Baked Cinnamon Apples

Method

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Heat the oven to 170C fan.

   Mark done

2. Toss all the apples with the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, orange zest and salt in a baking dish.

   Mark done

3. Pour the orange juice and water around, not over — you want the tops dry enough to colour.

   Mark done

4. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, until the cooking apples have started to break down.

   Mark done

5. Uncover, stir once so the collapsed apple coats the quarters, and bake 15 minutes more.

   Mark done

6. Scatter the almonds over and give it a final 5 minutes, until they are toasted and the juices have thickened and darkened at the edges of the dish.

   Mark done

7. Rest 10 minutes before serving — the syrup thickens as it cools.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• Two kinds of apple is the trick. All eating apples gives you baked apple wedges and no sauce; all cooking apples gives you purée.
• Do not cover for the whole bake. The uncovered stretch is where the liquid reduces and stops tasting watery.
• If it tastes flat, it wants salt and acid rather than sweetness — a squeeze more orange usually fixes it.

Pairing Suggestions

• Thick Greek yoghurt
• Cold custard, if you are not avoiding sugar
• A cup of strong tea

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 4 days. Good cold from the fridge for breakfast with yoghurt, or reheated at 160C for 10 minutes. Freezes 3 months, though the eating apples soften on thawing.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.