Baked apples with cinnamon and honey Recipe
Baked apples with cinnamon and honey are a very simple yet wonderfully aromatic Polish dessert. They often appear in autumn and winter, when it’s cold outside and the house is filled with the scent of warm spices. It’s a bit like apple pie without the crust – soft, sweet apples with a spiced note.
Baked apples with cinnamon and honey capture the very essence of Polish autumn – simple ingredients combined with the intense aroma of spices and caramelised fruit juices. It’s a dessert that smells like freshly baked apple pie but is lighter, more fruit-forward and easy to adapt to your taste by adding different nuts or dried fruit. Thanks to the natural sweetness of honey and the soft, melt-in-the-mouth texture of the apples, it appeals to both children and adults, including those who avoid heavy cream desserts.
Chef's tips
Choose firm apple varieties that won’t collapse into a puree while baking – Szara Reneta, Ligol or Jonagold work best. Keep an eye on the baking time: the apples should be soft when pierced with a knife but still hold their shape; this usually takes 25–35 minutes at 180–190°C depending on their size. Don’t overdo the honey at the start – it’s better to drizzle a little more over the apples after baking than to end up with an overly sweet dessert.
How to serve
Serve warm with a spoonful of thick Greek yogurt, cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream that will gently melt over the hot apple. A mug of ginger tea, non-alcoholic mulled drink or a glass of sweet cider goes perfectly with this dessert on long, cold evenings. It’s an ideal finale to a simple homemade Sunday dinner when you don’t want to spend an extra hour at the oven and you’ve got a crate of garden apples to use up.
Ingredients
- firm baking apples (e.g. Szara Reneta, Ligol) - 4 pieces
- honey - 4 teaspoons
- ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
- raisins - 2 tablespoons
- walnuts or hazelnuts - 2 tablespoons
- butter - 20 g
- lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
- water - 50 ml
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat).
- Wash and dry the apples. Slice off the top of each apple like a small “lid” and set aside.
- Using a small knife or an apple corer, remove the cores, trying not to pierce the bottom of the apples. This will create space for the filling.
- In a small bowl, mix the honey with the cinnamon. Add the raisins and chopped nuts and stir.
- Drizzle the inside of each apple with a little lemon juice (if using), then fill the cavities with the honey, raisin and nut mixture, pressing it down gently with a teaspoon.
- Place a small piece of butter on top of each apple and cover with the reserved “lids”.
- Arrange the apples in an ovenproof dish. Pour water into the bottom of the dish.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25–30 minutes, until the apples are soft but not completely falling apart. The skin may crack slightly.
- Serve warm, spooning over the sauce that has collected at the bottom of the dish.
Storage
Store leftover baked apples in the fridge in a covered container for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in the oven or microwave until warm. They also taste good cold, sliced over yogurt or porridge for breakfast.
