Spun-Sugared Apples

This famous dessert is a specialty of Peking. After the apples are cut, coated with batter, deep-fried, and covered with molten sugar, each wedge is pulled from the serving dish so the caramelized sugar spins into threads. It is then briefly plunged into a bowl of ice water. With the sudden change of temperature, the sugar hardens into a shiny, brittle glaze, making the fruit crackly on the surface while soft in the center.