BAKE THIS! When life gives you apples …

Ah, it’s the first weekend of fall, and all the upstate towns are holding their harvest, founding, apple picking, leaf-peeping and tourist-attracting celebrations. I shall decline to participate in these games and spend some time in my basement studio.

I’ve had a spiral lift concept hovering in the back of my mind for about a month, so it might be time to actually model it and see if it can work. For those who are not familiar, I have a hobby in kinetic sculpture, (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE COMPANY I WORK FOR.) One can google “rolling ball sculpture” for examples.

It is my fate, that as I was putting the clamps in place so I could affix the components of my model together, that the front door bell should ring. Leaving all as is, I respond to the summons, to find my neighbor along with a overly full gift bag of apples.

After thanking her, I am left with the question of what to do with these items. My first action is to wash and consume one, for the dual purpose of taste testing and assuaging a growing hunger. These apples appear to be Empire apples, a good middle ground between a cooking and an eating apple.

About Apple varieties:

Braeburn, Originally from New Zealand, Braeburn apples are what you think of when you conjure the smell of autumn. Their flesh is sweet and tart, with underlying hints of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Cortland, They’re a little bit tart and have a wonderfully crisp, finely grained flesh that will help your pies keep their shape.

Empire, this apple stands at the intersection of tart and sweet, crisp and juicy. Calling the Red Delicious and McIntosh apples its parents, it’s an apple designed to satisfy every eater, no matter their preference. Enjoy it out of hand or cook with it—it’s as irresistible sliced raw.

Honeycrisp: As their name implies, honeycrisp apples are sweet with firm, crisp flesh and flavors that aren’t too overwhelming.

As Madam Badwolf has planned a pork loin roast for dinner, I could make apple sauce, but I really do not want to spend the entire day in the kitchen, so I’m going with a bake with a streusel topping, suitable for topping with or inverting over ice cream.

Update – 20240922

One comment from the community is to produce a “blooming apple,” similar to a blooming onion, pack the leaves of the bloom with streusel topping, dot the bloom with butter, and dust with spices.

This will require coring the apple and taking a small amount off the bottom to generate a level seat, then doing a bit of knife work to slice the petals. You do this once to show you can do it or as an attempt to impress. (Madam Badwolf, was not overly impressed, “Too much work …”)

From Wikipedia:

Apple crisp (or apple crumble, in the UK) is a dessert made with a streusel topping. Ingredients usually include cooked apples, butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. The earliest reference to apple crisp in print occurs in 1924. Other similar desserts include apple Brown Betty, apple cobbler, apple crumble, apple pan dowdy, apple pie, and Eve’s pudding.

Apple Bake

An autumn classic desert. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, European

Servings 4

Calories 500 kcal

Equipment

• 4 ea 1 cup Ramekins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 ea Apples Washed, peeled, chopped
• 3/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon Use Ceylon Cinnamon, REAL STUFF
• 1 tsp Ground Cardamon
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg Or grate it fresh
• 1/2 Cup Oats Old Fashioned
• 1/2 Cup AP Flour
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Use the good stuff
• 1 tbsp Bourbon Good Stuff
• 1/2 Cup Butter Real Stuff, ice cold and diced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Butter the ramekins well, and set aside.
• In a small bowl mix all the dry spices.
• In a medium bowl, mix apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 the spice mix, bourbon, vanilla and the lemon juice.
• In a separate mixing bowl, add the oats, the rest of the spices, flour, and butter.
• Cut the butter into the topping mix with a pastry cutter. Looking for a very coarse, pea-like texture here.
• Fill each ramekin 3/4 full with apple filling, and top with the oat mixture.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
• Cool for 5 minutes, top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and serve.

Notes

This is a basic “bake” recipe. You can use other fruits, such as peaches in summer and pears.

I’ve added my usual roguechef twist with a shot of bourbon in the filling.  One can macerate the apples overnight for a more prominent taste infusion.  One can also add raisins for a taste/texture difference.

Where one can use a mix of apples, Granny Smith and Honeycrisp would be a mix of tart backing and sweet eating.  This provides a mix of tastes and textures.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 4gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 418mgPotassium: 166mgFiber: 3gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 713IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Apple, Baked

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!