Stuffed Baked Apples with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Baked apples are oven-ready in 10 minutes: push out the core, fill with walnuts, butter and honey, season with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, and bake for 30 minutes. No pastry, no mixing bowl, no scales needed.

October is when Bramley, Egremont Russet and Cox's Orange Pippin come fresh from home orchards – and these firm, tart varieties are exactly what a baked apple calls for, since they hold their shape in the oven instead of collapsing into mush.

Ingredients

Serves 4:

• 4 medium apples (Bramley or Egremont Russet, about 200g each)
• 150g walnuts in their shells (about 60g kernels)
• 40g soft butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ nutmeg, freshly grated
• 100ml apple juice
• 4 tbsp cream or custard, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan/Gas 4) and get a small baking dish ready.
2. Crack the walnuts and remove the kernels. A nutcracker gives you whole halves rather than splinters – roughly chop them afterwards.
3. Wash the apples and cut out the core from the top, without piercing right through the base. That way the filling stays put inside the apple.
4. Mix the walnuts, butter, honey, raisins and cinnamon into a paste, then grate the nutmeg freshly into it – the nutmeg grinder lets you measure it out precisely.
5. Fill the apples generously, stand them in the dish and pour the apple juice around the edge. The juice keeps everything moist and later turns into a sauce.
6. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the skin splits in one place and the filling turns lightly caramelised.
7. Serve warm, spoon the juices from the dish over the top, and add cream or custard on the side.

kjøk tip

Only grate the nutmeg just before you fill the apples – once ground, it loses its aroma within weeks, whereas whole it keeps for years. Store the nut and the spice grinder dry and closed, and the mechanism will stay smooth-running. After use, just wipe the nutcracker down or wash it by hand and dry it straight away – it doesn't like standing damp in the hinge, but a drop of food-safe oil there will keep it moving smoothly for years.

FAQs

Which apple variety works best?

Firm, tart varieties like Bramley, Egremont Russet or Cox's Orange Pippin. They stand up to the oven's heat, and their sharpness balances out the sweetness of the filling. Very soft varieties like Golden Delicious, on the other hand, tend to collapse quickly.

Do I need to peel the apples?

No, quite the opposite: the skin is what holds the apple's shape as it bakes. Without it, it falls apart in the dish. Just wash thoroughly and rub dry – that's all it needs.

Can I prepare baked apples ahead of time?

You can core and fill the apples a few hours ahead and keep them covered in the fridge. Bake them only shortly before serving, though, since they're at their nicest warm from the oven.