How to make apples in caramel?
Probably, many have seen in American films how heroes at fairs buy bright apples on sticks, covered with multi-colored icing. However, few people realize that such a yummy is easy to make at home. Caramelized fruits are quite easy to prepare, they turn out to be extremely appetizing and filled with useful substances. This dessert will appeal to both adults and children.
Properties and calorie dishes
Calorie apples in caramel can be different, but the minimum figure is about 110 kilocalories per 100 grams of product. Of course, the more complicated the caramel recipe, the higher the caloric content of the whole product. This dessert retains all the advantages inherent in this fruit, but it is important to remember that an excessive amount of sugar can be harmful to the tooth enamel.
Which varieties are better to use?
Apples for this dish should be chosen firm and moderately sour, the size is recommended to take an average. The above requirements are met by varieties such as Granny Smith, Cox and Golden Delicious. Among the garden and the most affordable variety suitable "Ranetki."
For dessert, you can choose different types of apples, while the soft ones are more suitable for processing whole fruits, and hard ones - for slices.
General principles of cooking
Apples in caramel, cooked with their own hands at home, require elastic, whole and fresh fruit. Of course, spoiled apples with crumpled sides or insect holes are not discussed. You should also not pay attention to overripe or too loose fruit. Caramelized fruits look neat and beautiful if they are small in size. In the case when the caramelized apples are chosen in red, then the glaze should be made transparent. Before you prepare the dish, it is important to wash the fruit well, and most importantly, dry it, since the presence of water droplets leads to uneven caramelization.
Cooking caramel fruits can be done in different ways: in the pan, in the oven, on the stove - the technology is, in principle, the same. Baked apples are also good, and caramelizing fruit in a slow cooker can be quick and easy. The base for sugar syrup can serve as regular granulated sugar, as well as ready-made sweets, for example, toffee. Often they are added spices and seasonings, syrups and various types of oil. At the first stage, caramel is usually brewed, at the second stage, fruits are to be caramelized, and at the third stage, they are ready to roll in various sprinkles. It should be mentioned that the characteristics of caramel largely depend on the correctness of the process of heating sugar. Do it need on very low heat and in no case bring to a boil.
Recipes
A rather unusual way of cooking this dish is as follows. Certain ingredients are needed: ten apples, two glasses of granulated sugar, 100 grams of chocolate and a glass of water.
The fruits should not be too sweet, and sour to the final dessert did not turn out too cloying. Chocolate is grated or crushed with a knife into small pieces, so that chocolate chips are formed. The apples are thoroughly washed and freed from the tail. In the resulting groove are placed wooden sticks, usually sold in a set with dishes in Chinese.
Next, prepare a sugar syrup. Crystals of sand are poured into a saucepan or ladle and poured with warm water. A small fire is ignited and the tank is sent to the stove. For thirty or even forty minutes it is necessary to stir the substance periodically until all the sand disperses and the contents have a golden tint.
It is important not to digest the caramel and not to let it burn. Readiness is determined by a cunning experiment: several droplets are poured onto the surface of a clean plate.If they instantly change the substance to a solid, then the solution is ready for use.
Then you can proceed directly to the caramelization. The saucepan is removed from the stove and the fruit on the chopsticks is dropped into the sugar syrup. Twist the fruit should be so as to cover the entire surface. Without waiting for freezing, the caramelized fruit is dipped in chocolate chips, after which the fruits can be carefully laid out on a separate dish. It is necessary to preserve the gaps between the apples so that they do not touch. The presence of topping is due to the fact that chocolate will prevent sugar runoff and make dessert more sustainable.
It is important to mention that It is not convenient for everyone to eat the whole fruit, so in the dessert it is allowed to replace whole fruits with apple slices. In addition, a good idea would be to add a dye - for example, make a popular dessert in red glaze. It is allowed to store it for two days in the refrigerator. It is better to lay a baking paper under it or to wrap the fruit in foil.
Fruit pieces are prepared as follows. First, half a kilo of selected apples, a glass of sugar, 150 grams of starch, a glass of sesame oil and a glass of regular sunflower oil are prepared. It all starts with the processing of fruits: apples are washed, peeled and freed from the central part with pits. Each apple is cut into four parts, after which each part is divided into slices of the required size. Slices need to roll in 100 grams of potato starch. At this time, a substance resembling sour cream is mixed from the remaining substance and water at room temperature. The apples fall into it so that they are covered from all sides.
A mug of vegetable oil is poured into a frying device, after which it is heated to a temperature of 170 degrees. Chicken rolls are roasted for three minutes from each face on medium heat and put into a clean bowl. In another frying pan, a glass of sesame oil is heated, and the prepared sand is poured into it. While gently stirring the substance, it is necessary to ensure that the granules completely disappear. As soon as the oil turns golden, fried apples are laid in it. Everything is quickly stirred, and the pieces are removed back on the plate. Ready dessert advise sprinkle with fresh sesame oil before use.
Bright "lacquer" apples, covered with ruby caramel, are sure to attract both adults and children. Ingredients require a kilogram of fruit, a glass of water, three glasses of granulated sugar, three quarters of a glass of corn syrup and a package of dye. Syrup can replace starch dissolved in water. The apples are washed, dried, and the wood is stuck into them.
Caramel is made from sand, syrup and plain water. Immediately, a colorant is added to these ingredients. The pot is placed on the stove –– it will be there until the final dissolution of the sand crystals. The tray is prepared properly - covered with silicone mat or baking paper, oiled. Apples are dipped into the finished caramel so as to completely cover the surface. After that, they go to "rest" on the pallet.
