Baked apple dessert with mascarpone cream

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 large apples
• 1 vanilla pod(s), including the pulp
• 50 g butter
• 80 g brown sugar
• ½ tsp Cinnamon powder, more to taste
• 4 tbsp cloudy apple juice
• 250 g mascarpone
• 250 g low-fat curd cheese
• 150 g amaretti or speculatius biscuits
• possibly milk

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 55 minutes

simple, sophisticated, Christmassy

For the “baked apple” layer: Peel and core the apples, and dice them into approximately 1 x 1 cm pieces. The pieces shouldn’t be too small, otherwise they’ll become mushy, but also not too large, or the dessert won’t stack nicely. Scrape out the vanilla pod and place half of the vanilla seeds in a saucepan along with the butter, about half of the sugar, and the cinnamon. It’s recommended to use a larger saucepan, as the apple pieces will also be added later. Stir until the butter has melted, then simmer briefly without stirring. When the sugar begins to caramelize slightly, add the apple pieces and apple juice and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. The apple pieces should be soft but not overcooked. Then remove the apple pieces from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl. The caramel sauce remaining in the pan can be simmered for a little longer until it reaches a thick consistency. Once it has reached this consistency, add the apple pieces back in and heat in the sauce for another 2-3 minutes. Finally, set the pan aside so that the apple pieces can cool down. For the mascarpone cream: Vigorously mix the mascarpone, low-fat quark, remaining sugar and remaining vanilla pulp until everything reaches a creamy consistency. If the cream still seems too thick, you can stir in a splash of milk to make it more fluffy. At first, the cream seems like a lot compared to the number of apples, but when layered, it expands perfectly in terms of flavor. Layering: You can start layering as soon as the apple pieces have cooled completely. The dessert looks particularly pretty when layered into small glasses. Start with about 1-2 tablespoons of the mascarpone cream, followed by 0.5-1 tablespoon of the baked apples, then a few of the roughly crumbled amaretti biscuits, and so on. The final layer should consist of apple pieces, garnished with more biscuit crumbs. I like to fill all the glasses with the dessert in layers, so layer 1 in all 4 glasses, then layer 2 in all 4 glasses, and so on. This way you can avoid running out of a layer if not all the glasses are evenly filled. This Christmas dessert is served layered in glasses or bowls and is ideal for the cold season; it’s particularly popular with us around Christmas. It’s easy to prepare and therefore suitable for more elaborate menus. It’s also light on the stomach, so there’s still room for it even after a hearty meal.