John Torode's baked apples and custard

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. In a mixing bowl combine the suet, sugar, grated Bramley apples, dried fruit, nuts, spices, rum and brandy. Stir well and set aside.
2. Don't peel the Cox's apples, but slice off a little of the top and the bottom
3. so that they sit flat in a roasting tray. Halfway down the sides of the apples, make an incision all away around the middle (so that the apples don?t explode as they cook). Remove the cores.
4. Stuff each apple with as much of the dried fruit mixture as you can get in - there will be plenty, so be generous and let some spill out over the top.
5. Put the stuffed apples in a large roasting tin and top each one with some of the butter, pushing it in with your finger so the butter is inside. Sift some icing sugar over the top and roast for 20 mins.
6. Meanwhile, make the custard. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it just comes up to the boil, then take the pan off the heat immediately.
7. In a large heatproof bowl, beat together the egg yolks, vanilla sugar, cornflour and plain flour. Pour the hot milk slowly over the egg mixture, beating well.
8. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over a low heat, stirring for a few minutes until the mixture thickens. Stir in the brandy. Remove from the heat and set aside in a warm place.
9. Take the baked apples from the oven. Carefully drain off the pan juices and serve them as a sauce with the baked apples and custard.

Top tip: This will make just over a litre of custard. If you want to halve the recipe, do - but it is delicious cold and can be re-heated for use the next day. Plus it's easier to make in large quantities - and people always want more! This recipe is taken from John Torode's Beef, available from Amazon, priced £12.