Cinnamon & date stuffed baked apples for Bonfire Night!

05.11

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A P P L E S   +   S P I C E S   +   N U T S ,   O H   M Y !

I always feel as though Bonfire Night marks the start of *real* winter.

It’s a coming together of all my most favourite aspects of the season- being outside in air so chilly you can see your breath clouding and billowing in front of you, the jovial, festive atmosphere that builds as the evening goes on, a touch of magic (brought on by bonfires and sparklers and fireworks), and, of course, the delicious food!

Food on bonfire night has to be baked, if you ask me. We hosted a mini-Bonfire Night at our house last weekend, and baked up everything from bread, to apples, to potatoes! That sounds like the most boring, meagre meal imaginable, but I promise you it was delicious!

In fact, the recipe for spiced, baked apples I rustled up turned out to be *so* delicious, I thought I’d better share it! Here’s how…

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First things first, you’ll need to buy six or so of the most delicious eating apples you can find. I picked up these Braeburns from the farmer’s market, and they were crisper and tastier than any I’ve bought from the supermarket in a long time.

Give them a rinse, to rid them of any nasties.

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Take each apple in turn, and cut off the top- only about a centimetre or so down the apple.

Use a sharp knife to cut out the core and seeds, and then use a spoon to hollow out the apple so that it’s about a centimetre or so thick all the way around.

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We’re filling the hollowed-out apples with the most delicious, and yet totally virtuous date and nut stuffing! It’s so caramelly sweet and packed with cinnamon-dredged nuts, and tastes so wonderful it’s almost hard to believe that there’s nothing but good, wholesome ingredients in it!

The ingredients are as follows:
200g Medjool dates
150g mixed pecans and walnuts
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp flaky sea salt

- Soak the dates in boiling water for 15 minutes, then remove them from the water and use a food processor/blender to whizz them up into a paste along with the 1/2tsp of salt. {You’ll need to add a few tablespoons of the soaking liquid if you’re using a blender or NutriBullet (as I did), to help the machine run.}

- Add the nuts to a large, dry frying pan set over a medium heat, and gently toast for a couple of minutes until they begin to smell warm and fragrant. Add in the cinnamon, toss to combine, and then turn off the heat.

- Transfer to a clean tea towel, cover over and bash up with a rolling pin until the nuts are in small pieces.

- Stir together the date paste and cinnamon nuts, and set aside to cool.

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Fill the cored apples with the cinnamon date filling, and then put the ‘lids’ back on!

I found I had enough of the spiced date mixture to generously fill 6 medium apples- enough to serve the five of us I was catering for, plus an extra for the chef! ;)

~

With the apple prep done (and wasn’t it simple?), it’s time to pause for a cup of tea…

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To further spice up our bonfire night, the tea blending geniuses at Taylors sent over a box of their Spiced Apple tea to serve alongside my own baked spiced apples!

I fell in love with the blend last December, and the warm spices and sweet appley flavour are *so* festive that drinking the tea again felt like my first taste of Christmas this year!

Served with those hot apples taken fresh out of the oven, it really is the most divine pairing.

Isn’t that colour so beautiful, too?

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The final step to finishing off these dreamboat baked apples is, of course, the baking!

We cooked up our batch late on in the evening (after a main course of chilli-loaded jacket potatoes!) nipping back in to check on them in between rounds of sparkler-waving and turns taken toasting our hands over the fire.

25 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees will leave them soft, melting, and beautifully wrinkled around the edges. The cinnamon in the filling infuses the apple from within, and each bite tastes like an apple pie in a mouthful.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla icecream, and eat by the light of a fire for true magic.

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Do you have anything fun planned for Bonfire Night? :) I hope you love the baked apple recipe as much as we did, if you give it a go this weekend!

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This post was sponsored by Taylors.

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27 Comments
Posted in AUTUMN, BAKING, RECIPE, SWEET
  • http://sophiesmakeupblog.blogspot.co.uk/ Sophie

    They look incredibly delicious and It just so happens that I have some apples and dairy free vanilla ice cream laying around!

    Beautiful photo’s as always Rosie, those sparkler pics are amazing!

    Sophie x | SophiesMakeupBlog

  • Cate Cruse

    This looks absolutely lovely Rosie. Your life always reminds me of something from a classic children’s book (in the best possible way!) xxx

    The perks of being a
    hipster- Christmas Yankee Candle
    Giveaway!

  • http://www.thiscitylifelondon.com Laura

    Beautiful photos! Somehow I’ve only just realised that it’s Bonfire Night this weekend thanks to the rhyme “Remember, remember the 5th of November”. I associate so much of this festive celebration with my childhood.

  • http://stampplease.blogspot.com/ Camille

    Bonfire Night seems like the best time. I’m not sure how people will respond if I try to have a makeshift celebration here in the states. These baked apples will go a long way in convincing them!

