Apple Amber: More Delicate Than Applesauce, Recipe from 1911

I’ve never heard of Apple Amber (the dish) until I flipped through older cookbooks. Apple amber is a pudding, or pudding-like baked dish using fresh, thinly sliced tart apples that are layered together with sugar, or other ingredients, and baked. At its most basic, and apple amber contains nothing but apples and sugar together, and baked slowly to resemble a sweetened baked applesauce. Apple ambers can also contain eggs to bake into a custard, and some recipes include a meringue topping.

This recipe is from The Royal Baker and Pastry Cook, from 1911, and is the simpler version. Serve warm or cold with a creme anglaise or sweetened whipped cream.

Apple Amber Recipe

Cover bottom of baking dish with water about 1/4 inch deep; pare and slice rather tart apples quite thin, lay slices in dish with sugar sprinkled between layers, filling dish to within an inch of top, finishing by a sprinkling of sugar and bits of butter dotted over. Bake in a moderate oven till apples can be pierced with broom straw. Leave in dish and serve cold with whipped cream or boiled custard. This is much more delicate than the usual apple sauce.