January 15th
2006
Frrrrreezingly cold. But sunny and a perfect day for a short walk through Haidhausen and the nearby "Englischer Garten". The latter, a perfect spot all year around for running, walking or simply people and (better yet) dog watching.
The best part about our outside stroll was knowing what treat we'd be in for, as soon as we'd got back home. Alastair Hendy has lately been influencing our kitchen adventures quite a bit, in many positive ways - despite one time when we had a minor issue with a gnocchi recipe of his (the amounts had to be graciously adjusted). As simple as this dessert looks, it is to die for and definitely worth temporarily suspending any new years resolutions remotely connected to desserts & culinary debauchery... Baked apples always have been the embodiment of the classic winter dessert and in spite of many different variations we made over the years - caramelizing them before baking just set a new standard. I even overcame my "deep fear" of preparing caramel, also I’m still not quite sure how it's done correctly: Are you supposed to stir the sugar when it begins to melt or stay clear from the stove? Different sources tell different things. The usual. And I wrecked more than one pan in the past due to bad, bad caramel...
Not sure how much it really matters in the end, but I would not choose the sweetest apples for the recipe, because the caramel adds more than a noticeable amount of sweetness (no kidding). Granny Smith apples are certainly on the other end of the spectrum, but Braeburn, Discovery or Cox Orange should work just fine.
Peel the apples and place them in a bowl of water with the lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
Add 1 tbsp of water to the sugar and cook at medium heat until it turns into a thin, golden layer of caramel. Then fold in the butter.
Remove the apples from the bowl, pat them dry and place in a deep, ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and pour butter caramel over the apples. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes at 180°C (360°F) or until apples are tender.
Serve in a bowl with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream - or both. And make yourself comfortable on the sofa of your choice :)
Caramel Apples
Recipe source: Genießen mit Gästen, Alastair Hendy, p.148
Prep time: 20min., baking: 40-50min.
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Ingredients (serves 4):
4 medium sized apples, e.g. Braeburn
juice of 1 lemon
250g sugar
1 tbsp of water
70g butter
1 tsp cinnamon
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
waou!
Nice pics. The appels look delicious. Once again, that's a recipe to try.... soon !
It does look cold. As usual your photos are quite amazing. The color of the caramel apples is gorgeous.
Hi Nicky, thank your for sharing this recipe. I am also always keen on baked apples, but this is a new dimension. And in addition to the caramel twist they are peeled and you bake them covered with foil. By the way, I know what you mean by speaking about a "deep fear" in respect to preparing caramel, it was the same with me for many years. I now just leave it in the pan (I even do not add water) and do not touch it, only if it turns far too dark in the middle I shake the pan a little. I will try your recipe soon. Kind regards from Vienna to Munich, angelika
Mmmm, the pefect comfort food. I love your photos and ambiance conveyed by it. Cold does not matter when you get this sun and light! ;-) Great moment. I agree with you, warm apples in its pure simplicity is the best. Makes me think of our pommes d'amour.
This sounds very warming. I'll give it a go tonight. I like the idea of a fruit dessert, makes me feel less guilty eating it after all the x-mas goodies.
Baked apples are one of my favorite desserts - well, apple anything pretty much qualifies. I've never peeled my apples though, so i'll have to try it without the peel.
Hi!
I lived in Munich for three years and often cycled through the Englischer Garten. Your pics are beautiful and your recipe looks yummy. I also feared caramel, but it's not so hard. If you use a steel pan, you can get rid of the sticky stuff with boiling hot water.
Tschüss
Nicky & Oliver,
Beautiful photos and beautiful recipe! It has gotten very cold here in Toronto after a somewhat mild winter. These apples will help warm us up. I have put the recipe aside to try next weekend!!!
Keep warm!
Die Farben eurer Bilder sind unglaublich schön, während man bei den ersten beinahe anfängt zu frösten, wird einem bei den Äpfel wieder ganz warm ums Herz. Das Rezept werde ich auf jeden Fall ausprobieren, sieht sehr lecker aus!
