Baked Apples with Caramel Sauce

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

1. 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.
2. 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.