Bon Appétit (October 2009)
We were in the mood for something warm, sweet and full of fall flavors. And there is almost nothing we like more in autumn than a fresh Honeycrisp apple.
So we loved the idea of these Slow-Baked Honeycrisp Apples. Cozy, individual ramekins filled with soft apples scented with ginger and coriander, brightened by citrus -- what's not to love?
And don't they look inviting in this photo? Don't they look like just the thing to warm you on a damp autumn evening?
Well, guess what, kids? Chicanery!
Our lead photo up there isn't so much what these apples actually looked like. It's more of an...aspirational photo. It's what these apples want to look like, what they looked like after a little styling and cleaning up.
Wanna see what they really looked like coming out of the oven?
Gross, right?
So here are the problems we had with this recipe:
- The plastic wrap: This recipe directs you to cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil (and then poke holes through both). Aside from being a little fussy, this has one very detrimental effect: The plastic wrap literally melted into our apples. As you can see in the photo, it fell into the apples and coagulated into little clumps, rendering the dish completely inedible. We don't believe our oven temperature was the problem here. In fact, we recently got an oven thermometer to verify that our temperature is correct.
- The layers: According to the recipe, you should be able to get eight layers of apple slices into a 3/4 cup ramekin. We were using 1-cup ramekins and we could barely cram in four layers. We guess it's possible we weren't slicing the apples thinly enough, but, short of hauling out the mandolin, we couldn't have gotten them much thinner.
- The packing: We're not exactly sure why this recipe calls for weighing the apples down with additional empty ramekins. Sure, it packs the apples down into a compact little mound, but why is that something you'd want to do? As you can see from our second photo, the result was that our ramekins ended up only about 1/4 full, with a sad, limp little layer of apples squashed into the bottom of the dish.
What about the taste? Well, we were able to sample a plastic-free (hopefully!) apple from the bottom of one of the dishes. It was delicious! This recipe mostly lets the sweet taste of the Honeycrisps shine. But the ginger, coriander and orange zest add just the right notes on top.
As poorly as this recipe turned out, we can't deny that the taste of these apples was a hit.
We have to say, we think very highly of Bon Appétit, and we usually love anything we cook from there. But these apples really missed the mark -- and maaaaay have poisoned us if we'd actually eaten them.
So here's what we're going to do. We're going to offer two recipes: Our tweaked version first, and then the Bon Appétit original after that. Take your pick, but we think ours keeps all the great flavors of the original, while cutting out a lot of the make-work -- and the plastic wrap.
The Bitten Word's Slow-Baked Honeycrisp Apples
Adapted from Bon Appétit
Ingredients
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of ground coriander
• 4 medium Honeycrisp or Fuji apples (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter a 9x13 glass dish.
- Mix sugar, ginger and coriander in a small bowl. Peel and core apples, and cut into thin slices. Layer apple slices in individual ramekins or one glass dish, depending on how you would like to serve them.
- Pour melted butter over apples, then sprinkle sugar mixture and orange peel over the top. Mix to coat the apple slices evenly with the orange peel and spices.
- Cover with aluminum foil, loosely enough to allow steam to escape. Bake until apples are soft, about 2 hours.
- Top with whipped cream if desired.
Slow-Baked Honeycrisp Apples
Bon Appétit (October 2009)
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(This Photo: Bon Appétit)
Makes 4
Ingredients
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of ground coriander
• 4 medium Honeycrisp or Fuji apples (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange peel
Topping
• 1/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of ground ginger
Special equipment
• 8 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins
Preparation
APPLES
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 300°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix sugar, ginger, and coriander in small bowl. Peel apples, halve through stem end, and remove core. Slice apple halves crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Place thin layer of apple slices in each prepared custard cup, overlapping slices; brush lightly with melted butter. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon sugar mixture over each, then sprinkle very lightly with orange peel. Repeat layering apple slices, brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with sugar mixture and orange peel until all apples, butter, sugar mixture, and peel are used (there will be about 8 or more layers of apples in each custard cup and cups will be very full). Cover tops of cups with plastic wrap, then foil. Using small sharp knife, pierce 4 holes through foil and plastic wrap of each to allow steam to escape. Place cups with apple mixture on prepared baking sheet. Place 1 empty custard cup or ramekin atop each to weigh down.
• Bake apple mixture until very soft and reduced in volume by about half (some of melted butter may spill out onto baking sheet), about 2 hours. Remove empty custard cups. Transfer cups with apple mixture to rack and cool at least 20 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate. Rewarm, uncovered, in 300°F oven until just warm, about 15 minutes.
TOPPING
• Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon cream atop apple mixture in each cup.
