Honey-Roasted Apples with Calvados and Sesame

Photo: Heami Lee • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen. Photo: Heami Lee • Food Styling: Jessie YuChen

If, like me, your frame of reference for apples is the dark red, mealy tennis balls served to you in grade school, then it’s time to treat yourself to an apple-picking trip. Biting into a fresh, crisp, and juicy apple you just plucked from the tree while standing in the crisp autumn air is just about as far away from that cafeteria as you can get. I make it a ritual every fall, and it always renews my appreciation for this familiar fruit—especially when I go for less common varieties like Macouns, Cortlands, Honey Crisps, Empires, and Japanese Yatakas, that are grown for flavor and texture, not their ability to sit in a produce bin forever.

Those aforementioned Yatakas inspired this dessert, dreamt up after scarfing down an apple while still at the orchard. It had the requisite honey-sweet flavor, but with a lightly fermented brightness and warm nutty quality. Quite frankly, it was the best apple I’ve ever eaten. But if I can never find it again in grocery stores, at least I can mimic its flavor by roasting other crisp, tart apples in honey and butter, and then whisking their cooking juices with toasted sesame seeds and a shot of Calvados. This “dressing” is then tossed back over the warm apples so they soak up its glory. A dollop of crème fraîche the apples into a proper dish, but honestly, I’d eat these apples plain for breakfast, as a side dish for roast pork, or tossed in a blind-baked tart crust for an elegant dessert.

Yield: 2–4 Time: 45 minutes

• 2 large apples, such as Cortland, Macoun, Empire, or Fuji
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. Calvados
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
• Crème fraîche, for serving

Instructions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Quarter the apples and remove their cores, then cut each apple quarter lengthwise on the diagonal into two jagged pieces. Transfer the apple pieces to a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and toss with the butter, honey, and salt.
2. Bake, turning once halfway through, until the apples are soft and lightly caramelized, 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a serving dish. Scrape the pan juices into a small bowl and whisk in the Calvados and sesame seeds. Pour the juices over the apples and toss gently to combine. Set the apples aside for 10 minutes to soak up some of the juices, then stir again and serve warm with crème fraîche.