Baked Apples and Custard

Baked apples are a staple autumn/winter pudding in this house.  Both children love them, especially with lots of custard (and shop custard is even more of a treat apparently!).  Usually I manage to explode them so I tend to cook them with the lid on to save cleaning apple fluff from the inside of my oven but for some reason this time they didn't explode.  Mr Man even asked if that was why I was photographing them, because the children had never seen them cooked in one piece before!

I don't really use a recipe as such but I tend to grab enough bramley apples for everyone to have half an apple each (or a whole apple if cooking for adults or feeling generous!), take the core out and cut a slit all the way around the skin.  This apparently stops them bursting but it hasn't stopped mine in the past!

I then add a sprinkle of cinnamon down each hole, and sometimes a sprinkle of clove powder as well.

Next fill the holes with dried fruit.  Usually just sultanas in our house but dried cranberries and sultanas mixed are good, as are glace cherries and sultanas.  Nuts would be nice but Mr T isn't keen, and mincemeat left over from Mince Pies at Christmas is delicious, esp with a bit of brandy, although not for the little peeps.

I then drizzle over a small amount (less than a teaspoon) of honey.  If you don't have honey golden syrup or brown sugar would be good.  About a tablespoon of water in the bottom of the bowl and a small knob of butter on each apple finishes them off.

Then just bung them in the oven at Gas Mark 4 and cook for about 45 mins to an hour and serve with custard (or ice cream, cream or yoghurt)