You are going to love these Baked Stuffed Apples. They are deliciously packed with a crunchy oat filling containing buttery pecans and sweet raisins. Then they are baked in Lindemans Belgian Raspberry beer, which becomes wonderfully syrupy and adds an aromatic and fruity acidity. You can enjoy them as-is or with your favorite scoop of ice cream! This dessert is dairy-free.
Ever stuffed and baked apples before? This recipe is an old one that I dusted off my recipe bookshelf—yep, I have one. I am a bit nerdy that way. Recently, with the apple season now in full bloom, I made it again, and I had forgotten how good this apple-themed treat is.
It's still a healthy-ish dessert recipe—it could easily fit on a brunch table as well—but the Lindemans raspberry beer takes these baked stuffed apples to a whole new level. This beer becomes wonderfully syrupy in the oven, and its delicious fruity acidity with raspberry undertones is intensified.
Drizzled on the softened stuffed apples, it adds a special sweetness and aromatic complexity. The deep reddish color creates a beautiful presentation. Best yet, everything is so incredibly easy to make.
A few notes
The best apples for baking
I like to choose an apple with a fairly crisp texture, so it doesn't end up mushy once baked. Because, for this recipe, you want this delicious fruit to soften in the oven but still retain a solid firmness and keep its shape.
There are some great looking apples out there that in the end have a mealiness quality to their texture—Red Delicious I am thinking about you. Avoid those.
Flavor-wise, choose an apple you already love when biting into its raw flesh. You know, the one that makes your mouth water and doesn't disappoint in taste.
Luckily, the choices are plentiful, and I'll give you a few options amongst my favorite apples to pick from.
If you love that sweet-tart flavor like I do, then try:
- Granny Smith apples, the go-to baking apple, of course;
- Jonagold, still tarty, but it comes with a more honey-like sweetness;
- Honeycrisp has a wonderful crispy texture and a delicate sweet-tart balance;
- Braeburn apples also come with a sweet-tart flavor but mellows more when baked—still good;
Apples that result in a more natural sweeter taste:
- Gala, they are juicy, mildly sweet with an almost vanilla-like fragrance. It is an excellent choice to pair with oats;
- Golden Delicious, it's less tarty, mildly sweet, and holds up fairly well during baking;
- Zestar apples are, to me, more on the sweet side but still a bit tangy. They are quite juicy and will keep its firm structure during baking.
Framboise or Kriek beer
Growing up in Belgium's Flanders, I am no stranger to good beers—my parent's favorite is a good old "Oude Gueuze," served in a chilled glass, of course. It is refreshing and a delicious drink and a must-try if you are a beer lover.
One of my first beer was Kriek—fruity and made with freshly harvested and fermented cherries. This beer is sparkly with a lovely dry finish. When visiting my family in Belgium, I always make a point to enjoy a glass as a lovely aperitif served with Mussels and fries—typical Belgian dish. Framboise is another favorite of mine—made with fresh raspberries or their juices.
Luckily either one of these lambic fruit beers is readily available online or in local grocery stores that sell a good beer selection.
Kriek or Framboise Lambic beer is a delightful ingredient in this baked dessert dish. Their fruit flavors are intensified while their sparkly quality becomes wonderfully syrupy and tangy-sweet—a perfect accompaniment for softened sweet apples with a crunchy and nutty oat filling.
The sweeteners
I like to rub the apple's cut side with a dark syrup to give them a beautiful rustic look and a tad of molasses-like sweetness that can sink into the apples during baking—it's a dessert, after all.
My preference is a Barley Malt syrup. It has a beautiful dark brown color and a lovely malty taste that goes well with the lambic beer.
Don't have this in your pantry or like it a tad sweeter? You have other options that work such as well, and I have used each one of these at one point in time when making these baked stuffed apples:
- Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses: It's a thick, dark syrup with an acidic sweetness but won't overpower the other ingredients' flavors. I've written more about it in my Apple-Bacon pancake recipe with Buckwheat flour—check my notes on the ingredients if you like to know more about it.
- Dark Maple syrup: the sweetest choice of all three but adds a lovely hint of caramel.
To sweeten the oat filling, use either Barley Malt Syrup or Maple Syrup.
- I am adding enough to make the filling stick together;
- And to create a malty or maple sweet flavor, depending on what you choose;
- And these syrups will aid in creating a crunchy oat texture, with deeply flavored nuts and raisins.
How to serve these baked apples
With a small glass of cold Lambic beer on the side, of course. I like to serve them individually on small plates with an extra drizzle of the syrupy baked Framboise beer.
After all, it's a special treat, even if it is an easy-to-make dessert, which deserves a bit of a sophisticated presentation.
Leftovers—if there are any—keep well, covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy cold, or reheat in the microwave for one minute.
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Baked Stuffed Apples with Belgian Raspberry Beer
These Baked Stuffed Apples come with deliciously crunchy oat filling containing pecans and raisins. Then they are topped with a wonderfully syrupy Lindemans Belgian Raspberry beer that adds an aromatic and fruity acidity. Enjoy as-is or with your favorite scoop of ice cream! This dessert is dairy-free.
Ingredients
- 4 Gala or Golden Delicious apples, cored and cut lengthwise in half
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup, or Unsulphured Blackstrap Molasses, or maple syrup (whatever you have on hand)
- 1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup maple syrup or barley malt syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup (40 grams) chopped pecans
- ¼ cup (about 40 grams) dark raisins
- ¾ cup (175 ml Belgian Lindemans Framboise (raspberry lambic beer), plus 1 tablespoon divided
- 8 pecan halves to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
- Rub the apples' cut sides with the barley malt syrup (you can also use maple syrup or blackstrap molasses); reserve.
- In a small bowl, combine the oats, maple syrup, olive oil, pecans, and raisins.
- Spoon the oat filling evenly into the center and atop each apple half.
- Arrange the filled apple halves in a baking dish and pour ¾ cup of the beer around, but not over the apples.
- Then pour the remaining one tablespoon of the beer equally over the apples.
- Bake for 40 minutes o until the apples are soft, and the oat filling is slightly crunchy.
- Turn off the oven and let the apples sit for 10 minutes.
- Take the apples out of the oven, serve on individual plates with an extra drizzle of the syrupy raspberry beer on top and around each apple. Garnish with pecan halves. Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment: 8 x 11 baking dish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 335Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 21mgCarbohydrates: 72gFiber: 4gSugar: 59gProtein: 2g
Disclaimer: This nutritional data is calculated using third party tools and is only intended as a reference.
You might also like
- My Honey Ricotta Tart with a subtle sweet rum crust.
- Or try my Easy Chocolate Mousse with lovely coffee notes.
- And don't forget to make this No-bake Mascarpone Fruit and Amaretto Tart—lovely in flavors, beautiful in presentation, yet so easy to make.
Laura Allen says
I've never baked apples before - and I've also seen so many people do "baked apple chips" have you tried that?? This dessert looks so good!!! thank you for sharing!
Mariska says
Thank you, Laura. I have tried the apple chips before. I hope you will try this more festive recipe—it's so worth it;)
Tara Fuller says
WOW these look INCREDIBLE! I love baked apples so much, the flavor is just lovely. Definitely saving this to try!
Mariska says
Thank you, Tara. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Kelly says
This looks delicious, and I would definitely eat it with ice cream! Also, your food photography is beautiful. 🙂
Christa says
Wow! These look absolutely amazing. I've never tried to bake anything like this before, but I'm going to give it a try.