Desserts

This is a take on the traditional apple dumpling where cooking apples were filled with sugar and dried fruit then covered in pastry.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium eating apples such as Cox, Braeburn
3 tbsp ginger preserve
1 tbsp whisky
300g ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, whisked with tbsp water, for brushing
1 tbsp Demerara sugar for sprinkling

200ml whole milk
200ml single cream
4 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
2tbsp whisky

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/gas 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Peel and remove most of the centre of the apple leaving a little at the bottom.

Mix the whisky with the ginger preserve and spoon into each apple.

Cut the puff pastry into long strips, 1cm wide.  Starting at a base of each apple wrap each apple with pastry so that pastry overlaps just slight as it spirals around the apple.

Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sugar. Place on the prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 180C/gas 5 and bake for another 10 minutes, until the pastry is a rich golden brown.

To prepare the custard heat the milk and cream in a heavy based saucepan and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale in colour. Pour over the warmed milk and mix well.

Return this mixture to a clean saucepan and slowly bring to a gentle simmer stirring all the time with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Do not leave the custard to boil as it may curdle. Remove from the heat and stir in the whisky. Serve with the cooked apples.