Baked Apples with Cinnamon and Honey Recipe
Baked apples with cinnamon and honey are a simple, warming dessert that for years has been associated in Poland with autumn and winter evenings. Firm apples soften inside, lightly caramelise, and the filling of honey, nuts and raisins turns into a thick, fragrant sauce. Everything is prepared in one dish, so it’s easy to bake them alongside your main course.
Baked apples are a dessert known in Polish homes for generations, often baked in the oven alongside the main course so as not to waste the heat. In many regions they were stuffed with whatever was on hand: grains, plum butter, honey or nuts from the family garden.
This dessert has the taste and aroma of apple pie but comes together without dough, kneading or long chilling. You can easily change its character by swapping the dried fruit or the type of honey – from light acacia to intense buckwheat. It’s a great way to use up a few apples and make something sweet “on the side” while your main course is in the oven.
Why this version works
- Firm apple varieties don’t fall apart and keep their shape after baking.
- Water at the bottom of the dish combines with honey and juices to create an aromatic sauce.
- Nuts and raisins add contrasting textures without complicated preparation.
Chef's tips
The most common mistake is using apples that are too soft and meant for eating raw – after baking they completely collapse and are hard to serve whole., Look for the moment when the skin is taut and a knife slides into the flesh without much resistance, but the apple still stands upright and doesn’t cave in., If you’re baking something else at the same time, place the apples on the lower rack – they’ll get gentler heat and are more likely to stay whole.
How to serve
Serve warm with a dollop of Greek yogurt, cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which will partially melt and mix with the sauce., For winter evenings, add a mug of ginger tea or mulled cider, and for Sunday lunch sprinkle the apples with an extra handful of chopped nuts.
Watch out for
- Don’t core the apples all the way through, or the juice and honey will leak out and the centre will dry out.
- Baking for too long will turn the apples into a purée, especially if you use delicate dessert varieties.
- If the sauce at the bottom starts to darken a lot and smell sharply of caramel, add 1–2 tablespoons of water.
Substitutions
- Replace honey with maple syrup or date syrup if you avoid bee products.
- Swap walnuts for hazelnuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds if you need a nut-free version.
- Use dried cranberries instead of raisins for a more tangy result.
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) so it’s well heated before you put the apples in. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish or line it with baking paper so the fruit doesn’t stick.
- Wash the apples and dry them thoroughly. Cut off the top part like a small “cap” and set aside – you’ll use it later to cover the filling so it doesn’t dry out while baking.
- Using a small knife or corer, remove the cores without piercing the bottom. You should end up with a well for the filling, with walls about 1 cm thick, and the apple should stand upright securely.
- In a small bowl, mix the honey with the cinnamon into a smooth sauce. Add the raisins and chopped nuts and stir until the dried fruit and nuts are evenly coated in honey and lightly stick together.
- Drizzle the inside of each apple with lemon juice so it doesn’t brown and to add a slightly tangy note. Spoon in the filling, pressing it down gently, almost to the top of the hollowed-out centre.
- Place a small piece of butter on top of each apple. Cover with the “caps”, pressing them down gently so they fit well and don’t slide off during baking.
- Arrange the apples snugly in the ovenproof dish so they don’t tip over. Pour water into the bottom to a depth of about 0.5 cm – it will mix with the honey and juices to form a sauce.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the apples soften and can be easily pierced with a knife but still hold their shape. The skin may crack slightly and the filling may brown a little.
- After removing from the oven, wait 5 minutes until the sauce stops bubbling vigorously. Serve the apples warm, spooning the thick sauce from the bottom of the dish over them.
- If you want a more caramelised effect, switch on the grill function for the last 2–3 minutes, watching carefully so the honey doesn’t burn – it should be amber, not dark brown.
Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days in a closed container; once chilled, the apples become softer and less firm. Reheat briefly, just until the centres are warm, so they don’t fall apart.
I most often bake these apples alongside chicken or vegetables – they arrive at the table as dessert without any extra oven-watching.
