From a delicious classic to
a culinary highlight.

For 4 baked apples you will need: 
40 g sultanas
1 tbsp. Cointreau
120 g marzipan paste
40 g hazelnuts, chopped
20 g flaked almonds
40 g walnuts
75 g soft butter
60 g sugar
1 large egg 
30 g cornflour
30 g flour (405)
0.5 tsp. gingerbread spice
4 acidic apples (e.g. Boskoop, Cox Orange or Jonagold)

For the orange coulis:
1 juicy organic orange
300 ml orange juice
1-2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
20 g sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Cointreau (for those who prefer no alcohol, simply substitute more orange zest)
1-2 tsp. cornflour

Preparation:

First of all, select the perfect apple. Its flesh should be tender, but its peel firm, so that it will not collapse during baking and can be easily spooned out. If it is slightly acidic, all the better. Boskoop apples are perfect for baking, but the Cox Orange and the relatively acidic Jonagold also work well.

Once you have found the perfect apples, you can start to get creative. 

In addition:
Gratin dish
Soft butter for greasing dish
Apple corer
Icing bag, without attachment

Instructions:
First rinse the apples and organic orange in a sieve under hot water and then dry.

Grease the gratin dish. Grate the marzipan into a bowl using the coarse side of a 4-sided grater.

Dry-fry the hazelnuts and almonds over a medium heat in an unoiled pan, stirring until golden. Chop the walnuts, not too finely, and mix into the other nuts. Take the pan off the heat and leave the nuts to cool down in the pan. 

Put the soft butter and sugar into a medium-sized bowl and whisk for 5 mins until creamy using the whisk attachments on a hand mixer. Mix in the egg for 30 secs, then one at a time add the marzipan, sultanas and nuts.

Sieve together the flour and gingerbread spice and add to the nut mixture. Fill the mixture into the icing bag without an attachment.

Preheat fan oven to 180 degrees. Cut a lid off each apple, use the corer to remove the core and pips, and then place the apples with the opening facing upwards in the prepared gratin dish. Fill the apples using the icing bag and then replace the lids.

Place the dish in the middle of the hot oven and bake for 15-20 mins, depending on the size of the apples.

In the meantime, put the sugar for the orange coulis into a small saucepan over a medium heat and leave to caramelise without stirring. Finely grate the orange zest and squeeze the orange. Add the orange juice carefully to avoid hot splashes, and then stir over a reduced heat until the caramel has dissolved. Add the orange zest, lemon juice and Cointreau (or extra orange zest).

Dissolve the cornflour in a small quantity of cold water and then bring the coulis to the boil and stir in the cornflour to thicken.

Finished! Serve the hot baked apples with the orange coulis and enjoy!

SieMatic wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.