Oven baked apples, filled with a brown sugar, butter, and your choice of nuts and dried fruit (or my personal favorite: MUESLI!), and baked until soft and juicy! They are the perfect fall bake and make your kitchen smell AMAZING!
What are Bratäpfel?
Bratapfel are German style baked apples. They are cored and then filled with butter, sugar, nuts, and soaked raisins. They are best served with Vanille Soße or vanilla ice cream! But recently I made a new version filled with muesli that bakes with the butter and brown sugar to make an almost Apple Crumble type of situation and now I’m obsessed with it.
What apples are best for baking?
Essentially you want to use apples that will hold their shape. Honey Crisp, Gala, or Pink Lady apples are my favorite for baking. You could also use Fuji or Granny Smith! One thing to keep in mind is that the bigger the apple the longer it will take to bake.
Can I leave out the nuts and raisins?
Yes! BUT, let me give you a few other ideas, you could swap them for muesli, like I did in my remake. Or substitute them with only rolled oats. If you just want to swap them you could use currants, cherries or cranberries instead of raisins. And walnuts or pecans instead of the almonds.
How to serve baked apples?
They are 100% delicious on their own but to me they aren’t quite complete without a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of Vanille Soße.
How long do you bake apples?
This is very dependent on the size of apples, how many apples, and in what method you have prepared them. However, this recipe for baked apples takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Tips for making German Baked Apples
- To core the apples but keep the base in tact, I recommend using a grapefruit spoon. This will give you the most control and allow you to scoop out the center of the apple like you are carving a pumpkin.
- For the baked apple filling, be sure the butter is almost fully melted, this will make it easier to mix together.
- If you don’t want to bother with soaking raisins, or chopping nuts, simply replace with 90 grams of muesli!
- The raisins are best if soaked, if you don’t want to use rum, use water and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. To speed up the soaking process, add the raisins and liquid into a bowl and heat in the microwave for 15 seconds and cover. Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes or up to an hour.
- The apples can be baked in a metal brownie pan or a glass baking dish. However, depending on the pan you make need to bake them for more or less time. Also depending on your preferences – I like mine to still have a bit of bite but if you want them completely soft you just need to bake them longer.
More Apple Recipes to try!
Ingredients for Baked Apples
- Apples: I like to use gala, honey crisp, or pink lady apples for this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses brown sugar in the filling and is mixed with cinnamon for a delicious warm sweetness. Granulated sugar will work too but I love the warmth and flavor that brown sugar adds.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a classic when making apple desserts and makes them have a warm fall flavor.
- Butter: The butter holds the filling together and makes the apples soft and buttery. I used unsalted and added a bit of flaky salt at the end but salted butter would work here too!
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor to the filling.
- Muesli: While not super traditional, I recently started using muesli in the filling instead of almonds and raisins but you can still use chopped almonds (or pecans) and raisins (or currants, cherries, cranberries.
- Rum: Rum is only needed if making with raisins. If so use it to soak the raisins so they don’t dry out while baking and add extra flavor. Alternatively water and vanilla can be used.
How to make German Baked Apples?
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
Muesli Filling
- In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. It doesn’t need to be fully melted but should be very soft.
- Pour in the muesli, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir it all together.
OR
Raisin & Almond Filling
- In a small microwave safe bowl, add in the raisins and rum. Microwave for 10-15 seconds, remove and cover with a plate or foil. Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes or up to an hour to allow the raisins to plump.
- Chop the almonds into small bits, they should be about 1/8″ wide and tall.
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. It doesn’t need to be fully melted but should be very soft.
- Pour in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir it all together.
- Strain the soaked raisins and add them into the butter mixture along with the chopped almonds. Stir again to combine.
Core, Assemble, and bake the Apples
- Wash and core the apples. I like to use a grapefruit spoon to really get a lot of the core out for maximum filling opportunity.
- Place the cored apples in the dish.
- Use a small spoon to add the filling into the center of the apples.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to one hour.
German Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 6 apples medium sized
Filling
- 80 grams butter melted
- 90 grams brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 70 grams almonds chopped
- 48 grams raisins
- 4 tablespoons rum
- 90 grams muesli *instead of the almonds & raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
Muesli Filling
- I love both fillings so I wanted to give you the option, make one or the other for the apples!
- In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. It doesn't need to be fully melted but should be very soft.
- Pour in the 90 grams of muesli, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir it all together.
Raisin & Almond Filling
- In a small microwave safe bowl, add in the raisins and rum.
- Microwave for 10-15 seconds, remove and cover with a plate or foil.
- Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes or up to an hour to allow the raisins to plump.
- Chop the almonds into small bits, they should be about 1/8" wide and tall.
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. It doesn't need to be fully melted but should be very soft.
- Pour in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Use a spoon or rubber spatula to stir it all together.
- Strain the soaked raisins and add them into the butter mixture along with the chopped almonds. Stir again to combine.
Core, Assemble, and Bake the Apples
- Wash and core the apples. I like to use a grapefruit spoon to really get a lot of the core out for maximum filling opportunity. Place the cored apples in the dish.
- Place the cored apples in the dish.
- Use a small spoon to add the filling into the center of the apples.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your preference.
- Then serve warm and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Notes
Tips for making German Baked Apples
- To core the apples but keep the base in tact, I recommend using a grapefruit spoon. This will give you the most control and allow you to scoop out the center of the apple like you are carving a pumpkin.
- For the baked apple filling, be sure the butter is almost fully melted, this will make it easier to mix together.
- If you don’t want to bother with soaking raisins, or chopping nuts, simply replace with 90 grams of muesli!
- The raisins are best if soaked, if you don’t want to use rum, use water and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. To speed up the soaking process, add the raisins and liquid into a bowl and heat in the microwave for 15 seconds and cover. Leave to sit for 10-15 minutes or up to an hour.
- The apples can be baked in a metal brownie pan or a glass baking dish. However, depending on the pan you make need to bake them for more or less time. Also depending on your preferences – I like mine to still have a bit of bite but if you want them completely soft you just need to bake them longer.