Serves: 3
Cost: < €1 if using leftover mincemeat
Preparation and cooking time: ~1 hour
Calories: ~320 per serving
We’ve finally nailed down the details of a little trip we’re going to take in the middle of March, and where, might you wonder will we be going? Ah – nowhere too far afield. England is the destination – I figured it’s high time I took William over there and proudly showed him off to my extended family so we’ll be driving up to Le Havre and catching the interminably long ferry (seriously – it takes like four hours!!!), berthing at Portsmouth and then driving back to my parents’ town (and trying to navigate the funky roads where everyone drives on the “wrong side”. It’s not so bad – we’ve made the trip once before – and then we’ll have about two weeks of Englishness!
It’s a curious feeling – returning “home”. Although I’ve only lived in England for two out of the past twelve years everything always seems so familiar. The stores, the park – even the forest and fields below my parents’ home never seem to change. No doubt my parents will be delighted to see William again and we will certainly benefit from the free babysitting opportunities to go out to a village pub, have a relaxed dinner, followed by a de-stressing (and I hasten to add, not “distressing”) walk around a lake nearby. Naturally photos will be taken and subsequently posted here once I’m back so I hope you’ll look forward to seeing a little corner of my life in England.
Since we’ll be going by car as well that gives us (well – let’s be honest… me, mainly) all sorts of ideas about what I can pack into the car to bring back to France. Crackers, bread, cheese (oh, cheese!), vast quantities of Marmite, pasties, sausage rolls… and plenty of chips (sorry, I should say “crisps”) in salt and vinegar, and prawn cocktail flavour! It seems that only the Brits have a penchant for these flavours – the French don’t know what they’re missing out on! :). Yeah – I’ll be coming back with… junk food basically, but oh so delicious junk food! Reading this you might have said “hang on just a minute – bread… cheese…? Back to France? Has he lost his mind?”. Maybe – but I’m afraid to say that a good English farmhouse loaf, or maybe some granary bread, and a chunk of good, strong Cheddar cheese, or maybe some Wensleydale, just can’t be beaten!
I’ll also be on a mission to find apples. The apples of my dreams which have eluded me for oh too long. I’ve never seen them in France and I just hope that they’re available at this time of year. If I can get some then Sissi – expect a package of apples in the mail! I believe we’ve spoken about these apples before and I’m very eager for you to try them!
Anyway – speaking about apples ties me in with today’s recipe rather nicely. I made a load of mincemeat for Christmas and greatly enjoyed the resulting mince pies. Still, though – there was plenty left… more than a full jar… after the Christmas season and it just seems weird to make mince pies in January or February. My wife suggested making baked apples, but stuffed with mincemeat instead and so I figured I’d give them a shot. They’re absolutely delicious and I really recommend them. If you don’t have mincemeat then you can hack it – stuff in raisins, butter, sugar and some cinnamon and you’ll be all good, although it won’t be quite the same.
The recipe is super cheap and easy to make and can scale up to feed any number of hungry mouths. Obviously, big apples are better; mine were quite small, but nevertheless very good. Best served with a dollop of whipped cream, this is a really great, warming dessert which isn’t too heavy after a large meal! Hope you get a chance to try it, and I’ll be back soon along with some photos I recently took! 🙂
Mincemeat Stuffed Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 3 tasty Apples
- 3tbsps Mincemeat
- 1 Orange
- 1 Lemon
- ~25g Butter
- 3tbsps Sugar
Instructions
- Start off by preheating your oven to ~170 degrees Celsius. Next, core the apples and stuff a tablespoon of mincemeat down the centre of each one. Arrange them in a suitably sized oven-proof dish and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Dot the butter over the apples and zest the lemon and orange, sprinkling the zest over the top. Finally, cut the lemon and orange in half and pour a good squeeze of juice over the apples.
- Cover the dish and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes – until the apples have shrivelled slightly and are very soft. Serve out and enjoy while hot with a nice scoop of ice-cream or whipped cream.
