Baked Apples with Dates & Spices served with Vanilla Custard

My dad used to love making spiced baked apples for us when we were growing up. They are so simple to prep, and look equally fabulous on the plate. The dates, cinnamon and nutmeg add delicious sweetness and spice to the apple, and there is nothing better to serve them with than a creamy custard. I do love to make my own custard, but if you are pressed for time, there are plenty of good ready-made versions that you can buy in the supermarkets. Get the apples prepped-up a day ahead and then all that’s left is to pop them in the oven before you sit down for the main course. 4 cooking apples 16 cloves 2 tablespoons clear Irish honey 100g dried pitted dates, finely chopped 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 80g butter, melted FOR THE CUSTARD 400ml milk 1 vanilla pod 3 egg yolks 30g caster sugar 1 teaspoon cornflour

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Remove the cores of the apples with an apple corer, then use a spoon to scoop out more of the apple to double the size of each cavity. Stud around the middle of each apple with four cloves, then stand the apples in a shallow baking dish.

Place the honey, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter in a small bowl and whisk together. Then pour the thick liquid into the cavity of each apple. Bake the apples for 30 minutes.

While the apples are baking, make the custard. Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pod, then heat over a medium heat until just boiling. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a heatproof bowl until you have a smooth paste. Gradually pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly (remove the vanilla pod, then rinse, pat dry and reserve for use in another recipe). Pour the custard mixture into a clean saucepan and cook gently, stirring constantly, until it thickens.

Pour the hot custard over the baked apples just before serving.