Autumn Apples

Just before they go in the oven

Baked fluffy autumn apples

I cooked these baked apples with my dad last week. You can experiment with what you stuff the apples with, depending on what you're in the mood for. The garden was covered in a layer of golden leaves and was definitely autumn so we rummaged through the cupbards to find fitting ingredients for this easy autumnal pudding.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

8 cubes of butter
4 Cooking apples
10 dried prunes
A handful of almonds
2 Pieces of stem ginger
3 Shots of Brandy
4 tsp Soft brown sugar
Water

1. Core the apples and score a ring around the skin about 2/3 up near the core. This is so that when they cook, they can puff up.

2. Place 4 slices of butter in the bottom of an oven dish to seal the bottom and squash the apples on top  so they hold in place.

3. Chop all the other ingredients roughly into fairly small pieces and mix together in a bowl.

4. Stuff the apples tightly with the stuffing mix. It's fine if it spills over the top

5. Put another nob of butter on top of each apple to seal the top.

6. Sprinkle each apple with a tsp of soft brown sugar. When cooked, the butter and sugar makes a lovely toffee sauce.

7. Slosh the apples with about 3 shots of brandy and fill the oven dish with about 1 inch of water.

8. Put in the oven at 160°C for 30-40 mins depending on the size of the apples. They are ready when the apples are soft and fluffy.

I always pass on Christmas pudding but I think these would be a refreshing alternative. You could put a bit of gold leaf on top just to add a bit of Christmas sparkle.