October has been a month of food related celebrations: National Apple Day, National Baking Week and the RSPB’s Feed the Birds Day activities took place all over the UK at the weekend. Mulling over how I could combine two celebrations in one and use some of Derek’s golden delicious apples I recalled a promotional advert for French cheeses I’d once seen in a magazine: apples stuffed with camembert, rolled in chopped nuts and baked in the oven. mmmmm 
to make brie baked apples
4 golden delicious apples
1 camembert/brie
250g castor sugar
500ml water
200g chopped hazlenuts
1tsp ground pepper
20g butter
- Place the sugar, water and pepper in a large saucepan and bring to the boil to make a syrup
- Peel the apples leaving the stalk intact. Carefully remove the core from the bottom of each apple so the stalk is not lost.
- Poach the apples in the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and stuff each apple with a piece of camembert/brie
- Place the chopped hazlenuts in a wide bowl and roll each apple in nuts until lightly covered
- Pre-heat the oven to 200c/400F/gas mark 6. Place the apples in a lightly buttered metal tray, scatter any remaining nuts over the apples and roast for 10 minutes.
- Serve with creme fraiche, cream or ice-cream as a pudding for 4 people or a light lunch for 2
The finished result looks quite rustic and homely but if you prefer a cleaner, neater finish I’d recommend buying pre-chopped nuts. I used whole hazlenuts (hence the dark brown speckles from the skin) and chopped them myself using my coffee grinder but as you can see they’re not chopped they’re… hmm, ground!
If you like this apple recipe you might be interested in my apple roundup post 5 ways with .. a ton of apples.
I wanted to do my bit for Feed the Birds week as well and decided the wild birds at the allotment needed my sunflower seeds more than I did. They’ve made light work of nibbling on my giant russians.
If you want to turn your garden into a buffet table for wild birds the RSPB’s five top tips for helping wildlife survive the winter are:
- Plant native plants such as hawthorn, ivy and honeysuckle that will provide berries in the winter for adult birds, and insects for young birds in spring
- Make a log pile – it will be the ideal place for insects, fungi, mosses and lichens
- Provide an insect home – insects will spend the winter in these
- Install nesting boxes for birds such as house sparrows, winter hibernation places for hedgehogs, and roosting boxes for bats
- Create a water feature such as a pond or bog garden – much wildlife relies on a regular supply of freshwater
Wow! Love this post, from the great recipe (cannot WAIT to try it!) to the lovely ideas about feeding the birds. Makes me homesick for the farm in Minnesota I had about 4 years ago where I spent hours watching the birds! Thanks for this!
homesick-happy I hope Kirsten. Sounds like a wonderful place to live. At least birds can always be found wherever you go so there’s comfort in that. Enjoy your baking :o)
So decadent! yummm
thank you Sarah. It’s easy to polish off two as they’re not to sweet.
Those apples look absolutely delicious, thanks for the visit.
This looks like one of those recipes the ‘posh’ chefs would come up with!
I’ve never grown sunflowers, must give them a go. Our failed corn on the cob is being enjoyed by the birds in our garden.
posh nosh is not a concept we’re too familiar with in this house Ann :o) I’ll see if I can salvage some seeds from the bird for you to try next year.
Madam, where do you get your talent from? an enthusiast in the garden with the camera, sewing whatever, big knit, and as well, jam on it! when will you get your own newspaper column? I am catching up with your blog after a holiday. good to be back to the blog
talent? who knows, nature, nurture, or just a good dose of madness? lovely to have you and your talent for commenting back with us Rufus :o) hope you had a good holiday, somewhere warm I hope.
Simply sinful ! *drool*
ps. Those birds are methodical nibblers !
the large one was like that when I chopped it down, having been nibbled from the outside in by a bird precariously perched on the rim. They don’t seem to be eating many more, perhaps they don’t feel safe landing on the ground. Maybe I need to make a little bird feeder to hang from the tree…
wow that is just how I would love to eat apples
[…] brie baked apples […]
[…] Today marks the beginning of the RSPB’s ‘Feed the Birds‘ fortnight. Details of free activities taking place around the UK can be found on the RSPB website. There’s nothing listed for Gloucestershire so perhaps I’ll just head up to Robinswood Hill and see if this magnificent macaw, snapped by our friend Shane, is still hanging around. Lots of kindly walkers were obviously keeping him fed and watered during the harshest winter on record. For tips on how to turn your garden into a buffet table for birds see last years post. […]