For Dessert I have chosen this surprisingly simple dish, famous in the Netherlands known as Appelbollen. This is a baked Apple usually stuffed with spiced fruits and sometimes almonds, wrapped in flaky puff pastry. My friend who spent a good part of her childhood in the Netherlands speaks fondly of this dish, and I Myself have fond childhood memories of Baked Apples so I thought I would give this pastry wrapped variation a try.
This dish is great for this transitional period we are in right now, I keep finding myself wanting to cosy up of an evening with a warm and spiced pudding, and this has really filled that spot for me.
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 2 Apples ( any variety works just fine)
- 100 g Chopped Dates
- 30 g Light Brown Sugar
- Pinch Salt
- 20 g Maple Syrup
- 1 Tsp Vanilla
- 1⁄2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 sheet Just roll Puff Pastry
- 2 Tbsp Creme Fraiche
- 2 Tbsp Oat or Soy Milk
- 2 Tsp Demerara Sugar
Method
- Begin by preheating the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Peel and core the Apples and set into an oven proof dish.
- In a bowl, mix together the Dates, Brown Sugar, Salt, Maple, Vanilla and Cinnamon.
- Stuff the middle of the Apples with this Date mixture, stuff in as much as possible.
- Roll out your Puff Pastry on a lightly floured surface to around half a centimetre thick.
- Using a large round pastry cutter (at least two inches larger than your apples) cut 4 disks.
- Wrap two disks around each Apple, one on the top and one on the bottom and join in the middle. Pinch the seams together to connect in the middle.
- Brush the pastry with a little of the milk and sprinkle generously with the Demerara Sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. The pastry should be flaky and golden and he Apple should be soft enough to get a spoon through.
- Serve with any excess Date mix and a dollop of Creme Fraiche.