This article is also available in German.
Having an apple compote at home is always great, since “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”
What is a compote anyway and how to prepare it quickly and easily?
With today's apple compote recipe, you can make this delicious apple recipe with a few simple ingredients and steps, and your homemade apple compote is ready in under 30 minutes.
You can also enjoy this delicious dish refined with yogurt, for pure spooning or as a breakfast combined with cereals, whether as a side dish to desserts (such as pancakes, rice pudding, or Kaiserschmarrn).
Enjoy both hot and cold! You will discover this and much more in today's post!
Apple compote has a wonderful taste and is popular all year round. Its popularity increases, especially during the autumn season.
This simple recipe is ideal for processing overripe apples too!
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🥘 Ingredients
- Fresh apples - or frozen apple chunks
- Water
- Honey
- Lemon
- Granulated sugar - brown sugar or dextrose are also great choices
- Star anise
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1
To begin, prepare the utensils you need: a cutting board, a sharp kitchen knife, a saucepan with a lid, and a lemon squeezer.
Wash and peel the apples, cut them into slices, and dice them. The cubes can be larger or smaller, according to your taste. I usually cut the apple slices into thirds when using an apple of medium size. But that is totally up to your taste.
Step 2
Place the fresh fruit cubes in the saucepan and add 350 ml of water. Halve the lemon, squeeze half of it and add a teaspoon of the lemon juice to the cooking pot. Add one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of granulated sugar and bring to a boil.
Place the apple cubes in a saucepan.
Add the sugar.
Step 3
After boiling, please turn off the heat, add one star anise to the compote, put the lid on, and let it steep for about ten minutes.
Add the honey.
Infuse with star anise.
After ten minutes, remove the star anise so that the fruit compote is not too intensely flavored and the compote is ready.
Divide the yummy fruit compote into small dessert bowls and serve the compote warm or cold. Both of them taste delicious.
Enjoy!
🍑 Variations
You can use a wide variety of fruits to prepare compote. It does not always have to be apples.
Among the most popular fruits for making compote are the following delicious varieties:
- Apricots
- plums / damsons
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries
- Quinces
- Pears
- Cherries
🍏 Compote and food intolerances
Compote in itself is a gluten-free and lactose-free side dish or food.
The overcooked fruit is better tolerated than fresh in cases of fructose malabsorption. Instead of granulated sugar, use dextrose to improve absorption in the small intestine and reduce discomfort.
🍽 Equipment
- Saucepan with lid - medium size
- Measuring cup
- Lemon squeezer
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Wooden spoon
- Dessert bowls
🌡 Storage
In the refrigerator, the compote keeps two to three days.
If you want to have compote in stock in the house, you can put it in canning jars and preserve it.
💭 Top Tip
You can skip the entire first step by using frozen fruit, since they are already chopped and peeled.
To spice up the taste of apple compote in another way, you can also use clove instead of star anise!
This apple compote also pairs wonderfully with Pumpkin Waffles with Pancake Mix or a yummy gluten free monkey bread for breakfast!
🙋🏻 FAQ
Compote or compôte (French for mixture) is a dessert originating from medieval Europe, made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. Whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, other spices, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit or raisins. The compote is served either warm or cold.
Source: Wikipedia.com
Not entirely, even though the ingredients are similar. While compote contains whole pieces of apple with the option of leaving the peel on, applesauce is the puréed, peeled form of an apple compote.
In Austria, apple compote is a traditional side dish for desserts such as rice pudding, Kaiserschmarrn (thick cut and sugared pancakes with raisins), Palatschinken (pancakes), Salzburger Nockerl, and such.
You can combine this fruit compote with cereals and or yogurt for breakfast. My daughter especially loves this version.
In principle, you can use all apple varieties for this apple compote. However, apples with medium-firm to firm flesh and a sweet and sour to spicy aroma are best suited so that the compote does not become too watered down. The apple pieces retain their shape slightly during the cooking process, so the compote has a delicate fruity note.
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Apple Compote
Equipment
- Saucepan with lid medium size
- Measuring cup
- Wooden spoon
- Dessert bowls
Ingredients
- 2 Fresh apples or frozen apple chunks
- 1 ½ cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- 1 teaspoon Lemon
- 1 teaspoon Granulated sugar brown sugar or dextrose are also great choices
- 1 Star anise
Instructions
- Wash and peel the apples, cut them into slices, and dice them. The cubes can be larger or smaller, according to your taste.2 Fresh apples
- Place the fresh fruit cubes in the saucepan and add the water.2 Fresh apples, 1 ½ cups Water
- Cut the lemon in half, squeeze half of it, and add a teaspoon of the lemon juice to the cooking pot.1 teaspoon Lemon
- Add one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of granulated sugar and bring everything to a boil.1 teaspoon Honey, 1 teaspoon Granulated sugar
- After boiling, please turn off the heat, add one star-anise to the compote, put the lid on, and let it steep for about ten minutes.1 Star anise
- After ten minutes, remove the star anise so that the fruit compote is not too intensely flavored and the compote is ready.1 Star anise
- Divide the yummy fruit compote into small dessert bowls and serve the compote warm or cold.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Jerika
Yum! Can't wait to add yogurt on this apple compote.:) What I love about this is you've used simple ingredients and it's ready in under 30 minutes.:) Really awesome! Thanks.
Andrea
this apple compote turned out sooo good! such a yummy flavor and perfect consistency!
Donna
We had this warm for a simple dessert with some ice cream last night and it was just perfect!
Andrea
Yum! We don't eat a lot of fruit compote here but it looks and sounds delicious! I'm going to try it.
Julie
This apple compote is so good served with vegan yogurt and some sunflower seeds for breakfast 😊. We swapped the sweet with a little maple syrup to keep it vegan. Thanks! 🌸