Recipe prepared by Dana Burlacu Visternicu, founder of prajituricisialtele.ro:
On a warm autumn day, I created a seasonal dessert: baked apples with honey and ice cream. All these ingredients complement each other wonderfully, especially since I didn't use any sugar at all. I started from a photo on Pinterest and I was delighted with this kind of baked apples in Hasselback style.
Of course, the browned walnuts complete the taste, but I'll let you discover all the steps and maybe try it.
Step-by-step preparation of baked apples with honey and ice cream
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 2 large apples
- 2 tablespoons walnuts
- 2 tablespoons cranberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons Melinis honey
- + ice cream for serving
Preparation method:
The oven is turned on at 190 degrees Celsius. Prepare a small tray and line it with baking paper.
Wash the apples, dry them well and remove their cores. If you don't have that corer, do this operation with a knife.
The apples are halved and then, with a sharp knife with a thin blade, they are sliced vertically so that the bottom part remains whole. The slices should stick together, hence the accordion-like shape.
Place them on a baking sheet, cover with foil and place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. During this time, the apples will soften a little.
After this time, remove the foil and coat the apples with a mixture of walnuts, cranberries and lemon zest. Sprinkle with cinnamon and place back in the oven, uncovered this time for another 5-7 minutes. If you want them softer, you can extend the baking time, but they may deform. I wanted the apple to remain as firm as possible. This also depends on the type of apple.
While they are still slightly warm, place them on a plate next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and put a teaspoon of honey on each piece of apple. For a special taste, we used Melinis with raspberries, a natural honey with fruits, a quality Romanian product.
So this is what a seasonal dessert looks like, simple, aromatic and light.