I’m sure you will have a great holiday. I also had a large jar of fruit mince leftover from Christmas and I recently posted a recipe for stuffed baked peaches (seeing peaches are very much in season at the moment). Enjoy your break xx
Thanks Charlie – I’m really looking forward to my trip! 🙂 Stuffed peaches you say? Yum – will head over to check them out later 🙂
Oh do I envy your vacation…it just sounds like such a lovely time. I loved driving through the countryside in England, so I very much look forward to the photos you will be posting. I have to admit, I knew exactly what you meant when you said you wanted to bring back cheese and bread, I’ve had the absolutely BEST plowman’s lunches in the countryside in England. I am curious about the apples, what type are your favourites? Right now we’re able to get Honey Crisp at a reasonable price and they are so darn good. But I do love a good tart Granny Smith too!
This dessert is perfect for a winter’s day Charles, your home must have smelled wonderful while they were baking. I love serving this type of dish with a dollop of plain greek yogurt (instead of ice cream), so yummy indeed.
Why wouldn’t you take the EuroTunnel instead of the ferry?
Hi Eva – I’m not entirely sure about the name of the apple, I must admit. I will be sure to post the name if/when I can find them. They’re incredibly good, like… unbelievably so. They’re quite rare I think. They’re what I always consider to be the very epitome of an “excellent English apple”. If you think you’ve had good apples then I bet you’d go nuts over these ones! Looking at some sites I’m not able to accurately identify it… maybe it’s a Discovery or a Worcester Pearmain… but on looking at other pictures they look much too “blotchy”. The apple has a greenish skin which ripens to patches of a lovely rich red. The flesh inside is very white, crisp and fragrant… Drives me nuts… wish I knew the name 🙁
EuroTunnel – I considered it, but it would involve 3 hours driving from our place to Calais, and then another 3 from Calais to my parents’ town. My route will be ~2 hours to Le Havre and then 1 hour from Portsmouth back to my parents. It’s annoying to be stuck in a boat for 4 hours with nothing much to do but it’s better than having to drive non-stop I guess.
I thought I was the only one who missed English junk food, bread, oh the English bread, and cheese from home. The bread in the US just doesn’t taste the same, I didn’t realise France was the same way, and lets not get started on the cheese…even donuts are different here. Have a great trip Charles. I didn’t see Birds custard on your list?
As for these apples, they look so good, I love a good baked apple with whipped cream.
Nazneen
Hi Nazneen – I think ultimately it’s what you’re accustomed to, you know? They have a type of bread here called “pain de mie”. It’s got a revolting sweet flavour, but it’s pretty much their equivalent of white, sliced bread. Now, I know white, pre-sliced bread isn’t really gourmet stuff but it has its uses. Quick sandwiches for example. There’s a burger chain here which makes its buns using the same type of bread. “Oh how wonderful, a burger with a ….. sweet bun”. :p
As for Bird’s Custard – ha, it’s so easy to make (non-instant stuff I mean) – I haven’t used instant custard in about 12 years!
Looks so comforting and yummy!
Thanks Jen
It sounds like you’re planning a wonderful trip home with the bonus of being able to bring back all those British goodies. Maybe you pick up some pork cracklings to make biscuits with. I have a pound of the ground goodie in my freezer waiting for some free time to make another batch.
I haven’t had baked apples in years. It’s a wonderful dish for the fall and winter especially filled with that mince mixture and the Christmas flavours it’s reminiscent of. 🙂 Funnily enough, I bought 3 Fuji apples on Saturday but hadn’t any idea what to do with them other than eating them raw.
Hi A_ – I’ll definitely be picking up some pork scratchings, but I know for a fact that they won’t make the trip back! I’ll have scarfed down the whole bag before my car wheels roll off the ferry onto French soil once again! There’s a few things in life which I find impossible to resist, and pork scratchings just happen to be one of them alas!
Oh Charles! I bet these are delicious! The flavors, the aromas. Everything about this recipe is appealing to me. Baked apples was one of the first recipes we tried when I first discovered food blogs two years ago. We haven’t had them since, so it’s high time we did again. The kids loved them too. What fun!