    Stamp, Please! Lifestyle and Travel

  • http://www.thewalkersabroad.com Sarah W

    Those look lovely! Perhaps I’ll make some for our first bonfire night tonight! :)

    http://www.thewalkersabroad.com

  • Beccy

    I adore Bonfire Night! We are not celebrating tonight, but are going to our village’s firework display this Saturday and I can’t wait. The baked apples look delicious – I might have to try and rustle some up.

    Beccy – bluebellandbumpkin.com

  • http://www.lifeoutsidelondon.co.uk Michelle

    They sound incredible, spiced and delicious. We don’t do much bonfiring these days (Betty is a big chicken) but that doesn’t mean I can’t indulge in the food right?
    Have you tried Taylors Sweet Rhubarb? Utterly divine.
    M x

    • http://www.ciderwithrosie.com/ Rosie

      Yes! I love the sweet rhubarb! Totally delicious. We have to shut Ted in the house when the fire pit’s going- the silly dog’s fearless!!

  • http://www.blondeofcarbs.com Jessica

    Just saved this to my food recipes folder so now I am going to attempt to make it look as delicious as yours haha xxx

  • http://mutedmornings.blogspot.com Mimmi

    The baked apples sound incredible, and perfect for autumn! I’m not normally a fan of fruit teas, but that tea actually sounds really lovely. And looks like you had a really lovely evening!

    Mimmi xx

    Muted Mornings

  • http://www.charlotte-nichole.com Charlotte Nichole

    This looks delish!! I must make! Gorgeous pictures as always! x
    a life of a charlotte

  • Viki

    I love this post ♥
    http://www.simplytheblog.com

  • http://sallytangle.blogspot.co.uk/ Sally Crangle

    ROSIE!!!!! {i fear i start every blog comment by hollering your name in exclamation – sorry!!!) This is SO beautiful!! And just what you want from a Bonfire style post – just lovely lovely LOVELY! May have to try that lovely little recipe. And that last photo…..?

    ROSIE ITS BEEEEEEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!

    Sal x

    • http://www.ciderwithrosie.com/ Rosie

      I can always tell a Sally comment when it comes in before I even look at who’s written it, just from the ‘ROSIE’ at the beginning! ;) I love it! Thanks for your lovely words lady! X

  • http://www.gorjaeous.com/ Jae (@gorjaeous)

    Spiced apple tea sounds divine! I bet it tasted and smelled good, too!

    Jae of SCATTERBRAIN

  • http://www.brittonloves.co.uk Lauren S

    WOW those baked apples sound incredible – anything with Cinnamon gets a thumbs up from me!

    Lauren x

    Britton Loves | Lifestyle Food Beauty

  • http://sophie-rose.co.uk Sophie Blumenthal

    Those sound amaaazing.

    Sophie x

  • Sílvia Juncà

    Hi! Where is the lovely white cup with the “cable knit texture” from? I love it!!

    • http://www.ciderwithrosie.com/ Rosie

      I’m afraid it’s past season Silvia, from Waitrose! I’ve not seen anything similar in stock this year, but will keep an eye out and let you know if I do! X

  • https://swanlake1701.wordpress.com/ NGOC LAN

    Wow!! This idea is so interesting. I love the idea of making the apple as a pot for date and nut stuffing. You definitely have a wonderful bonfire night. I admire your photography skill.

  • http://www.perpetuallycaroline.com/ Caroline L.

    Rosie, that sweater of yours is divine! I love the color on you… and how it matches that cuppa tea as well :)

    • http://www.ciderwithrosie.com/ Rosie

      Thanks so much Caroline, it’s one of my absolute favourites! X

  • http://www.prettygreentea.com/ Daisy

    This is right up my street. I’ll be giving them a go next week.

  • http://honeyandflour.com Emily Petracco @ Honey + Flour

    I love anything warm, apple-y and cinnamon-y. These are just my cup of tea. We don’t celebrate Bonfire night here in Canada but I’ve been seeing so many peoples blogposts that I really wish we did! It looks so cozy and festive but I’m not going to let Canada’s lack of Bonfire festivities keep me from baking these lovely apples. Thank you for the recipe, I’m very eager to try it out!

    emily | honey + flour

  • http://pollyrowan.com/ Polly Rowan

    Such a lovely post! I’m definitely going to give these a go. And I’m in love with that white mug! Where is it from?

    • http://www.ciderwithrosie.com/ Rosie

      Thanks so much Polly! The mug is actually an old one from Waitrose, I think I bought it the Christmas before last? Sorry it’s not a current one! X

  • http://www.hecticophilia.com/ Jesse Lili

    These really look delicious Rosie! It’s a good nudge for me to think about cooking fruits more. I actually love apples, peaches or pears simply drizzled with some honey and cinnamon and warmed up in a skillet pan, then served with a scoop of ice cream, it’s such an easy desert my grandma used to make and somehow I never think about it.

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