These spicy baked apples are delicious served with lightly sweetened whipped cream and make for a healthy dessert . . .
Are Baked Apples Dessert?
Let’s go with no (even though I’m including it in my dessert section).
Apples are one of those treats I didn’t enjoy as much as I ought to have as a child. They are one of my later-in-life loves. And now, since the weather has started to cool down a bit, I’ve been absolutely rabid for baked apples. I think there’s something about the fall spices and the promise of a treat that’s basically just spiced fruit.
On that note, you know what I would really love? To eat an apple crisp every evening in the early fall. I have been making apple crisp quite a bit. But I’ve implemented a strict no-dessert during the weekdays policy. It forces me to keep my sugar intake under control.
Last week, when my craving for baked apples started getting very intense, I started looking into recipes involving baked apples that maybe I could consider as “not dessert” so that I could enjoy it on a weekday without breaking any rules. So this is what I came up with. It’s not perfectly sugar-free because it uses a little maple syrup and apple cider, and some candied ginger, but it is certainly on the healthy side of desserts. And it absolutely met my baked apple craving. It was completely delicious.
Plus, the house smelled amazing.
I used whipped cream that was only lightly sweetened with maple syrup. The tartness and spiciness of the apples works really well against the whipped cream. The cream doesn’t need much sweetener because the primary job it is doing is providing a cool and light creaminess against the intense and spicy flavor of the apples. So no need to add much maple syrup.
How to Serve Baked Apples
These spicy baked apples are incredibly versatile. You can eat them hot, warm, or cold. My only warning is that if you take them fresh out of the oven, let them cool for at least 20 minutes before you attempt to eat one. Otherwise, the inside will be very, very hot! I usually like to eat them warm, so I let them cool for a good 30 minutes to an hour before eating.
If I’m serving the apples warm or cold, I will put the whipped cream directly on top of the apple. You obviously can’t really do this if the apples are hot because the whipped cream will melt.
If you are serving the apples piping hot, you may want to consider serving them with ice cream instead. The ice cream will help cool down the apples a bit. Or you could just serve the cream on the side and let people spoon it on themselves. I personally prefer the creaminess of whipped cream over the ice cream — it just works better with the spicy flavor in my opinion. Plus, you can keep it a bit healthier if you’re making the whipped cream yourself with limited sugar.
Now, on to the recipe!
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Spicy Baked Apples
Perfect spicy baked apples with minimal sugar.
- Total Time: 70 min
- Yield: 4 baked apples 1x
Ingredients
Stuffed Apples
4 Honeycrisp apples (or another type of apple that retains its shape well during baking, such as Pink lady, Braeburn, or Winesap)
1/2 cup freeze-dried apple slices
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup dried black currants (currants are best, but raisins will do in a pinch)
4 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Sauce
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 mandarin orange (or 1/2 full size orange)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
2 tsp maple syrup
Whipped Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract (preferably bourbon)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Core the apples.
Slice the tops off of the apples (about 3/4 of an inch down from the top of the apple). Then use a paring knife and/or spoon to cut the core out of the apple, but do not cut all the way to the bottom of the apple. Think of it as creating a narrow apple bowl.
3. Make the apple filling.
Break the 1/2 cup of freeze dried apple slices into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut up the 1/4 cup of candied ginger into 1/4 inch pieces.
Mix the freeze dried apple, the candied ginger, and the 1/4 cup of currants together in a small mixing bowl. Toss them together with the 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and the 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Stuff the apples with the filling, pressing down to ensure the apple cavity is stuffed full and filled to the brim. Pour 1 tsp of maple syrup into each apple cavity over the top of the filling.
Put the top back onto each apple so it looks pretty.
4. Make the sauce.
In the bottom of a pie dish, mix the 1 1/4 cup of apple cider, the 1/4 cup of white wine, 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and the 1/4 teaspoon ginger. Cut the mandarin into halves (if using 1/2 of an orange, cut into half so you have two quarters of an orange). Place these in the bottom of the pie dish.
Place the apples into the pie dish and place in oven to bake.
5. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
As the apples bake, take them out every 20 minutes or so and spoon the sauce over the apples. As the apples cook, the sauce will reduce and thicken. If it all evaporates for some reason, add another 1/2 cup of cider to the bottom of the dish.
The apples are ready when they are tender to the touch. If you poke them with a fork, the fork should slide in easily.
6. Make the whipped cream.
Combine the 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Whip to combine and then keep going until you reach soft peaks (i.e., until it looks like whipped cream). You can do it by hand or use a mixer if you’re so inclined.
I like to do it by hand because it gives me the illusion of exercise (so I can then indulge). Don’t tell me I’m not burning a lot of calories. I don’t want to hear it.
7. Allow the apples time to cool! Then enjoy.
About 20 minutes for hot apples. I prefer to wait about 30 minutes to one hour to give the apples time to cool off a bit more.
To serve, drizzle with a little sauce from the bottom of the pie dish and top with the whipped cream.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