And I’m so excited for you and your trip. That is great news and will be so much fun. As you know we’re all about the family road trip around here. It’s so much fun, makes for such great memories…and pictures! And I know exactly what you mean about going home. That feeling is so comforting. And it seems we too end up bringing back lots of food (usually junk food) whenever we visit past homes. It’s amazing how much we associate food with memories. I love it. Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Hi Kristy – something my mother does when she bakes apples is slits the skin around the apple in a long line (in the middle). That way, when they’re baked, the skin separates a little like two sleeves pulling back. Makes them look very attractive! Hope I’ve inspired you to do them again. They’re super quick and easy to make and… sort of healthy! 😀
Can’t wait to take lots of photos in England – I’ll be posting plenty of pics when I’m back… really looking forward to sharing them with everyone. Just one more month, yay 🙂
You don’t eat mincemeat pie this time of the year? Oh, I didn’t know that. I made one just last week, and it went down same way it would around Christmas time. 🙂 Glad to hear about your trip to England. I am in Seattle now, and was talking to a person just a few hours ago about my experience in the South, where we live. After answering zillion of her questions, I said: you know, every place has something unique to offer. And the cheese, bread, and all “junk” you are craving about is unique to that region. And I perfectly understand you! Have a lovely trip!
Hi Marina – mincemeat pies… well, did you make a big one? I know that some people make large ones and cut them into wedges. I think those are ok, although I haven’t had one in years. They always seemed a bit too sweet to me so these apples are a better usage of it in my house.
Seattle – heh, I was just watching an episode of “Frasier” a couple of nights ago – love that show 🙂
Your holiday to England sounds just lovely! These apples look so warm and comforting – perfect for a winter evening by the fire!
Thanks Laura – couldn’t agree more 🙂
This is really cool. I’ve never had minced meat for dessert before. In fact, I’ve never seen meat filled apples either and I like the idea a lot! I wondered at first (before I got to the dessert part) whether you could serve this as a starter if it wasn’t too sweet… maybe I could sub some caramelized onion/shrooms in place of the sugar and serve it that way as an appy… do you think it would work?
Returning ‘home’ with your first born is a magical experience… I can well imagine how excited you must be for your upcoming trip (but, I’m thinking I may be *almost* as excited about our March trip to Jamaica! – Oh yeah, nothing like escaping a Canadian winter while savouring jerk chicken on the beach!! ;0).
Hi Kelly – I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same “meat”. I used mincemeat – the deceptively named, but nevertheless delicious mixture of fruit, nuts, suet, and brandy. From your comment I was wondering if you thought maybe I meant actual “meat”, as in ground beef (you wouldn’t be the first person to get confused… confusion abounds every Christmas in my office when I offer “mince pies” to people :D). I’m not sure if I’d appreciate the latter in my dessert, but that said – with the right kind of apple… something nice and tart, some minced beef, some onions, mushrooms as you suggest, I think it could make for a very interesting and tasty starter!
Jamaica – lucky you! I hope you’ll post some photos, I’m so jealous! 🙂
Oh, too funny, you’re quite right about the mix-up. It may sound a little unconventional, but I actually love the idea of meat in these baked apples as a starter… I don’t eat a lot of beef so a little goûter appeals a great deal. Do I do a post based on my confusion of your post? LOL.
I, for one, would love to know how it turned out! 😀
Again it look so yummy! Havea great time with your parents in UK. And Imlike your new le creuset
Thanks Chami – can’t wait to go… finally I can get some “real” bread and cheese!!! (better not tell your hubby I said that!)
Oh, I know I would LOVE these because I’m both an apple fan and a mincemeat fan. The combination looks heavenly!! I could eat all three of those apples in one sitting. Hope you have a wonderful trip! Look forward to seeing your pictures and what you bring back. Stay safe!
Hi MJ – they went down very well actually. They were small apples so I think I could have definitely eaten at least two, if not all of them! 🙂
Oh my this does look like a yummy… healthy dessert!
