Photography © Laurent Fau

What dessert could be more perfect for fall than baked apples? This treat is spiced with cinnamon and delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Serves 7

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Peel the apples and core them. Brush with lemon juice to discourage browning.
2. In a small saucepan, warm the orange juice with the zest, vanilla sugar, spices, butter, and honey, swirling the pan, until melted.
3. Fit the apples snugly into an ovenproof dish. Drizzle with the spiced orange juice and cover with foil. Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F and bake for 2 hours, turning the apples occasionally. If you like, decorate them with cinnamon sticks just before serving.

Note: If you don’t have ready-made vanilla sugar, prepare your own by storing used, dried vanilla beans in a closed jar of sugar for at least 1 week. Simply replace any sugar you use to have a permanent supply on hand.