Baked apples with vanilla, butter and thyme
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
Baked apples with vanilla, butter and thyme
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
Gill Meller
Gill Meller
Ingredients
- 4 dessert apples, such as Pink Lady
- 50g soft unsalted butter
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
- zest of ½ lemon
- a few small sprigs of thyme
Step by step
Make the flavoured butter the day before, and pack into a small container, ready to assemble the apple parcel.
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Halve the apples (I like to leave the core in). Lay them out over a double thickness sheet of foil that will be large enough to encase the apples when you put them in the fire.
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Place the butter in a bowl. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and add to the butter along with the sugar and lemon zest and mix well. Dot a little of this sweet vanilla butter over the top of each apple. Top with the sprigs of thyme and throw in the split vanilla pod for good measure.
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Fold the foil over the apples to create a sealed parcel. Set the parcel in the hot embers of the fire and cook for 20-40 minutes or until the apples are tender to the point of a knife. Rotate the parcel occasionally to ensure the apples are cooking evenly. Alternatively, cook in the oven at 240°C, fan 220°C, gas 9.
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When the apples are cooked, serve them hot with cream and all the juices.
