This recipe is based on one in Emily Luchetti’s Four-Star Desserts (Harper Collins, 1996). We found that Fuji apples held their shape the best.
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients
FOR THE BAKED APPLES
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 1⁄4 cup maple syrup
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
- 6 firm Fuji apples, stemmed and cored
- Ice cream, for serving
FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
- 1 1⁄2 cups sugar
- 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
- 1⁄2 cup raisins
- 2 tbsp. dark rum
Instructions
- Make the baked apples: Heat oven to 325°. Combine sugar, syrup, butter, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Cut 1⁄4″ from bottom of apples so that they sit flat; transfer apples to a 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Fill hollow cores with reserved sugar-syrup mixture. Cover apples with foil; bake until tender, about 50 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce: Heat sugar and 1⁄2 cup water in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, without stirring, until amber colored and a candy thermometer inserted into syrup reads 330˚, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let cool slightly. Add cream (caramel will bubble up slightly). Stir in raisins and rum; set aside. Serve apples with caramel sauce and ice cream.
