Spiced Baked Apples

My mum was the one who taught me to bake. She taught me to have fun in the kitchen; she taught me to not take baking too seriously and to laugh even when things didn’t work out.

When I really think about it, she’s the one who truly inspired the idea behind Sweet & Simple – because that’s exactly how she liked to keep things in her kitchen… sweet and simple.

You would never find my mom spending hours decorating a 5 tier layer cake with icings and fillings and drips… but you would find her rustically smearing the fluffiest chocolate buttercream onto her signature vanilla buttermilk cake.

She would passionately argue for a dollop of cream cheese frosting on top of a gingerbread cookie over finicky royal icing designs any day, and what can I say… The woman is right.

Sweet and Simple was how we rolled in our kitchen. One of my favourite simple things to bake with her was always apple crumble. I have vivid memories of us standing in the kitchen peeling and slicing apples. We would dump them all into a big bowl and toss them with brown sugar and spices – both of us reaching in far too often to snack on a slice.

To this day I’m not sure if there is anything I enjoy more than sliced apples with brown sugar and spices. I could eat just that for dessert everyday and never get tired of it.

So this recipe is an ode to my mum. An ode to keeping it sweet and simple with nothing more than spiced baked apple slices. Basically apple pie without the added fuss of crust – aka amazing.

Simple? Yes. Delicious? Abso-freaking-lutely. Served up warm with a scoop of melty ice cream and maybe a sprinkle of granola… You’ll be hooked.

Happy sweet & simple baking lovelies.

KP xoxo

Spiced Baked Apples

6 medium – large apples, sliced
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 – 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp cornstarch

Pre-heat your oven to 350F degrees, and butter a 10 inch deep dish pie plate

Slice your apples into half moons. In a large bowl mix together all of the above ingredients until everything is evenly coated. Pour into buttered baking dish and cover the top with foil.

Bake in pre-heated oven covered for 45 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until your apples are golden and caramelized and fork tender.

Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream and Enjoy!