We adapted this complex dessert from Diana Henry, who calls it Peasant Girls in a Mist. Here, we’ve added a layer of caramel to the mixture so there is plenty of sweet and crunchy and fruit, all proudly presented in a clear glass bowl. It’s one of those desserts where people do stop to look and admire before they gobble and admire.
This dessert is claimed by Norway and Denmark. It’s certainly a Scandinavian celebration of late fall apples.
This is a dessert that might inspire you to even more creativity. We added the caramel sauce. I can see crumbling some blue or cheddar cheese on the very top, too. Or white chocolate or bits of nuts, salted or unsalted. If you are going to be over the top, why not aim for Mount Everest?
This recipe comes from the newly published revised edition of Roast Figs, Sugar Snow by Diana Henry. This is a book of fall and winter dishes that was acclaimed in 2009 when first published. Now, it’s here in a gorgeous new edition and filled with clever ideas like this one. We just pushed back the clocks for the end of Daylight Savings Time and many of you are entering your winter doldrums. If you crave brightness in your life, then you need to switch on this lovely book.
Apples in the Mist
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients:
Apple Sauté:
- 4 large cooking apples (Golden delicious, Cortland, Rome)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup Calvados or other Apple Brandy or Apple Cider (optional)
Carmel Sauce:
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Sea salt (optional)
Crumble Topping:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces wheat and rye bread, pulsed into bread crumbs
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
- Heavy squeeze of a large lemon
- 1 ½ tablespoon toasted hazelnuts, very coarsely chopped
Preparation:
Apple Sauté:
Peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks, and set aside.
In a saucepan melt the sugar, lemon juice, and brandy, cover and cook over medium heat until sauce is amber color.
Stir in apple chucks and cook until tender. Check for sweetness, you don’t want the apples too sweet. Remember the apples will be mixed with sweet cream and crumble topping when served in a bowl. When apples are done remove from pan and put them onto a cookie sheet pan to cool.
Caramel Sauce:
In a heavy saucepan, (at least 5-cup capacity) stir together the sugar and water until the sugar is completely moistened. Heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring completely and allow it to boil undisturbed until it turns a deep amber (380°F.). Immediately remove it from the heat and slowly and carefully pour the hot cream into the caramel. It will bubble up furiously.
Use a high-temperature heat-resistant rubber spatula, or a wooden spoon with a long handle to stir the mixture until smooth, scraping up the thicker part that settles on the bottom. If any lumps develop, return the pan to the heat and stir until they dissolve. Stir in the butter. The mixture will be streaky but become uniform after cooling slightly and stirring.
Allow the sauce to cool for 3 minutes. Gently stir in the vanilla extract and sea salt if you are using.
Crumble Topping:
Melt the butter in a skillet and add the bread crumbs and the brown sugar. Sauté, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the bread crumbs are golden. Add the cinnamon and continue to cook for about a minute. Let cool.
Whipped Topping:
Whip the cream, adding the confectioners' sugar and squeeze of lemon (add the lemon before the cream is too thick as the acid in the lemon has a thickening effect), then layer the stewed apples, bread crumbs, and whipped cream mixture in a glass bowl, ending with a layer of cream. Scatter with the chopped hazelnuts.
Source: Adapted from Roast Figs Sugar Snow by Diana Henry
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/5 for1/60thsecond at ISO‑1000