Even before publishing my previous post I’ve decided that this post is going to be dedicated to Rosh HaShana - the Jewish New Year’s Eve. After all, all of us (ok, let’s be honest, some of us) are looking for the best dessert recipe, one that will be a wonderful ending to the holiday dinner, and will make your guests ask for seconds. I thought really hard about an interesting dessert, one that will be a bit more exciting than the regular honey cake, classic as it may be, but I’m all for innovation. How about you?

It was really hard for me to make up my mind between two ideas I had - one of them was a Mille Feuille - adapted to Rosh HaShana using a honey pastry cream instead of the classic version. Man, this pastry cream was one of the worst things I’ve ever made. Really tried to like it. Honest. Impossible. Which led me to make my second idea - an apple and honey crumble.

The 45 minutes it spent in the oven, I spent on the other side, staring at it and hoping it will turn out fine. I even resisted the 10 minutes after it got out of the oven, letting it cool slightly. And then I attacked it with a teaspoon. What was supposed to be “merely a taste” turned into me eating like a fifth of the whole thing! Those apples, swimming peacefully in an exciting honey-maple-caramel and spiced up just right made me wonder how did I ever prefer the Mille Feuille in the first place. One note, though - as opposed to the classic crispy crumble texture, this one is somewhat softer, a fact that in my opinion only does good to this wonderful pastry. But if you want to be precise - you can call it apple-pastry-over-honey-caramel

Two other benefits for this dessert are that it’s quite light, so it’s a great finale to a big holiday dinner, and also it’s very easy to make, so it won’t take a lot of your time and attention while preparing the rest of the meal.

Some notes and tips about this dessert:

* Apples (and pears, for that matter) tend to change their color and get darker almost as soon as you peel them. For that reason, make sure you’re peeling them just before using them. If you still need to peel them a little earlier, put them in a bowl with 2 Tbsp of lemon juice, stir well, and it will keep them from changing their color.

* Coring the apples (and pears, for that matter) can be quite an unpleasant chore when you don’t have an apple corer. I thereby admit that I’m such a kitchen-gadgets kind of gal, but this one folks, I don’t consider a gadget at all. This is a very useful appliance, and even a must-have if you have to or choose to deal with apples and pears coring quite often.

* When using apples in baked desserts, it’s usually recommended to use the green tart apples - such as Granny Smiths. The reason for that is that their tartness blends wonderfully in sweet desserts (other sweet apples can cause your dessert to turn out too sweet), and also because they keep their shape very well during baking, and don’t get all mooshy.

* If you’re in the mood for a variation - you could substitute half or all the honey with maple syrup. If you’re doing so but are not such a great fan of sweetness, you can reduce the brown sugar added to the apples to 1 Tbsp instead of 2.

* When preparing this dessert in a 24 cm pan, it won’t slice that pretty, and its sliced look will be more rustic and scattered. If you’re looking for the more elegant look, go ahead and prepare it in individual ramekins.

Apples Over Honey-Caramel Pastry / Adapted from a Betty M. Crook recipe
For a 24 cm round pan

Ingredients:
4 Granny Smith big apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup  honey (see tips for variations)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 large egg

Directions:
1. Thinly slice the apples.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
3. Place apples, honey, brown sugar, orange juice and spices in a bowl, and mix until blended.
4. In a separate bowl mix all the other ingredients, until a dough is formed.
5. Grease the pan. If you’re using a springform pan, wrap its bottom with a piece of aluminium foil, since the apple mixture is quite liquid, and we don’t want it to drip in the oven or on the floor.
6. Place the apple mixture in the pan and distribute them evenly (add also all the liquids).  Place the dough on top of the apples and make sure it’s arranged evenly - you can help it using your hands or a tablespoon.
7. Bake for 45 mins, or until the top is nicely browned.
8. The recommended serving is with a side of vanilla ice cream. Store it tightly wrapped at room temperature or in the fridge - the choice is yours.

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