Serves 8
Active prep & cooking time: 10-20 minutes | Cooking time: 30-45 minutes | Freezing time 12h+
A contemporary spin on the iconic Rosh Hashanah offering of apple and honey, this dessert is the perfect way to round off an autumn evening. Our baked apples are caramelised in honey and served warm, alongside a delicious homemade parev ice cream, sweet and full of crunchy honeycomb crumbs. We used Granny Smith apples for their tartness to balance the sweetness of the ice cream, but you can use any other apple of your choosing.
There are many reasons given for eating apples dipped in honey or sugar at Rosh Hashanah. The Talmud and the Midrash explain that when our forefather Jacob entered his father Isaac’s tent to receive his blessings, the scent of the Garden of Eden entered with him, and it had the fragrance of an apple orchard. As we eat our apples on Rosh Hashanah, we are recalling the creation of mankind and praying that we too should receive blessings, just as Jacob did.
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream
- 1 can (370g) of Vegan Condensed Milk
- Approx 650ml (1 large and 1 small carton) Non-dairy Whip Topping
- Large pinch of Rock Salt
- 1½ cups crushed Honeycomb (see below for instructions on how to make your own)
For the Baked Apples
- 2 Granny Smith Apples,
- cored, peeled and diced
- 2 Granny Smith Apples,
- cored and diced
- 1.5 tbsp Honey
For the Honeycomb
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 5 tbsp Golden Syrup
- 2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
Method
For the Ice Cream
- In a bowl, whisk together the vegan condensed milk, the non-dairy whip and a large pinch of rock salt.
- Pour into a freezer safe container with a lid and freeze for 2-3 hours.
- Remove and stir fully, adding in 1 cup of crushed honeycomb (saving the rest for later) and stir again, ensuring an even distribution.
- Place in the freezer for a further 1½ hours, then stir again and return to the freezer to set.
For the Baked Apples
- Preheat oven to 200ºC (180ºC Fan/400ºF).
- Put the diced and peeled apple mixture into an oven proof dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Stir to combine, cover and place in hot oven.
- Take the second set of diced apple and pour over the honey. Stir to combine and place in the oven uncovered.
- Cook both for 30-45 min, keeping an eye on the uncovered apple to make sure it doesn’t burn (stir occasionally to ensure equal caramalisation).
For the Honeycomb
- First, line a 9-inch (23cm) cake tin with baking paper or lightly grease the sides. Avoid using a spring-form tin.
- Heat the caster sugar and golden syrup together in a reasonably deep pan over a low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar has completely dissolved. Avoid letting the sugar bubble.
- Once sugar has completely dissolved, increase the heat and bring the caramel to simmer until the temperature on a sugar themometer reaches 140ºC and the colour changes to a dark amber, (this will happen quite quickly).
- Test if it’s ready by turning off the heat and dropping a little of the caramel into a glass of very cold water. If it forms a hard ball, it’s ready. If not, heat up a little longer and test again.
- Immediately add in the bicarbonate of soda and beat the mixture quickly until the bicarb is fully mixed in. The mixture will bubble and rise rapidly.
- Scrape the mixture into the lined cake tin, taking care as the mixture will be extremely hot! The mixture will continue to bubble in the cake tin.
- Leave the mixture to cool in the tin for 60-90 minutes and it should turn hard, ready to be broken or cut into chunks or crumbled.
- Store the honeycomb in a tin or airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 3 days, after which it will soften and lose its crunch.
To serve, intersperse the two types of apple on a plate, add the ice cream and top with some of the remaining honeycomb for added crunch.
Photo by Yaffa Judah
