Baked Apples Stuffed with Farmer's Cheese (Obuoliai su Varške)

There's a particular smell that means fall has properly arrived in a Lithuanian kitchen: apples going soft in the oven, with something faintly tangy and milky underneath. That's baked apples with farmer's cheese, or obuoliai su varške, and it might be the least effort you'll ever put into a dessert that tastes this good. Twenty-five minutes, one bowl for the filling, and you've got a warm apple with a slightly tart, honeyed cheese center.

Varškė, Lithuania's tangy, crumbly farmer's cheese, turns up in half the desserts and half the breakfasts in a Lithuanian kitchen, and this is one of the simplest ways to use it.

Ingredient Notes

Apples: pick a variety that holds its shape after 25 minutes in the oven — Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and Granny Smith all work. Antonovka, an old-fashioned tart apple common across Central and Eastern Europe, is even better if you can find it. Skip soft varieties like McIntosh, which break down when baked.

Varškė (farmer's cheese): Lithuania's answer to cottage cheese or quark, but drier and firmer, with a mild tang. Recipes With Farmer's Cheese has more on sourcing and using it. No luck finding it? Well-drained ricotta or cottage cheese, pulsed briefly in a food processor, is the closest substitute — drain it in a cheesecloth-lined sieve for about an hour first, or the filling will be too wet.

Sweetener: honey, sugar, or maple syrup all work.

All the ingredient quantities as well as a step-by-step method can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Method: Baked Apples with Farmer's Cheese

1. Wash the apples but leave the skin on; it's what holds everything together. Slice off the top to make a lid, then hollow out the core and enough of the middle for a real cavity, using a paring knife and a teaspoon or melon baller. Work carefully — cut through the base or sides and the filling ends up on the baking sheet.

TIP: Prick the skin a few times with a fork before baking. This is the step worth not skipping. Steam builds up as the apples cook, and without an escape route, the skin splits and the filling leaks out.

2. Mix the farmer's cheese with honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus zest if using. Mash with a fork for texture, or blend smooth for something closer to a light cheesecake — both are correct. Add a spoonful of sour cream if your mixture is very dry. Stir in raisins if using.

3. Spoon into each apple, mounding slightly, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20 to 25 minutes, until the flesh gives easily under a knife and the filling is set and lightly golden.

Expert Tips

Fork-mashed vs. blended changes more than texture. Fork-mashed keeps some curd, closer to how varškė is eaten on its own. Blended reads like a light cheesecake. Try both to see which is yours.

Check doneness with a knife, not your eyes — a golden top doesn't always mean the apple underneath is soft.

Don't over-hollow. A generous cavity is good; enough wall to hold its shape once warm is better.

Filling can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, but stuff the apples closer to baking, since cut flesh browns if it sits.

Serving Suggestions

Serve warm with a drizzle of honey and chopped walnuts or almonds. A dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche on the side is a very Lithuanian move and cuts the sweetness nicely. For something more dessert-forward, add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Storage and Make-Ahead

Keeps in the fridge, covered, for 2 to 3 days. Reheats reasonably well in a low oven or the microwave, though the skin won't crisp back up.

Also good cold, straight from the fridge — closer to how it's traditionally eaten as an afternoon snack rather than a formal dessert.

Substitutions and Variations

No farmer's cheese? Drained ricotta or cottage cheese is the closest stand-in (see ingredient notes above). Swap honey for sugar or maple syrup as needed.

For variations: stir chopped walnuts or almonds into the filling instead of scattering on top, or use cardamom in place of cinnamon. A few raisins or chopped dried apricots mixed in is traditional in some households too, closer to how the Polish and Ukrainian versions of this dish are usually made.

Recipe FAQs

More Farmer's Cheese and Apple Recipes

Next time, why not try these Lithuanian favorites below including Lithuanian Apple Cheesecake Crumble and Lithuanian Apple Cake (Apple Yogurt Cake).

Lithuanian Baked Apples Stuffed with Farmer's Cheese (Kepti Obuoliai su Varške)

Kepti obuoliai su varške is one of those recipes that barely counts as a recipe in most Lithuanian kitchens — it's what happens when you've got a bowl of apples from the garden, a pack of varškė (Lithuania's tangy, crumbly farmer's cheese) in the fridge, and twenty-five minutes before dinner. No dough, no chilling, no special equipment. Just a warm, softened apple with a slightly tart, honeyed cheese filling. It's the kind of thing that shows up as an after-school snack as often as it does dessert.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course After School Snack, Dessert

Cuisine Eastern European, Lithuanian

Servings 4 portions

Calories 200 kcal

Equipment

• Baking dish or rimmed baking sheet
• Small paring knife or melon baller or grapefruit spoon (perfect for scooping out apples)

Ingredients

  

• 4 small apples about 100g /3.5 oz each, a firm variety that holds its shape
• 100 g (scant ½ cup / about 3½oz) farmer's cheese/ curd cheese e.g. Lithuanian varškė or Polish twarog
• 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
• 1 tablespoon sour cream optional, only add if your farmer's cheese is dry
• a dash of vanilla extract
• a pinch of cinnamon
• zest of ½ lemon or ¼ orange optional
• a handful of raisins optional

To Serve

• chopped nuts
• a drizzle of honey

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• In a small bowl, combine the farmer's cheese, honey (or sugar), vanilla, sour cream, cinnamon, and zest, if using. Mash and mix with a fork for a filling with a bit of texture, or blend it if you want it completely smooth — both are correct, it's just a matter of preference.
• Stir in raisins if using.
• Wash the apples but don't peel them. Slice off the top of each apple to make a lid, then use a paring knife and a teaspoon (or a melon baller) to scoop out the core and enough of the middle to leave a good-sized cavity for the filling — work carefully so you don't cut through the base or sides.
• Prick the outer skin of each apple a few times with a fork. This lets steam escape as they bake, which is what keeps the skin from splitting.
• Spoon the filling into the cavity of each apple, mounding it slightly on top.
• Arrange the apples in a baking dish and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the flesh is softened but not mushy when you pierce it with a knife and the filling is set and lightly golden on top.
• Serve warm, with a drizzle of honey and a scattering of chopped nuts.

Notes

1. Pricking the skin genuinely matters here — it's the difference between an apple that holds together and one that splits open in the oven and leaks filling everywhere.

2. Mash-with-a-fork vs. blend-smooth changes the texture, not the flavor. Fork-mashed keeps a slightly rustic, curdy texture closer to how varškė is eaten on its own; blended reads more like a light cheesecake filling. Worth trying both to see which you prefer.

3. If you can't find farmer's cheese, well-drained ricotta or cottage cheese (pulsed briefly in a food processor) is the closest substitute — drain it in a cheesecloth-lined sieve for an hour first, or the filling will be too wet.

4. Bake time depends on apple size and variety as much as your oven — start checking at 20 minutes.

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