Frosted Baked Apples, Victorian Christmas Favourite. Gluten-free

There are so many traditional sweets based on apples and eggs which were served in the Christmas period, some recipes we have dating back to the Elizabethan period. Amongst them were the poetically named 'Snow Pudding', 'Apple Florentine', 'Dish Of Snow', 'Snow Cream' and the notorious 'Apple Hedgehog' the bane of cooks and hostesses alike and no doubt the cause of many a nervous breakdown in the kitchen. This latter, a fiendishly difficult and spectacular party centrepiece was finally abandoned by the Victorians as being 'too laborious' but I am going to attempt it in mini version. Another similarly spectacular dish was 'Pommes Flambantes' aka 'Blazing Apples' aka 'Apple Yule Logs' which as the name suggests involves a pyrotechnic element. Hopefully I will get around to this dish too.

Here though I'm going for the less spectacular, much less time-consuming but never-the-less delicious 19th century party favourite, Frosted Apples. This was a sort of 'poor man's' or rather happy cooks version of 'Apple Hedgehog' and here I'm making them with a quick-bake French meringue.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 20)

10 small apples. Again I'm using a couple of cider apple varieties from our orchard, which by now have ripened on the trees to a pretty decent 'cooker' even almost dessert level but still with an agreeable tanginess which balances the sweetness of the meringue. Seen above with their attendant mistletoe make for a very seasonal feeling!

For the Stuffing:

20 raisins
Seville Orange Marmalade, see my recipe link below.

For the Meringue:

3 egg whites

75g - 3oz of blonde cane sugar
A little raw cane sugar (rapadura)

TEMPERATURES

Preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F 

METHOD 

Wash and halve the apples horizontally. Remove the core and pips, turn the halves over and remove the stalk and calyx. Place in a heat-proof dish

Seal the gaps left by the removal of the two latter with a raisin.

Use a teaspoon to stuff the apple halves with the marmalade.

 

VARIATION:

This recipe is also delicious with my previous baked apple filling (see link below).

Pour in 3-4 tablespoons of cold water around the base of the apples. This will stop them drying out before they are cooked through, it will also mean they will part-steam and be juicier but still hold their shape.

Cover the dish with baking parchment and place in the middle of the oven for around 25 minutes.

Whisk up the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Gently fold in the blonde cane sugar. Cover the filling of each apple with a generous layer of meringue 'frost' and sprinkle with rapadura.

Place in the oven on the top shelf. Cook for 5 - 15 minutes. Check after 5 to see if the meringues are the required golden colour.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

All that needs to be said now is Bon Appėtit!

Best wishes from Normandie,
Sue

RELATED RECIPES

Baked Stuffed Apples à la Chantilly.

Baked Apples have long been associated with Christmas and other Winter Festivities. Here I'm presenting...read more

Baked Black Figs Ratafia

Juicy and delicious,  the variety is Col de Dame Noir.  Cut in half and topped with ratafia mixture they are easy to handle as a finger food and you can serve them just as they are or add a paper case....read more

Marmalade - Seville orange and mixed citrus

Brought from the wondrous gardens of Persia, celebrated in verse and prized for their virtues in Medicine and Perfumery,..read more  

RETURN TO MAIN CONTENTS PAGE

©  Sue Cross 2017