Stuffed Apples Baked In Brandy Topped With Sweet Ricotta Cream Food

EASIEST EVER BAKED STUFFED APPLES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Trim the tops and scoop out the center and the seeds of each apple and rub the edges of the trimmed fruit with the lemon. In a medium bowl, combine the butter, cereal, sugar, and walnuts. Fill the apples with the cereal mixture. Set the apples upright in muffin tins and bake until tender and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Transfer to serving dishes, top with ice cream and serve hot.

BAKED STUFFED APPLES

Steps:

• In a bowl, stir together both zests, orange juice, raisins, and Cognac; cover, and let stand at room temperature 8 hours, or up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with a rack in the center. Stir nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, and mace into raisin mixture. With a small melon baller, core apples, starting at stem end and leaving blossom end intact. Stand cored apples on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat, and fill each one with raisin mixture, dividing evenly. Bake until base of an apple is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, 25 to 45 minutes, depending on size and variety. Cool apples on baking sheet on a wire rack.
• Fit a large pastry bag with an open-star tip (such as #18) and fill with Swiss meringue. Pipe a rosette on top of each apple. Using a small kitchen torch, carefully brown edges of the meringue. (Alternatively, place meringue-topped apples under the broiler until golden, 1 to 2 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning.)
• Spoon about 3 tablespoons creme anglaise onto each of 8 dessert plates. Transfer chocolate creme anglaise to a small pastry bag fitted with a plain fine tip (or place in a small sturdy plastic bag and snip off corner). Starting at the outside and working toward the center of the plate, pipe a spiral pattern, leaving about 1/4 inch between each curved line. To create the spider-web design, drag the tip of a sharp knife in radiating lines through the chocolate spiral, working from the center of the plate out, and spacing about 1/2 inch apart. Place a meringue-topped apple in the center of each plate, and serve immediately.

STUFFED APPLES BAKED IN BRANDY, TOPPED WITH SWEET RICOTTA CREAM

Steps:

• Ricotta Cream:.
• In a small bowl add the ricotta cheese, cinnamon, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and liqueur; mix well until well blended and smooth. Refrigerate.
• Baked Apples:.
• Place rack in the center position of oven.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash apples well; core. Peel off the skin around the top, leaving two-thirds of the apple unpeeled.
• Hollow out about a 1 1/2-inch wide by 2 1/2-inch deep cavity in the center of each apple (a grapefruit spoon works well for this). Score the apples with the tip of a knife to prevent them from bursting while baking.
• Place the apples in a 9-inch oven-proof glass pie dish.
• Mix together the dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and butter in a small bowl. Blend well.
• Evenly fill the apples with the cranberry/walnut filling.
• Pour the 3/4 cup of apple brandy around the apples. If necessary, add water so that the liquid comes about 1-inch up the sides of the apples.
• Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of apple brandy evenly over the filling in the apples.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the apples are tender.
• Serve warm, topped with a generous dollop of the sweet ricotta cream and a sprinkling of lemon zest.