In this post:

Recipe of Quark and Plum Galette
List of Ingredients
Instruction
Notes and Variations

As a kid, stuffed baked apples felt like something from a health-resort canteen, diet menu number whatever: good for you, but boring.

Over the years I just reworked the filling with things I actually love: roughly chopped nuts, usually cashews, a pinch of cinnamon, some dried cranberries from that jar on the bottom shelf of the cupboard.

Now it’s no longer about “clean eating” — it’s my way to very quickly make something warm and fragrant to go with a cup of coffee and once again marvel at the texture of a baked apple and the way the sauce streaks have settled.

I also like shooting things like this without extra gloss: an old sweater, an open shelf, a bit of chaos — the way it really looks in a real apartment, not on a studio set.

Tell me, what dish have you rehabilitated as an adult?

Stuffed Baked Apple is one of the most super-healthy apple desserts I know — and somehow, undeservedly forgotten. I don’t recall ever seeing stuffed baked apples on a cafe menu or at anyone’s holiday table. It is interesting, why?

So: gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free if you skip dipping.
Warm — in my opinion, a huge plus during the colder months, when you definitely don’t want to eat anything cold.

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Stuffed apples with dried fruits and nuts

for one person; you can multiply the recipe as needed

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Ingredients

1 apple
20 g of dried fruits and nuts. I will use a mixture of dried cranberries and cashews.
a touch of cinnamon

Dipping

1 tsp honey or maple syrup for vegan version

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

2. Use a cylindrical knife to core the apple. Make 2 passes with the knife to completely remove the seed pod. This will be quick and easy if you make one pass with the knife towards the pedicel and another towards the calyx, turning the apple over. If you don’t have such a knife, remove the seed pod using a small regular knife.

3. Then mix dried fruits with cinnamon.

4. Fill the apple with the fragrant nut and fruits mixture as tightly as you can.

5. Place the apple in an ovenproof dish. Add some water to the bottom.

6. Bake the apple in the oven for 25-40 minutes. Baking time will depend on the apple variety and the desired consistency. I like my stuffed baked apples to be so well-baked that I can eat them with a spoon but still hold their shape.

I noticed that green Granny Smith apples only take 25 minutes to bake and still retain their shape. Red apples, such as Gala, take about 35–40 minutes to cook.

7. Serve with maple syrup or honey. To capture the sauce’s swirl in my lighting conditions, I needed a fairly viscous substance. That is why I used honey.

But I actually prefer maple syrup as a dipping sauce for stuffed baked apples.

Notes and Variations

You can make stuffed baked apples as many as you need. You can bake as many apples at once as you like, increasing the amount of ingredients proportionally. In this case, it’s easier to use one large baking dish. It should be deep and roomy enough so that all the apples fit comfortably, without being too crowded.

The choice of nuts and dried fruits for the filling is also up to you. I really love cashews and add them wherever appropriate. But I don’t like walnuts at all. You may have other preferences.

The same goes for the apple variety. Choose the ones you like best.