Baked apples with hot cider caramel

Preparation

Apples

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Place pecans on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from baking sheet and let cool. Chop pecans and set aside.
3. Peel the top third of each apple. Use a melon baller to core the apples, leaving about 1 cm (1/2 in.) of the heel intact to hold the filling.
4. Mix pecans, raisins, brown sugar, butter, orange zest, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use a small spoon to fill the apples with the filling, pressing it down with your fingers. Place the apples upright in an ovenproof dish or pie plate.
5. Pour the cider over the apples. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until the flesh yields easily to the tip of a knife. Remove the apples from the oven and strain the apple cider juice into a small saucepan. Keep apples covered or warm while preparing sauce.
6. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer for 4 minutes, or until about 60 ml (1/4 cup) of juice remains.

Hot cider caramel

1. Heat sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar is moistened. Let mixture come to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until sugar is golden brown.
2. Add the reduced apple juice (the caramel will bubble and crackle). When the bubbles have subsided a little, stir the juice into the caramel. Pour the sauce over and around the apples.