When I read the title I thought you were going to put real “minced meat” in the apples :0! Thank God I was wrong! Although I was trying to get my mind aroud how that might taste…
Have a great holiday 🙂
Haha, that would be a little “erk” indeed, although Kelly mentions in a comment above something and it made me think… stuff the apples with pork mince, some herbs, top with some fried onions and mushrooms… roast them a little, and choose apples which are very tart and you’d probably have a lovely little starter!
Looking forward to hearing how your vacation went, I’m sure the family will be very excited seeing Charles Junior 😉
Thanks Fati – it’ll be nice to see the extended family and introduce them to the new family member 🙂
When I make baked apples, I fill them with raisins, nuts, sugar and butter. I’ll definitely try mincemeat next year. It sounds like you are going to have a lovely trip visiting your parents…I know they will enjoy spending more time with William.
Thanks Karen. I can’t wait for the trip we’ll take… will be so relaxing!
I hope that you find the apples of your dreams on your upcoming vacation Charles. That is an expression that you don’t hear everyday! I’m sure your family will enjoy doting on William. Isn’t it the best when you have built in babysitters? We were able to sneak out to a very late movie while my mom was staying with us at Christmas — it was such a treat to go to a movie. Can’t wait to hear about all of your adventures back in Jolly Old England.
Hi Barb – I truly fear that I won’t this time around – I think they come into season in August or September, but I am totally going to send my parents to get some for me then and then ship them over in the mail. I *have* to have these apples!
Movies – gosh, that would be nice. The last time we saw a movie was “Battleship”, when my wife was about… gosh, how many now… 7 months pregnant I guess. Her back hurt so much, and she was SO uncomfortable in the cinema seat that I thought we would have to leave halfway through. I asked her if she wanted to but she stuck it out (I think she felt bad for the people we were with… we were their ride and they’d have had to leave too).
Oooh what a great idea to stuff the apples with mincemeat! I usually stuff my baked apples with chopped up nuts and raisins anyway, which is kinda like mincemeat. SO excited about your trip. I am quite jealous actually, since these few weeks have been CRAAZYYYYY in school; I see dates as deadlines, not actual dates, urgh, so my body has been cryign out for a holiday. oh well, have an awesome awesome time and channel all the good vibes you get to me hee hee. Were are you going to look for these apples and what are they exactly? I’m curious too. My good friend Linda from Chegworth Valley may be able to help if you let me know! xxx
Hi Shuhan – it’s gonna be so great… first thing I’ll be eating in England is Burger King (seriously… they don’t have it here and I’ve got a hole burning in me for a Double Whopper!). The apples – I know there’s a whole road of trees with these apples leading up to my uncle’s house in Dorset. Aside from that I’ve seen them in fruit shops sometimes but they’re not super common. I’m going to ask my mother to do some investigative work. Even if I just got the names of these damn things I’d feel better!
Lucky you! I wish I could go and visit English countryside for two weeks (or let’s be frank: I wouldn’t keep more than two days, then I would become crazy if I didn’t go clothes shopping in a nearest big city… British clothes shops…. OK, sorry for changing the subject, but you made me all dreamy.). Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing wonderful photos from your trip and of course to reading about your holidays. I can totally understand the list of food products you want to bring. French cheese and bread are fantastic, but they have nothing in common with British cheese and bread. From time to time I dream of Polish dark brown, moist bread too… have I told you my personal favourite blue cheese is Stilton? An excellent cheesemonger in Annecy (the best one I have ever been to in France!) sells it as well as Shropshire blue which is unique too. (My husband, French, loves this one too). English apples… I remember very well how much you miss them. I can totally understand. In Switzerland (at least in my city) apples have no taste, no aroma… even the ones labelled as organic. I sometimes buy on French markets reine de reinettes, but only one stall sells it and for a short period. You are so kind, Charles… but frankly it seems so troublesome for you. I will be already very happy to admire the beautiful English apples on your blog!
