Caramelled Apple Candle

The weather turns, you shut the windows, and the house wants something. This one is made for that evening.

Lit, it fills a room the way a kitchen does when something sweet is on the stove. Caramel first, warm and buttery with a thread of salt running through it. Then apple underneath, green and cool and faintly tart, with vanilla smoothing the place where the two meet. Further down there's wood and a little smoke, sandalwood and palo santo, the part that stops it going sugary and makes it feel like evening rather than dessert.

Familiar and comforting, and more sophisticated than it sounds.

WHAT YOU'LL SMELL

• First: caramel, buttery and lightly salted.
• Then: green apple and pear, cool against the sweetness.
• Underneath: vanilla, sandalwood, palo santo, a trace of smoky wood.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• Poured by hand in small batches: made in Brooklyn, a few at a time.
• Soy and coconut wax: a vegan blend, with no paraffin.
• Clean fragrance: no phthalates, and nothing on the California Prop 65 list.
• A jar worth keeping: amber glass with a lid, shaped like a little pumpkin. Wash it out when the candle is done and it is yours to use.

HOW TO BURN IT

1. Take the lid off and set the candle on a heat-resistant surface, away from drafts.
2. On the first burn, let the wax melt all the way to the edge of the jar. It takes about 2 to 3 hours, and it is what stops the candle tunnelling later.
3. Trim the wick to 1/4 inch before every lighting, and burn no longer than 4 hours at a time.