Bakes Apples with Creme Anglaise

• 6 tart or baking apples such as Granny Smith or Braeburn
• 20 pitted dates, chopped
• ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• ½ cup water
• 2 – 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 6 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 160°C. Remove cores from the apples in a neat plug. Use a paring knife to enlarge the cavity to 2.5cm in diameter. Score the skin around the circumference of each apple with a sharp knife (this allows them to split neatly around the middle when they cook).

Combine dates, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. (this stuffing can be prepared the day before) Stuff the mixture into the apples (it can also burst of the top of the apples a bit too) and place them in a shallow baking dish.

Drizzle the water and maple syrup over the apples. Dot each apple with 1 teaspoon butter and bake them until they are wrinkly and soft and starting to puff. This should take about 1 hour, depending on the size of the apples. I use fairly small apples and I think it takes about 1hr 15mins for them to be nice and soft.

Serve hot accompanied by a dish of Creme Anglaise

* Serves: 6

* Source: Annabel Langbein – Free Range Cookbook