upright. Divide the filling between them. It’s OK to layer some filling on top or around if it does not all fit into the apples. Top with the apple “hats”.
Drizzle over the maple syrup (or agave or honey) and top each with a knob of butter.
Pour the juice around, if using.
Bake for 40-50 mins until cooked but not mushy and falling apart
Meanwhile carefully heat the custard and give the soaked sultanas a blast in the microwave for a minute or so.
Divide the apples over 4 bowls.
If you haven’t used juice, there will be caramelized sticky bits in the oven dish which are best scraped up and divided between the apples underneath their hats.
If you used juice, you should have a little sticky sauce, to drizzle over the apples and custard or ice cream.
Pour the warm custard around each apple, or scoop some ice cream beside each. Scatter the warm soaked sultanas and toasted almond slivers over and around.
Home-made Custard (serves 4 – GF LC V RSF)
This is a pouring custard, known as a “Crème Anglaise” (English cream), which has no cream in it. Go figure.
For pouring over and around puds, I find a cream based custard too rich and masking that lovely eggy flavour. The texture of a cream based custard is on the heavy side for pouring too, I reckon. So I use full-fat whole milk. Don’t even think about skimping on the quality of the milk though.
Use a little cornflour if you’re worried about the sauce thickening and stabilizing. The suggested amount is so small, it won’t affect the flavour.
Ingredients
350 ml whole milk
2 egg yolks
25 gr sugar, approx 2 tbsp (I use Natvia sugar alternative)
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp quality vanilla paste. No vanilla extract and certainly not vanilla flavouring. You want those little vanilla specks and that full-on vanilla hit.
1 tsp corn flour (optional)
Method
Heat the milk with the scraped out seeds from the vanilla pod and the emptied vanilla pod or the vanilla paste over medium-low heat.
Add the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour (if using) in a separate bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until well combined. Using a wooden spoon prevents too much air being incorporated. We’re looking for a custard, not a foam.
When the milk has just come to a gentle simmer, turn off the heat and leave to infuse. The longer you leave it, the stronger the vanilla flavour.
Take out the vanilla pod and discard or stick the it into your sugar bowl to add a hint of vanilla to your sugar if you wish.
Gradually add the warm milk to the egg mixture while beating vigorously, either still with a wooden spoon or a whisk this time. If using a whisk, try not to incorporate too much air. Keep beating vigorously until well combined.
Pour the custard into a clean dry heavy based pan. Gently cook over a very low heat while stirring continuously until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. This means that when you put a wooden spoon into the custard and take it out, your finger drawn across the back of the spoon should leave a clean trail.
The key is not to let the custard overheat or boil, or you’ll end up with sweetened scrambled eggs.
So just keep stirring lovingly, watching the custard like a hawk and don’t be tempted to walk away or turn your back. Your custard will curdle in the blink of an eye.
The longer you cook it, the thicker it will get. I like the consistency of a slightly thickened double cream.
Take off the heat and pass through a fine sieve. The custard is now ready to use or can be chilled until needed. If chilling, place some clingfilm on top to prevent a skin from forming (unless you like the skin, in which case, sod the cling film).
Be careful when reheating, as the eggs are likely to curdle on you. Be gentle.
