Forgive me if you’re a stranger to Calvados. Most people to whom I introduce this apple-based brandy from the French region of Lower Normandy are unfamiliar with it. It’s made with cider, and aged in oak casks before being bottled, and its maturation period varies. The longer it ages, the more it resembles a fine cognac, and the younger it is, the more you will detect its fresh apple and pear notes.
Here are the prepared apples. I’ve halved the recipe, though leftovers served cold also taste great the next day.
Calvados is the basis of a French tradition called le trou Normand, or “the Norman hole”. The idea is to serve a shot of Calvados between courses in a long meal, to stimulate your appetite, and act as a digestive, thus creating a “hole” in your stomach for the food to come. A wonderful idea, because it really does work. I like to share this story whenever I serve this at dinner parties (whether formal or not), and the story always intrigues guests into trying it.
Freshly baked out of the oven, awaiting its glimmering coat of caramel sauce.
When Meat and Tater Man’s friend dropped by unexpectedly for supper one evening, I barbecued some pork chops, then served this for dessert, alongside some shot glasses and a tall bottle of Calvados at the table. To say it was a hit is an understatement. Most people don’t expect dessert, especially when they’re arriving unexpectedly, but this is so easy to whip up that even if you’re short on time, you can still get this in the oven the moment you serve dinner, and surprise your guests with a most lovely dessert. While I wouldn’t advise you to buy a bottle of Calvados just to make this dish, if you do, serve it alongside the dessert, or in true French style, serve it between courses, while you tell them the story of the Norman hole.
This caramel sauce is easy to make, though don’t turn your back for a moment because it takes only an instant to burn, and given that you’re using one cup of Calvados for the sauce, I guarantee you would cry if that happened.
You could also substitute some brandy, cognac, apple jack, or even in a pinch, some apple juice, and it would still be worth making this dessert. This recipe comes straight from my favourite cookbook of all time, Nigella Lawson’s How To Eat. The caramel sauce is amazing, and as Nigella advises, you need serve nothing else with this – it’s perfect on its own.
Look at how the caramel sauce sticks to the spoon. It is SO GOOD. Words fail to describe how amazing this tastes…Nigella claims these are her favourite baked apples of all time.
Slow roasted apples in the oven, with a beautiful caramel sauce that you make by reducing the cooking juices in the pan...I can think of no finer or simpler dessert to serve your guests, any time of year.
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How To Eat.
Ingredients
- 8 apples
- 8 tbsp butter
- 16 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup Calvados, or other brandy
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Core the apples and place them in a roasting pan. Press one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of brown sugar into the cavity of each apple.
- Pour the Calvados and lemon juice in the pan. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven, remove the apples to a plate or platter and pour the cooking juices into a small saucepan. You can let the apples sit for up to an hour.
- When ready to eat dessert, put the saucepan on high heat, and boil the juices until they are reduced and sticky with a syrup like consistency. Stir in the cream and let it bubble again for a few more minutes.
- Pour the fudgy sauce over the apples and serve right away.
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