Three hours at a low temperature turns six apples into something closer to confit than to baked fruit. Maison Bordier cores them, drops a pat of Madagascar vanilla butter into each cavity, spoons over warm salted butter caramel and a little rum, then bakes them at 120°C / 250°F while basting every half hour. The vanilla butter melts into the caramel and the apple juices and keeps basting the fruit from the inside. Active work is maybe fifteen minutes. The oven does the rest.
At a glance
- Difficulty: Easy
- Serves: 4, from 6 apples
- Active time: About 15 minutes, plus a minute every half hour to baste (our estimate)
- Cook: 3 hours at 120°C / 250°F
- Key ingredient: Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter
Why this works
Bordier introduced the Madagascar vanilla butter in 2010: unsalted butter worked with brown sugar and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla. It is not a dessert topping so much as a butter that happens to taste of vanilla and caramelised sugar, which is why it behaves properly under heat instead of scorching. Dropped into the cored center of an apple, it melts first, mixes with the caramel and the fruit's own juices, and becomes the basting liquid for everything that follows.
The low oven is the whole trick. At 120°C / 250°F the apples never burst; they slowly collapse inward while the sugars concentrate and darken. Basting every 30 minutes pulls the syrup from the bottom of the dish back over the skins, which is how they take on that lacquered gold color rather than drying out. Leaving the skins on holds each apple together for three hours. A terra-cotta dish holds heat evenly and gently, which suits a bake this long.
Ingredients
Bordier gives quantities only for the apples, so the remaining amounts are left to the cook. We have flagged our own suggested amounts where the source does not specify one.
| Ingredient | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| King of the Pippins apples (Reine des Reinettes) | 6 | 6 |
| Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter | A good-sized pat per apple (about 15 to 20 g each is our guide) | About 1 tbsp per apple, roughly 1 block for all six |
| Soft Bordier salted butter caramel | 1 jar | 1 jar |
| Rum | A smidgen, to taste | A splash, to taste |
Method
Step 1: Core the apples and fill them
Choose six good King of the Pippins apples. Core them but leave the skins on, then set them upright in a terra-cotta baking dish. Slide a good-sized pat of Bordier Madagascar vanilla butter down into each cored hole.
Step 2: Caramel, rum, then a long slow bake
Take the lid off the jar of soft Bordier caramel and warm it in the microwave, then spoon it over the apples along with a smidgen of rum to taste. Bake at 120°C / 250°F for 3 hours, basting the apples generously every 30 minutes so they gradually take on a deep golden color.
Step 3: Serve warm, with ice cream
Add a scoop of tutti-frutti plombière ice cream, which brings a Caribbean note to the plate. Bordier pours an excellent Sydre cider from Eric Bordelet alongside.
Tips from our kitchen
- Pick a firm, tart apple. Reine des Reinettes is rare in US markets. What matters is that the variety holds its shape over three hours, so reach for Braeburn, Jonagold, Northern Spy or a firm Golden Russet. Soft, mealy varieties such as Red Delicious will slump into sauce well before the time is up.
- Core without going through the base. Stop short of the bottom of the apple so the cavity holds the butter and caramel instead of letting it run straight into the dish. An apple corer or a narrow paring knife worked in a circle both do the job.
- Baste on the half hour, and mean it. This is the one thing that separates a glossy baked apple from a wrinkled one. Tip the dish, gather the syrup from the corner with a spoon, and pour it back over the skins. Six passes over three hours is what the recipe asks for.
- If the dish runs dry, cover it. Apples vary in juice. If the syrup is catching and darkening too fast at the edges before hour two, lay foil loosely over the dish for the middle stretch, then take it off for the last 30 minutes to color the tops.
- On the caramel. Bordier's soft salted butter caramel is part of their delicatessen range and we do not carry it. Any good jarred salted butter caramel spread will stand in. The one thing to avoid is a thin ice cream sauce, which will scorch over three hours rather than glaze.
- Six apples, four servings. Bordier lists this as serving four while calling for six apples, which reads to us as two spares for anyone going back for another. If you want strictly one each, four apples works with the same timing.
How to serve it
Bring the dish to the table as it comes out of the oven and spoon the syrup from the bottom over each apple as you plate it, with ice cream melting into the hollow. It is a good dessert for a long autumn dinner because it needs no attention in the final hour and holds warm happily while you clear plates. If you are cooking your way through the vanilla butter, our Madagascar Vanilla Butter Brioche uses the same block to very different effect.
Where to buy Bordier Madagascar Vanilla Butter in the US
The French Pantry ships Bordier butter across the United States in insulated overnight packaging, straight from the workshop in Brittany.
- Churned Madagascar Vanilla Butter by Bordier (4.4 oz): unsalted butter worked with brown sugar and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, made for baking and for spooning onto warm fruit.
We do not carry Bordier's jarred caramel, but you can find the rest of the butter range in the Maison Bordier collection.
Frequently asked questions
How much Bordier vanilla butter do I need for six apples?
Bordier says a good-sized pat per apple without giving a weight. Our guide is 15 to 20 g, about a tablespoon, in each cavity, which comes to roughly 100 g across six apples. One 4.4 oz / 125 g block covers the whole tray.
Can I substitute a different butter?
Salted butter works and gives you a plainer, more caramel-forward apple, since the vanilla is what makes this version distinctive. If you go that route, the vanilla has to come from somewhere else, so split a bean into the caramel before you warm it.
Do I have to use rum?
No. The recipe says a smidgen, to taste, which makes it optional by design. Leave it out entirely and the apples still work, or use a splash of Calvados if you would rather stay with apple.
How should I store Bordier butter?
Keep it wrapped and refrigerated. Press the wrapper back against any cut face so the surface does not dry out, and use an opened block within a week or so. It freezes well if you want to keep one on hand.
Does Bordier butter need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Bordier butter is a fresh, hand-churned product and ships cold. Put it in the refrigerator when it arrives and take it out only when you are ready to cut the pats.
Can I make these ahead?
They are best warm from the oven, but they reheat well. Cover and refrigerate once cool, then warm them through in a low oven with a spoonful of the syrup poured back over each one.
Related reading
- Bordier Butter: What It Is, Why Chefs Love It, and How to Use It
- How to Choose Your French Butter: A Buyer's Guide
- Alain Milliat Jams
Recipe and photograph adapted from Maison Bordier, with thanks. The French Pantry is an authorized US retailer of Bordier butter.