OMG, I have not had caramel apples since ... since I was a child! These pictures just made me drool so disgracefully I might as well have reverted to childhood. Thanks so much for this fab recipe. I think I am going to try them out tomorrow!
Oh my goodness! How tempting! And colorful! Could I have some? Like...now?
I am in LOVE with your food photos! Simply delicious.
Nika
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http://nikas-culinaria.blogspot.com
Such a great winter recipe, I'd like to try that with pear...
YUM!!!!
It is alittle hot here, but I can see these in winter :)
your lovely photos make me want to snuggle indoors and drink apple cider :)
Wrecked more than one pan preparing caramel, too. I'm glad I never gave up. Now it's much more simple and the fear is gone. And with the snow in Hamburg at the moment I have to try your caramel apples. They look so delicious!
oh gorgeous!!! maybe i can try this weekend & send you a picture. we must be in touch. i'll write soon. meantime, the candy you sent is gone & i wear the scarf every day. still all smiles. xox, m av
Cold but beautiful outside and warm inside with wonderful caramel apples. Thanks for the recipe.
Paz
Beautiful, my dears. I especially love the shot of the blackbird in the snow. Deeply evocative. And I just must try these apples, which would be equally good in grey, rainy weather, like it is in Seattle.
Beautiful and oh so tasty ...
Hy!!!
Your blog it's very delicious!!!;-)
And very good recipe and wonderful pic's!!
You're linked on mine!!
Bye...
yum, that sounds delicious! a perfect winter recipe.
[...] d. But for this topic, the options are plentiful. You just have to look at those beautiful apples from Nicky and Oliver at Delicious Days to understand the vital si [...]
Bonjour! I love your pictures so much, I wish they were edible!!! To answer your caramel question with some basic measurements and instructions:
250g sugar, 80ml water for caramel
Put both in a saucepan and mix with finger tip until dissolved. Heat and DON'T stir. Brush down the sides of the pot with a little water in the beginning and that's it.
The reason not to stir is that sugar crystals form and you will not have smooth caramel. The crystals will gather around your spoon. Heat until BIG light brown bubbles form and change to the caramel color you want. You can add a few drops of lemon juice once you get to the blonde caramel stage to prevent crystilization.
Also adding cream at the end will keep it pourable (be careful of steam from adding cream and stir quickly)
Hope this helps! Did I mention how BEAUTIFUL your site is?
Bisous,
amy
Great pictures !!
Everything looks - always yummy !
Thanks :-)
Your blog makes me miss München - it's been three years since I lived there - but it also inspires me to cook. Schöne grüße aus Finnland. :)
Angelika, Julie, Claudia, Ms. Glaze,
thanks for the additional info on the caramel issue and your confessions about some of the not so successful attempts :) Next time I won't add any water and will keep my hands still - no stirring, I promise!
Dear Nicky and Oliver,
It was wonderful to meet you on your trip to the US. We admire your blog without boundaries. I have to confess you have inspired me to try photographing my culinary passions. Our 7 year old has finally said this is weird but cool. But know that every photo I take I think of you all and toast across the ocean. Thanks for the inspiration and joy. A small plate of goodies was taken for you this weekend following 18 inches of snow in the Colorado Rockies. Best, Amy (www.bellwetherservices.com Winter Recipes.)
[...] ja jung und modern und spricht englisch, also kein problem. Da hab ich z.B. ein Rezept von Karameläpfeln gefunden wo ich jetzt so richtig Lust drau [...]
hey, I like your blog!
Oooooh, what a great-looking dessert! I'm going to have to try these! They would be a nice change of pace to serve when we have friends over for dinner parties. No I guess I have to get a kitchen scale so I can start trying recipes that use grams for measurements...
Looks so tasty!
I've been wanting to make some baked apples since it's been cold. Those seem ultimate!