It is possible to cook this dish in a slow cooker - the process will be faster and easier. From the ingredients you will need to buy from two to four apples, 200 milliliters of hot water, two tablespoons of butter, three tablespoons of sugar and fresh mint for decoration. The “Multipovar” mode is selected, and the temperature should correspond to 160 degrees. Sugar is poured into a container that has not yet been heated up, after which it is heated to change its state from sand to caramel.
There is added butter, which must be stirred until complete dissolution.At this time, the apples are washed, peeled, freed from the central part and divided into two halves. Slice down they fit into the caramel and left under the lid closed for five minutes. After a specified period, they gently turn over, and then left for another five minutes.
The finished dish is recommended to cool to room temperature.
An interesting solution would be to choose apples baked in the oven. Initially, you will need to prepare four apples and two-thirds glasses of fresh apple juice, three tablespoons of butter and a glass of granulated sugar. In addition, the cook will need a third cup of water, half a cup of milk, and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. At the first stage, water and sugar are transformed into a syrup - they are cooked on weak fire for about a quarter of an hour. Upon completion, the pan is removed from the heat, and after a minute, its contents are mixed with a spoonful of butter. At the next stage, milk is introduced there, the pan is returned to the cooking surface, and its contents are constantly stirred for two minutes. When the mass thickens, it can be removed from the stove and combined with vanilla extract.
The oven warms up to 170 degrees of heat. At this time, the fruits are washed and cut into flat plates from which you can make a fruit. Apple juice is mixed with melted butter, and the resulting mixture is poured on the apples. Everything is retracted into the oven for forty-five minutes, and the juice flowing onto the tray constantly returns. The finished apple is laid out in an individual bowl, and syrup is poured into its middle in approximately a quarter cup. If desired, it will be possible to decorate everything with nuts and dried fruits.
Very interesting is the recipe for apples in soft caramel, which is made from ordinary toffee. It would take about 400 grams of candy, two tablespoons of water, a bag of vanillin and twenty grams of butter. The number of apples is determined independently. Oil, vanilla and candy are placed in a saucepan and poured water. Everything is put on a small fire and melted until a homogeneous substance is reached. Prepared apples are placed on wood and dipped in syrup.
Mirror gloss can be achieved if you cook caramelized apples with lemon juice.
In addition to fruit, you will need to prepare 150 grams of granulated sugar, two spoons of water and a tablespoon of lemon. All of the above ingredients are mixed over low heat until the consistency is homogeneous and the sugar does not disperse. The process should be continued until the appearance of a beautiful shade of amber. Check the readiness of the syrup is obtained by typing a little bit of liquid in a spoon and knocking it over in cold water. If she immediately grabs, then the caramel is ready. Apples are lowered into the liquid, after which they are laid out to dry on baking paper.
Exquisite delicacy will be apples cooked in Chinese. The preparation will require one apple, 200 grams of sugar, a teaspoon of sesame seeds, a miniature piece of butter, water, four tablespoons of flour, an egg and a teaspoon of sunflower oil. The oven warms up to 200 degrees. At this time, water with butter is brought to a boil, complemented with flour and cools for several minutes. Then one egg is added to the mixture, everything is mixed again - the batter is ready.
The apple is peeled, released from the seed and cut into medium-sized fragments. Pieces are lowered into batter, qualitatively collapse and placed on a pre-missed pallet. The dish is sent to the oven for twenty-five minutes, then cools a little. In parallel, in the saucepan cooked caramel by the standard method. It is necessary to add sesame seed.Pieces of apples in batter are dropped in a pair of three pieces into caramel, mixed, and then discharged into a container with previously prepared ice water. Finished fragments will need to hold on a paper napkin that absorbs fat.
Useful recommendations
Even if caramel apples are prepared at home for everyday use, it makes sense to think about the beautiful presentation. Reviews say that the most effective apples look on a flat round dish, painted in one shade. After processing in sugar syrup, ready-made fruits should be dipped either in confectionery dressing, or in coconut chips, or in pieces of finely chopped nuts or even seeds. If you melt a white chocolate bar in a water bath, you can pour the dessert with the resulting mixture. You can add everything with some syrup or dark chocolate, and also powder it with sugar. Fruits look very beautiful when they are painted with icing of different colors.
Washed apples must dry before caramelizer is on them. In addition, it is correct when a wooden stick reaches the core of the fetus - this will increase the stability of the whole structure and prevent inconvenience during meals. By the way, ice cream pieces or even well-cleaned branches are also suitable for the role of sticks. Short, for example, toothpicks will not work, as the small length does not allow to fix the fruit reliably. Otherwise, he will be in caramel. In addition, there is a fruit on a short stump simply uncomfortable. Immediately after processing, apples properly leave on a sheet of paper for baking, to eliminate excess liquid.
Serve caramelized apples with other pastries and drinks: mulled wine, tea, coffee and lemonade. Very interesting will be the combination of fruit with ice cream.
Sometimes it happens that after drying the caramel it turns out that it does not completely cover the fruit. Therefore, after the cooling of the first layer, it is necessary to repeat the procedure. Too thick sugar syrup is brought to the desired consistency, if you put it on a small fire and stir actively. The tank in which it is prepared should have thick walls and a bottom. Ready-made apples are not stored for long in the refrigerator, but if they are placed in a plastic bag, and then in a tightly closed container, the shelf life will increase to a week. Before serving, after the cold, the fruit will need to be held for one hour at room temperature.
It should also be remembered that there is a special technique for cooking caramel apples. The device looks like a large pan for cooking syrup. If the caramelizer is an advanced model, then in addition there is an automatic device that slides ready fruit on sticks.
Video with step by step instructions for making such a dessert, see below.