Baked apples are a December ritual for us. We have been making them almost every week for years once the Boskop season begins. The secret is the vanilla sauce: it comes together in the Thermomix® at the same time as the apples bake in the oven. One appliance, two processes, zero waiting.
The filling is ready in 10 seconds in the mixing bowl. 5 sec at speed 6 for the almonds, 5 sec at speed 4 for the marzipan and rum. That is all. While the apples bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 180°C fan, you cook the vanilla sauce: 10 minutes at 90°C on speed 2. Both components are ready at the same time.
Christmas Baked Apples with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 11 ✓
- 50 g blanched almonds
- 80 g marzipan
- 2 tbsp dark rum
- 4 apples tart variety, e.g. Boskop
- 20 g butter
- 1 vanilla pod
- 300 g milk
- 200 g double cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 20 g cornflour
- 50 g sugar
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Chop the almonds.
Add the almonds to the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec / speed 6.
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2
Mix the ingredients.
Add the marzipan and rum and mix for 5 sec / speed 4. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
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3
Prepare the apples.
Wash the apples, generously core them and place in an ovenproof dish. Distribute the marzipan mixture into the apples, dot small knobs of butter on top and bake for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven.
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4
Vanilla sauce.
Meanwhile, slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds into the mixing bowl with a knife. Add the remaining sauce ingredients to the mixing bowl, mix for 4 sec / speed 8, then cook for 10 min / 90°C / speed 2.
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5
Serve.
Pour the vanilla sauce over the baked apples and serve.
Tip: You can replace the rum with marzipan liqueur, baked apple liqueur, or, if children are eating too, with apple juice. Raisins or cranberries also taste great in the filling.
Nutrition per serving
Why tart apples are essential
Boskop is our standard choice. The acidity is necessary because marzipan and vanilla sauce are already sweet. A sweet apple such as Gala or Jonagold turns mushy in the oven and loses its structure. Boskop stays firm, the skin holds its shape, and the flesh softens without falling apart. If Boskop is not available, Elstar works well too. But never a dessert apple.
Core the apples generously
An apple corer is not a luxury here, it is the right tool. The core must come out completely, including the hard chambers. If you remove too little, a hard centre remains when eating. If you remove too much, the filling runs out and the apples tip over in the dish. Our guide: the cavity should be about 3 cm in diameter. The skin stays intact at the bottom, the opening is at the top.
The small knobs of butter on top of the filling are not decoration. They melt in the oven, run into the apple wall and prevent the skin from splitting. Without butter the skin dries out and cracks.
Vanilla sauce: 90°C, not 100°C
The vanilla sauce cooks at 90°C, not at 100°C. This is not accidental. Egg yolks begin to curdle at 85°C. At 100°C you get scrambled-egg flecks in the sauce. At 90°C the cornflour thickens the liquid, the egg yolks stay creamy and the sauce turns silky. 10 minutes at speed 2 is enough. No longer, or the sauce becomes too thick.
Slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape the seeds into the mixing bowl with the back of a knife. You can add the pod itself to the mixing bowl too; it gets chopped during blending and gives extra flavour. Or drop it into a jar of sugar for vanilla sugar. Both work.
Replacing or leaving out the rum
The rum in the filling adds flavour, it is not there just for alcohol. The almonds and marzipan on their own are too dry; the rum makes the mixture pliable and adds a gentle rum note. If children are eating, replace it with apple juice. Marzipan liqueur also works well and makes the filling more intense.
Raisins or cranberries in the filling are a worthwhile addition. They provide acidity and texture. If you use them, reduce the almonds by 20 g, otherwise the filling becomes too firm.
Serving: straight away or kept warm
Baked apples are best eaten directly from the oven. The skin is still firm, the flesh is soft and the vanilla sauce is hot. If you cannot serve them immediately, leave them in the switched-off oven with the door ajar to keep warm. The vanilla sauce can be kept warm in the Thermomix® at 60°C or in a small saucepan on the hob.
Reheating baked apples the next day does not work well. They turn mushy, the skin loses its firmness and the filling runs out. If there are leftovers, they are best eaten cold or used in an apple dessert.
Pear mulled wine or a glass of marzipan liqueur goes nicely alongside. Anyone who wants to make their own marzipan will find the Thermomix® marzipan recipe here.
How other recipes approach this
Goes well with: vanilla sauce.
Cookidoo® uses Dominosteine as the filling and bakes for 30 minutes in a water bath; mix-dich-glücklich opts for marzipan with hazelnuts and currants for 40 minutes at 180°C. We stay with 25 minutes and 180°C because the filling of 80 g marzipan and 50 g almonds stays moist at that point and the Boskop does not fall apart. Cox or Elstar are too sweet for us; the tart Boskop carries the marzipan note. Our vanilla sauce cooks in the Thermomix® at 90°C rather than 100°C so it stays creamy and does not curdle. Anyone who likes can fill the cavity with nuts, raisins and a teaspoon of honey instead of marzipan, serve a version with red berry compote, or layer everything into small jars as an edible gift.
