BAKED HERITAGE APPLES with HONEY, SPICE & WALNUTS

Take yourself back to your childhood with this old fashioned dessert that’s so simple to make. Even better, it isn’t too naughty, so you can justify eating it with lashings of cream or ice-cream.

serves 6

6 London Pippin apples

½ cup white wine or apple juice

½ cup ‘local flora’ Peninsula Honey 

¼ cup sultanas

juice of an orange or mandarin 

¼ cup walnut halves, roasted and chopped

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon mixed spice 

finely grated zest of an orange or mandarin

½ teaspoon vanilla extract 

20g unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced).   Place wine, or apple juice if using, and honey in a medium saucepan over a medium heat.  Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the sultanas and orange juice and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.  

Using an apple corer, or small sharp knife, remove core from each apple.   Place apples side by side in a baking dish large enough to sit snugly side by side. 

Remove sultanas with a slotted spoon and transfer to a small bowl. Add the walnuts, spices, orange zest and vanilla and combine well.  Spoon mixture into each core to fill apple.  Top with a knob of butter.

Pour over the honey mixture.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, or until apples are tender. 

Serve hot with the baking syrup spooned over, with cream or icecream.

Note: The apples may split and collapse a little, but the result is a wonderful soft pulpy texture.

Fiona Hammond © June 2019