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Almond Apples
Peel and take the cores from six large cooking apples; pound two ounces of almonds to a paste with two ounces of butter, the same of sugar, two eggs, and a few drops of essence of almonds. When quite smooth fill the cavity where the core was taken out, bake slowly until soft; let them get cold, then heap up a little whipped cream on top, and serve. Probable cost, 1s. 6d.
A Victorian baked-apple pudding with a frangipane filling, straightforward apart from two things: the filling is much wetter than a modern almond cream, and the apples are peeled, which changes how they behave in the oven.
- Oven temperature"Bake slowly" gives no figure; the book works without thermometer settings. A slow oven is usually reckoned nowadays at around 300-325F. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for large apples, though peeled fruit softens faster than you expect — start checking at 35 minutes.
- Peeled apples need supportWithout their skins the apples will slump as they cook. Bake them in a dish just big enough to hold them upright, shoulder to shoulder, with a spoonful or two of water in the bottom to stop the sugar catching.
- The filling will not stay putTwo ounces of almonds and two whole eggs gives a batter, not a paste — it will run out of the cavities and set around the fruit. If you want a filling that stays in the cavity, use one egg; if you follow the original, expect a custardy almond layer in the dish, which is no bad thing.
- Pounding the almondsTwo ounces of blanched almonds ground in a food processor with the sugar takes seconds. Add the butter and eggs after, or the mixture will slacken before the nuts break down.
- Essence of almondsVictorian almond essence was often based on bitter almond oil and used sparingly for good reason. Modern almond extract is benzaldehyde-based and safe in culinary amounts, but it is potent — an eighth of a teaspoon at most answers to the recipe's "few drops".
- Which apples"Cooking apples" means a tart variety that breaks down: Bramley in Britain, or another sharp cooking apple elsewhere. Dessert apples hold their shape and stay bland against the sweet filling.
- Yield and servingSix apples, one per person. They are meant to be served cold with whipped cream heaped on at the last moment, so make them well ahead — the almond layer firms up as it cools.
- Probable cost1s 6d is the cost of the whole dish in Victorian money, given as a guide to what the dish would come to. It is not a measurement.
The filling is close to what is usually called frangipane — almonds, butter, sugar and egg in roughly equal weights — a type of almond mixture found in English and French pastry from at least the eighteenth century, and one that Victorian cookery books used in tarts, puddings and, as here, inside fruit. The essence of almonds called for was one of the standard bottled flavourings of the period, sold alongside vanilla and lemon. The apples are left to get cold before the cream goes on, so the dish can be made well in advance of serving.