APPLES IN DESSERTS
Reading edition
When it comes to desserts, apples are in their glory, and the cook can always find a way to prepare them that fits right in with her plans. She can make desserts with apples raw or cooked, applesauce, juice, or canned slices. Apple desserts can be hot or cold ... quick to fix, or time-consuming but well worth it.
Recipes given here provide examples of the many ways of topping off the meal with apples.
Baked apples
Core apples without cutting through the blossom end. Pare apples one-third of the way down.
Place apples in a baking dish. Sprinkle the holes lightly with salt, and add 1 tablespoon sugar to each apple. Top with table fat and sprinkle sugar over pared portion of apples.
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Pour enough water in bottom of dish to keep apples from sticking.
Bake uncovered at 400° F. (hot oven) about 1 hour, or until apples are tender.
For variety
1. Fill the apples with chopped fresh cranberries and bake.
2. Fill centers with crushed pineapple. After baking, top apples with marshmallows and return to oven for a few minutes.
3. Serve with a topping of cream cheese softened with cream and beaten until fluffy.
Apple-cheese dessert
5 cups apple slices (pared) 1 tablespoon lemon juice ¾ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup sifted flour ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ cup table fat ⅔ cup grated cheese
Fill pie pan or shallow baking dish with apples; sprinkle with lemon juice and ¼ cup of the sugar.
Mix cinnamon, flour, salt, and the other ½ cup sugar. Cut in fat until mixture is granular. Stir in cheese. Spread over apples.
Bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) until apples are tender—about 40 minutes.
Cool before cutting to serve.
Serve with plain cream or ice cream, if desired.
Six servings.
Dessert apple slices
Slice pared apple quarters. Put slices into pan and add enough water to half cover apples. Add a few grains of salt and 2 to 4 tablespoons of sugar for each apple used. Put the cover on and cook gently until apples are tender—20 to 30 minutes. Serve chilled, plain or with cream. Or, bake some of the drained slices in custard (p. 15).
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Apple pie
6 medium-size tart apples, quartered ¾ to 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons table fat Pastry for 9-inch pie
Pare, core, and slice the apples. Line a piepan with pastry. Place a layer of apples over the bottom; sprinkle with a mixture of the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Dot with fat. Repeat until all ingredients are used.
Cover with pastry that has a few slits in the center so steam can escape; seal edges.
Bake at 425° F. (hot oven) 40 to 50 minutes, or until apples are tender and crust is well-browned.
French apple pie. Mix 1 cup seedless raisins with the apples and reduce the sugar to ½ cup. To frost, mix ½ cup confectioners’ sugar with 2 teaspoons water and spread over top crust of cooled pie.
Apple tapioca
2 medium-size apples ½ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 2 cups water 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca Nutmeg, if desired
Pare and slice apples.
Add sugar and salt to the water; put over heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add apples and cover the pan. Cook slowly until apples are just tender—about 15 minutes.
Carefully stir in tapioca, and continue cooking a few minutes until tapioca is transparent.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve with plain or whipped cream.
Red apple tapioca. Add ¼ cup red cinnamon candies to water and stir until dissolved before adding apples. Omit nutmeg.
Four servings.
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Apple custard
1 cup dessert apple slices (p. 13) or canned apple slices, drained 3 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 2 eggs, beaten 1½ cups hot milk Nutmeg
Arrange apples in bottom of four custard cups. Combine sugar, salt, and eggs. Add milk slowly. Pour over apples, sprinkle with nutmeg. Set cups in a pan of hot water.
Bake at 325° F. (slow oven) until the custard is set—30 to 40 minutes.
Four servings.
Applesauce puff
4 slices bread or plain cake 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1½ cups applesauce 1 teaspoon cinnamon ⅓ cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup milk ¼ teaspoon salt
Spread bread or cake slices with butter or margarine, and arrange in the bottom of a greased baking dish.
Cover with applesauce; sprinkle with cinnamon and about half the sugar.
Beat together egg, milk, salt, and rest of sugar. Omit sugar in this mixture if cake is used. Pour over mixture in baking dish.
