Baking Apples
To prepare a dessert of traditional baked apples, core apples and fill the
cavities with black and golden raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, crushed
walnuts, and evaporated cane juice. Put them into a baking pan and add a little
unfiltered apple juice in a pool at the bottom of the pan. Bake apples,
uncovered, at 350 (gas mark 4) for 1 hour or until very tender when pierced with
a fork. Baste often to prevent drying out. Alternatively, you can also cover the
pan with aluminum foil (shiny side down) and bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove
the foil and bake another 30 minutes. This method assures a soft apple.
If you enjoy cooking historical dishes, you can even revive an 1849 apple
dumpling created by Eliza Acton. She peeled and cored apples, filled the
cavities with fruits and spices, and enclosed the apples in pastry dough. Each
apple was then wrapped in a knitted cloth and boiled. This method then led to
the baked version. Try encasing the prepared apples in a puff pastry and baking
them.