4 red apples
Handful hazelnuts
125g light brown sugar
60g butter
140g golden syrup
115ml double cream
1/3 tsp vanilla extract
First take a short sharp paring knife, score the skin of the apples in a tight spiral from the top down to the bottom, leaving the space between each pass roughly 1cm. The score should also be roughly 5-6mm deep.
Place the apples on an oven tray with a little drizzle of oil. Place in the oven for 35 minutes at 165°C.
For the toffee sauce, place the light brown butter, butter, golden syrup, double cream and vanilla extract into a small saucepan and place on a high heat. Stir continuously for roughly 5 minutes, until thickened and remove from the heat.
For the toasted hazelnuts, crush or chop the nuts coarsely and place in a dry frying plan on a medium to high heat, shake the pan regularly until the nuts are browned slightly.
Serve with the apples straight from the oven with the toffee sauce and the hazelnuts over the top.
Such a simple desert, yet so satisfying at the same time. For any of you that enjoy a good toffee apple this time of year, this dish is a way to bring the humble toffee apple into your homes, away from cold evenings outside next to bonfires or open air markets where they may be more commonly eaten.
Just a good toffee apple…
It is key to serve the apples quickly out of the oven, when they have had a little time to rest and cool, the skins become less taught from the roasting and can look a little deflated and sorry for them selves.
