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Baked Stuffed Apples in Pastry with Butterscotch Sauce

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5 good large local red eating apples

25g chopped dates

20g chopped walnuts

10g chopped dried cranberries

35g butter

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon mixed spice

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

100ml cider or apple juice

1 pack ready rolled puff pastry

1 egg yolk

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Core the apples and place 4 in a lightly buttered baking dish.

Peel, core and roughly chop the remaining apple and place around the apples in the dish.

Combine the dates, walnuts, cranberries, spices and brown sugar with 15g of the butter to a paste. Push into the cavities of the apples.

Top each apple with some of the remaining butter and drizzle with honey.

Pour cider into dish, cover and bake for about 20 minutes in an180Ëšc preheated oven. Check them frequently as it may take longer or less depending on the apples. Cool the apples and keep the juices for the butterscotch sauce.

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Divide the pastry into 4.

Roll each quarter out to extend it by an inch.

Cut a rough round and keep the trimmings.

Brush the edge with egg yolk, place the cold apple in the middle and gather and seal the pastry round and brush with egg yolk. Use the trimmings to cut out leaf shapes, press on and brush them with yolk.

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Place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Chill for 30 minutes or make them up a day ahead. Bake in a 180Ëšc preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and puffed.

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Butterscotch Sauce

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Juices and apple pieces from baked apples

25g brown sugar

25g butter

100ml double cream

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Cook the sugar and butter in a pan until the butter melts and froths and the sugar starts to dissolve. Add the juices and bring to the boil.

Cook for 2 minutes then add the cream. Boil to a coating consistency and blend.

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Pan Roasted Pears with Rum and Raisin Syrup

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4 ripe pears

25g butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g raisins soaked for 2 hours in 75ml golden or dark rum (if you don’t want to use alcohol soak them in apple juice)

200ml apple juice

2 star anise (optional)

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Cut the pears in half and remove the core.

Heat the butter in a large frying pan and when bubbling add the pears, flesh side down. Cook until golden. Add the maple syrup and sugar and cook for a further minute. Carefully add the raisins and the rum with the vanilla. Cook for 30 seconds – be careful if you cook with gas that the rum doesn’t flare up.

Add the apple juice and star anise and cover with greaseproof. Simmer gently until the pears are just cooked.

Remove the pears to a dish and boil the juices to a syrup. Pour over the pears and serve with ice-cream.

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