Apples baked in the embers – filled with butter and cinnamon, soft over the fire

Cinnamon butter in the middle, embers all around and a cup of custard

4 servings
Time: 15 min at home + 40 min at the embers
Difficulty: Easy
12 ingredients
11 steps

Photo: A Healthier Michigan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

There's a moment at the fire pit when the sausages have been eaten, the fire has sunk to an orange bed and nobody quite wants to go home yet. That's when the apples go in. Four silver parcels stand upright in a ring of embers, the children keep track of whose is whose, and after half an hour the whole place smells of cinnamon and caramelised sugar.

Baked apples are a dessert that almost takes care of itself. A tart apple, a dollop of cinnamon butter with oats and nuts in the middle and heat all around – that's all it takes. The only things that need a little thought on a winter day are that the apples mustn't freeze on the way, that the filling is mixed before the butter goes hard, and that the melted filling in the middle is hotter than it looks.

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At home and by the fire

At home. Mix the filling while the butter is soft. Stir together the butter, sugar or honey, cinnamon, salt, oats, nuts and raisins into a sticky mixture and divide it into four lumps in the tub. At minus ten the butter is as hard as putty and you can't mix anything – but ready-made lumps are easy to press into an apple even when they're cold. Whip the cream at home if you want cream, or bring the custard in a leakproof bottle.

The apples on the way. An apple that has frozen turns soft and brown when it thaws and collapses in the heat. So pack them in the middle of your rucksack, ideally wrapped in a spare jumper, or in the food bag in the pulk with something insulating around them. How to pack the picnic in the pulk is explained in pulk sled with gear. The custard should be cold, but it doesn't do well frozen either – put it next to the apples.

By the fire. It's nice to core the apples at the fire, so the children can fill them themselves. If you've cored them at home, drip a little lemon into the hole and wrap the apple in cling film, otherwise the cut surface will turn brown. It doesn't affect the taste, only the look.

The apples are the last thing to go in – cook something else while the fire burns down. More about cooking in the cold in cooking outdoors in winter.

Baked apples in a pot with a lid

If you'd rather skip the foil altogether, baking the apples in a cast-iron pot works just as well. Stand the filled apples upright in the pot, pour a decilitre of water or apple juice into the bottom and put the lid on. Put the pot on the embers and add a shovelful of embers on the lid, so the heat comes from both below and above. Allow 25–35 minutes. The juice in the bottom mixes with the butter running out of the apples and becomes a thin cinnamon syrup to spoon over. How to set the pot securely and control the heat is covered in cooking in a pot.

Which apples hold their shape?

For baked apples you usually choose firm, preferably tart varieties. The acidity balances the sweetness of the filling.

Belle de Boskoop – the classic baking apple, large and tart, and a variety that usually keeps its shape when cooked.
Gloster and Cox's Orange – two varieties often recommended for baked apples.

Varieties that tend to turn to purée collapse more easily in the heat. If that's all you have at home, keep a closer eye on them with the roasting stick and eat them as warm cinnamon apple purée from the cup if they give way – it tastes just as good, it just doesn't look as nice.

Safety at the fire and with hot filling

The part of a baked apple that burns worst isn't the skin but the middle. The melted butter and sugar filling holds its heat for a long time and sticks to the skin. So let the apple rest for five minutes, stir the filling before the children eat, and let them eat with a spoon from the cup instead of biting into a whole apple.

The steam when the parcel is opened and foil that has been in the embers burn just as easily. Let an adult lift out and open the parcels with tongs and a glove.

If someone burns themselves: cool with cool water for about 15 minutes. Never use snow or ice on a burn. On a winter day there's a risk that a child gets chilled in the meantime, so only cool the burnt area and keep the rest of the body warm – more about that in hypothermia and frostbite. Seek medical care if blisters cover an area larger than the injured person's own hand, and always if the child is 12 months or younger. More about safe fires in fire safety in nature, and always check whether there's a fire ban – the rules are in lighting fires outdoors.

