9 Apple Dessert Recipes to Make Any Time of Year
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Nov 5, 2021 • 4 min read
Apple season yields abundant fruit, and that fruit often appears in desserts year-round. Whether you like to go apple picking yourself or prefer to collect your apples at the grocery store, here are some suggestions for apple dessert recipes you can try making at home.
Learn From the Best
10 Popular Ingredients for Apple Desserts
A lot goes into making any given apple dessert. Here are ten ingredients you can expect to use at some point in making these sorts of sweets:
- 1. All-purpose flour: You’ll need something to provide a base for many of these recipes, and flour fits the bill for plenty of them. All-purpose flour thickens and shapes the basic structure of many an apple dessert.
- 2. Caramel sauce: Complement the innate flavor of apples with caramel sauce. There’s a reason vendors sell caramel apples at many fairs and amusement parks, but the options don’t stop there. Perhaps you’d enjoy a salted caramel apple pie or a chocolate chip and caramel-inflected apple strudel.
- 3. Cardamom: You can use cardamom liberally in apple dessert recipes. Pepper your apple dumplings or cake with a hefty helping of this fruity and aromatic powder.
- 4. Chocolate chips: Double the sweetness in your apple desserts and meals by adding chocolate chips. Bake them into apple fritters and pancakes to see how you like the combination.
- 5. Granulated sugar: You’ll likely need various types of sugar to make most apple desserts. Expect to use ground cinnamon sugar, brown sugar, and regular white sugar, depending on what’s in your recipe.
- 6. Pecans: Use these nuts just as easily as an apple streusel topping as you would if they were the inside filling of an apple pie. Pecans have a crunchy texture and buttery flavor.
- 7. Shortbread: Prepare shortbread so your apple desserts can have flaky, buttery crusts. You can also use puff pastry as an alternative.
- 8. Sliced apples: It should come as no surprise that sweet apples serve as the most central ingredient in all desserts bearing their name. Still, there are many different types to choose from, including ‘Fuji,’ ‘Golden Delicious,’ ‘Honeycrisp,’ ‘Pink Lady,’ or ‘Granny Smith’ apples. Fresh apples are ample sources of fiber and good carbohydrates.
- 9. Unsalted butter: Many apple desserts taste as buttery as they do sweet. That’s due to how regularly chefs use butter to make their bready aspects as moist and succulent as possible.
- 10. Vanilla ice cream: Serving apple desserts à la mode (or with a scoop of ice cream) is very common. Top these scoops with whipped cream for an added amount of delicious dairy.
9 Common Apple Dessert Recipes
Apple desserts are remarkably popular, and there are a host of recipes from which you can choose. Consider these nine for your baking pleasure:
- 1. Apple cranberry crisp recipe: Combined with cranberry and covered in old-fashioned oats, this crispy dessert has a fruity zest and crumbly texture. For a unique sweet treat, look no further than this apple crisp recipe.
- 2. Apple crumble recipe: Apple crumbles pair cooked apples with crumbs for a shorter cook time than many apple pie recipes. Try this crumbly apple recipe if you like crunchier textures.
- 3. Apple tarte tatin recipe: This delicious apple tart baking dish will suit you so long as you like sourness and sweetness in equal measure. Try this tarte tatin recipe, which has a French flair.
- 4. Applesauce recipe: You can use applesauce for dessert, brunch, and other meals—it’s remarkably versatile and all it takes is a few ingredients, minimal prep time, and a mixing bowl. Follow this step-by-step recipe to make applesauce, or consider experimenting with apple butter as an alternative to serve with meals.
- 5. Applesauce cake recipe: You’ll only need an hour or so of baking time to serve this golden brown apple cake. Similar alternatives include apple coffee cake, cupcakes, and cheesecake. Break out your cake pan, and try this applesauce cake recipe.
- 6. Cinnamon apple cobbler recipe: This baked apple recipe comes with a mouthwatering apple filling and biscuit topping. You’ll only need a total time of fifty-five minutes making this cinnamon apple cobbler recipe, or you can try this easy apple recipe for gluten-free apple cobbler as an alternative.
- 7. Classic apple galette recipe: This originally French dessert is now popular in many different regions of the world. Top some puff pastry dough with a panoply of sweet apples for this apple galette recipe.
- 8. Homemade apple pie recipe: Combine cinnamon, lemon juice, and apple slices to make a pie filling. Serve a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a small bowl or on top of the flaky pie crust itself. Try this easy apple pie recipe, or branch out into making a Dutch apple pie or apple pie bar recipe of your own.
- 9. Spiced apple chutney recipe: Chutneys are sweet or savory spreads that can pair well with bagels and other breads. Try serving this recipe for spiced apple chutney alongside a glass of apple cider.
Want to Learn More About Cooking?
Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Alice Waters, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, and more.