The apple is cored, cut into pieces, and cooked until just soft, then transferred to a baking dish and covered with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter that bakes into a crunchy, caramelized top. Nothing about it is fussy. It is humble, straightforward food that delivers entirely on flavor and contrast; and that is exactly what makes it worth making for two on a cold evening.

The vanilla sauce is made a day ahead, which is not just practical, it is essential. It needs to be cold. Not cool, not room temperature, but properly cold, straight from the fridge, so that when it meets the hot apples, it creates a contrast so sharp it changes the character of both. Make the sauce the night before. Do not skip this step.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

FOR THE APPLE DESSERT

Apples – You can use any apple you like. I used a combination of sweet and sour, soft and hard apples. The result is a ‘coarse’ apple sauce that is not overly sweet.
Bread crumbs
Sugar
Ground cinnamon
Butter

FOR THE VANILLA SAUCE

Cream
Sugar
Vanilla bean
Cornstarch

You are expecting exquisite pictures; but that’s very difficult with this recipe, as the best way to serve this dessert is on a plate. The apple part of the recipe is close to an apple sauce and the cold sauce is liquid as well. Put those together on a plate and it does not make for a very good picture. The recipe is simple, but I want to share it with you, because I think you’re gonna like it.

How to Make Baked Apple Dessert with Cold Vanilla Sauce

Step 1 – Make the vanilla sauce a day ahead of serving. Heat the cream and sugar with the vanilla bean and simmer it for approx. 10 minutes. Take the vanilla bean out of the sauce and discard. Mix the cornstarch with a tiny bit of water, add to the sauce and allow the sauce to thicken. Pour the sauce in a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the vanilla sauce while it cools to prevent skin from forming. Since this sauce is rather thin, it won’t develop a thick skin, but this method will help avoid any skin formation. Keep the sauce in the fridge until you serve the dessert the following day. You need the sauce to be cold. You can add some sugar if the apple sauce is to tart, but not too much as the apples will be topped with sugar and you’ll have a vanilla sauce as well.
Step 2 – Peel and core the apples and cut them in small pieces. Put the apples in a pan, add just a tiny bit of water and boil the apples for approx. 10 minutes (cooking time depends on the type of apples you use). Add the sugar and stir until you reached a coarse thick sauce.
Step 3 – Transfer the apple mixture to a dish and cover it with a mixture of sugar, bread crumbs, cinnamon. Pour melted butter on top and place dish in oven (350°F.) and bake for approx. 30 minutes.
Step 4 – Serve immediately with ice-cold vanilla sauce.

Plated baked apple dessert with cold vanilla sauce

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