Allergens: the filling contains milk (butter), gluten (oats, unless labelled gluten-free) and nuts. Swap the nuts for sunflower seeds and the butter for a plant-based spread if needed. The custard often contains milk and egg.

Honey: don't give honey to children under one year old. Use brown sugar in their apple, or skip the sweetener altogether – a baked apple is sweet enough.

Baked apples with children

This is a dessert the children can make almost entirely by themselves. Let them core the apples with an apple corer, which is both easier and safer than a knife, and show them how to press and twist instead of stabbing. Then they fill their own apple, and they're free to add more raisins than any adult would have.

Give each child their own shape for the foil knot – a star, two ears, a long tail – so everyone knows which parcel is theirs. The children can also be in charge of the clock and say when it's time to turn the parcels, and push the roasting stick through the foil at the end with an adult beside them. The adults handle the embers and the tongs. More ideas about which tasks suit which age in cooking with children over a fire.

Tips for baked apples in the embers

Choose apples of the same size, and they'll all be ready at the same time.
A few oats in the filling soak up some of the juice that would otherwise run out at the bottom.
A piece of marzipan in the middle of the filling is a German variation – it melts into the butter.
Baked apples left over? Eat them cold for breakfast the next day, or stir them into some cinnamon oats with apple and lingonberries.
After a cheese fondue, a tart baked apple is a nicely light dessert – try it after cheese fondue over an open fire.

Common mistakes

The parcels sit in the middle of the flames. The bottom turns black and the top stays raw. Embers all around, not fire.
The corer goes through the bottom. The filling runs out and burns onto the foil. Plug the hole with a piece of the core.
Foil directly against the apple. Livsmedelsverket (the Swedish Food Agency) advises against cooking acidic food, such as fruit, in contact with aluminium foil. Put baking paper on the inside or use the pot.
Apples that tend to turn to purée. They can collapse before the filling has melted.
The apples have frozen in the rucksack. They turn brown and collapse. Pack them somewhere warm.
The children eat straight away. Let the apples rest and stir the filling first.

Baked apple variations

Gingerbread apples: swap the oats for crushed gingersnaps in December.
Lingonberry apples: a teaspoon of lingonberry jam in the bottom of the hole before the filling.
Cardamom: swap half the cinnamon for freshly ground cardamom.
Crumble in the pot: slice the apples into the pot and put crumble topping on top, like a crumble baked with embers on the lid.
Pears: firm pears can be baked the same way – test with the roasting stick; the time depends on size and ripeness.

More sweet parcels in the embers in banana in foil with chocolate and cinnamon, and the same technique with a savoury filling in fire-baked root vegetables in foil.

Frequently asked questions

Which apples are best for baked apples?

Firm, preferably tart varieties. Belle de Boskoop is the classic baking apple, and Gloster and Cox's Orange are also often recommended. Varieties that tend to turn to purée collapse more easily.

How long should baked apples sit in the embers?

About 20–30 minutes for a large apple, with the parcel upright at the edge of the bed of embers and a quarter turn every five to seven minutes. Test with a roasting stick – if it goes in without resistance, the apple is ready.

Can you bake apples in foil without baking paper?

Livsmedelsverket advises against cooking acidic food, such as fruit and berries, in contact with aluminium foil, because aluminium can then leach into the food. A protective layer between the food and the foil prevents that. So put a sheet of baking paper on the inside and the foil on the outside, or bake the apples in a pot with a lid.

How do you make oven-baked apples at home instead?

Fill the apples the same way, stand them in an ovenproof dish with a splash of water in the bottom and bake them at about 200 degrees for 25–40 minutes, until soft. No foil needed.

Can small children eat baked apples?

Yes, ideally mashed in the cup once the filling has cooled. Chop the nuts finely or leave them out for the youngest, and don't give honey to children under one year old.

What do you drink with them?

A cup of warm children's glögg with the same cinnamon as in the apple, or hot chocolate for anyone who prefers it.