Talking of apples, these look absolutely delicious and I wonder why I haven’t baked apples since… forever! Actually I have baked apples for the last time when I was maybe a teenager? I filled them with thick plum jam and loved them of course. The mincemeat and the “cheated” mincemeat sound both fantastic. Not to mention the zest on top! Wonderful warming dessert or tea snack idea! Have a wonderful time in England and, please, do not forget to say hello to one of my dearest visitors.
Hi Sissi – I’m really looking forward to going, although it won’t be for another month yet. Something to look forward to! I’m so pleased you like Stilton though – they actually sell it in Auchan here… I can’t believe it; along with two strong English cheddar cheeses, although no sign of my beloved halloumi yet though. Have you ever tried a broccoli and stilton soup? Sprinkle some chopped, crispy bacon on top… just perfect! I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of stilton myself, although it’s possible to buy a “white” stilton… often studded with fruit chunks, such as apricots. It doesn’t have any of the mould lines running through it – it’s pure white and so creamy and delicious!
Of course, it’s not a problem at all to send you some apples. It would be my pleasure because I want people to experience the joy of eating these things, although I think it might not be the season at all for them. I shall have to commission my mother to send some to me in September! 😀
Yes the wrong side of the road but even we here in India have adopted the wrong side, so that makes about 1 billion people that drive on the wrong side too. That sounds like a fun holiday, time that you 2 get some break from the baby. ^.^
English food is cool in my opinion, no idea who said it wasn’t. We learned to make English puddings in school so it proofs that British food in general has some value in this world.
Stuffed apples with mince? Wow thats something I have never even contemplated. Not sure if I d like it but the acidity from the apples might just be about right.
Apples go quite well with raisins, nuts and cinnamon, I think, but maybe you were thinking of minced beef (or horse!) which would indeed be a little bit funny! 😉
Hi Helene – trust me, I wouldn’t be eating apples with meat, and especially not for dessert. :p. Mincemeat is a mix of dried fruits, spices, nuts and brandy, commonly used in English cooking at Christmas time. That said however, I think with a good tart apple, some onions, mushrooms, maybe some minced pork… I think one could create a good starter!
Charles, how are you? Oh, so you are visiting England?!!! It is a beautiful place, isn’t it? Would look forward to the photographs of the trip. One of my favourite things to do whenever I visit some different country or place, is to buy local ingredients there and bring it back to my Indian kitchen.
These stuffed apples with meat sound gourmet! Loved it…and everytime I visit your blog there is something entirely new for me to learn. I have never tried any minced meat dish with ice cream….sounds fun!
Hi Purabi – the apples don’t have meat in them. I can’t think of anything more disgusting than minced beef with ice-cream personally… Mincemeat is a traditional English mixture of dried fruits, spices, nuts and brandy, often used around Christmas time!
Sounds like a wonderful and flavorful trip, Charles! So actually though mincemeat hasn’t been my fave in the past, I’m looking at these apples and with the orange, too, I’m thinking these would be so very tasty! Add that bit of cream or ice cream on the side and I’m thinking these may be…divine! So perhaps I can be converted to mincemeat after all. As to thought of the minced meat stuffed into apples, well actually, I’ll bet a picadillo styled mixture would be good that way…minus ANY of the sweet stuff, mind you! 😉
Hi Betsy – it’s a very good complement. Dried fruits and cinnamon go perfectly with apples in my opinion, so using up some leftover mincemeat is a logical next step!
Kelly got me thinking above – I was wondering if something like pork mince with some mushrooms, nice onion etc would work well, packed into a nice tart apple! Something to try one day when I’m feeling daring 😉
Wishing you a great and wonderful trip Charles. I loved the part about how the things back home always feel familiar no matter how long you stay away, indeed they do 🙂
I came here from your next post and I can understand the confusion a little because before I started blogging I had no idea that mincemeat could mean anything but ground MEAT lol Now that I know of the dried fruit mincemeat I think it would be a lovely idea to use it with apples 🙂