Set in pan of hot water and bake at 350° F. (moderate oven) about 40 minutes.
Four servings.
Frozen applesauce cream
1 cup applesauce 1 cup thin cream ⅓ cup sugar ¼ cup lemon juice
Combine ingredients, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Pour into freezing tray and freeze at the coldest refrigerator temperature until firm.
Turn into chilled bowl and beat smooth. Return quickly to tray; freeze.
Four servings.
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Applesauce Bavarian cream
1 tablespoon gelatin ¼ cup cold water ¾ cup applesauce 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind ¼ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon each cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg white ½ cup heavy cream, whipped ½ cup crushed ginger snaps
Sprinkle gelatin on water and soak for a few minutes.
Heat applesauce, lemon juice, and lemon rind with half the sugar.
Dissolve gelatin in hot applesauce. Add spices. Chill until partly set.
Add salt to egg white and beat until stiff. Add rest of sugar slowly, beating until glossy.
Fold egg white mixture, cream, and half of the crumbs into gelatin mixture. Pour into mold.
Chill until firm.
Before serving, sprinkle with rest of the crumbs.
Four servings.
Applesauce gelatin dessert
3 cups applesauce ½ cup (1 box) gelatin dessert powder (any fruit flavor) 32 small vanilla wafers ½ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon sugar
Heat applesauce slowly, stirring frequently. Stir dessert powder into hot applesauce; stir until dissolved. Chill until partly set.
Place a layer of wafers in bottom of 8-inch square pan.
Pour in applesauce mixture, and cover with another layer of wafers.
Chill until firm.
Top with sweetened whipped cream just before serving.
Nine servings.
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Applesauce chiffon pie
1 tablespoon gelatin ¼ cup cold water 3 eggs, separated 1½ cups applesauce ⅛ teaspoon ginger ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind ½ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 9-inch baked pastry shell, or graham cracker shell Nutmeg if desired
Sprinkle gelatin on water; soak a few minutes.
Beat egg yolks slightly, and add the applesauce, ginger, cinnamon, milk, lemon juice and rind, and half the sugar.
Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, 20 to 25 minutes.
Add gelatin to the hot mixture; stir until dissolved. Cool until thick but not set.
Add salt to egg whites and beat until stiff. Add rest of sugar slowly, beating constantly. Blend with the thickened gelatin mixture.
Pour into the shell and sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired. Chill until firm.
Applesauce
Wash, quarter, and core apples.
Cook until soft with a small amount of water in a covered pan. Put apples through a sieve or food press. Add a few grains of salt, and sweeten to taste while still hot.
Quick applesauce. Pare quartered and cored apples. Cook as above. When apples are tender, crush pieces with a potato masher or stir until smooth. Add salt and sweeten as above.
For variety. Sweeten the sauce with brown sugar or honey. Or, cook a few whole cloves or a piece of stick cinnamon or a few raisins with the apples. Remove cinnamon before serving.
If the apples are very mild, cook 1 to 2 teaspoons of lemon juice with them.
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Apple juice cake
½ cup fat ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 cups sifted cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon soda ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon nutmeg ¾ cup apple juice
Cream fat, vanilla, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each one in well.
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Add to creamed mixture in three portions alternately with apple juice in two portions.
Turn batter into two greased 8-inch round layer pans.
Bake at 375° F. (moderate oven) 25 to 30 minutes.
Variation. Add 1 cup of raisins to the batter.
Fluffy apple juice frosting
1 cup sugar ½ cup apple juice Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Mix sugar, apple juice, salt, and lemon juice. Cook until the sirup forms a soft ball (234° to 240° F.) when a little of it is dropped into a cup of very cold water.
Pour very slowly over stiffly beaten egg whites, beating constantly. Continue beating until mixture stands in soft peaks.
Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.
Variations. When frosting is ready to spread, stir in ½ cup chopped pecans or hazelnuts, or shredded almonds.
For a more festive cake, sprinkle ¼ cup pink-tinted shredded coconut over the top after frosting is spread.
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