Ingredients and choosing a dish
For four portions, use four medium apples, four teaspoons of honey or sugar, 20 g of butter, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 100 ml of water. Allow ten minutes for preparation and around thirty to forty in the oven. Choose a dish that holds the apples without large gaps between them. Preheat to 180°C with top and bottom heat. Final timing depends on variety, size and your preferred softness.
Prepare the apples
Wash the apples and remove the cores from the top with a suitable tool, trying to preserve the base so filling does not immediately escape. Support fruit on a stable surface and do not point a blade towards your hand. If removing the centre this way is difficult, halve the apples and remove the cores carefully. Presentation changes, but this option also makes distributing seasoning and checking cooking easy.
Fill and bake
Place apples in the dish. Divide honey or sugar, small butter pieces and cinnamon between the cavities or halves. Add water to the bottom without pouring it over all the filling. Place in the oven and begin checking at twenty-five minutes. Baste fruit with a little accumulated liquid using a spoon if desired. Protect your hands and watch for steam and hot liquid when bringing your face closer or moving the dish.
Check texture rather than only the clock
Apples are ready when the flesh yields to a fork tip without excessive resistance. Firmer varieties may need longer while others collapse faster. If the bottom dries before the fruit softens, carefully add a little hot water. Remove and rest for a few minutes. The inside may remain very hot even when the surface seems comfortable to touch.
Serve and work with differences
Serve one apple per person with a spoonful of baking liquid. Accompany with plain yoghurt or another addition you prefer. For a simpler version, reduce sweetener according to the fruit’s flavour without assuming all apples are equally sweet. Record the variety and your oven’s time to repeat the texture. The image is illustrative and shows fruit before cooking rather than promising an identical studio-photograph finish.
