Baked apples fill the kitchen with the most beautiful scent. Recently an old friend who is trying to sell his home told me that he was considering making an apple crumble before people came to view it; he had heard that the smell of baked comforts can help. I told him these baked apples would work just as well. The jamminess of the dates stuffed inside the fruit brings a welcome bit of texture, and you can scoop it up with the melted ice-cream that gathers in the bottom of your bowl.
Whole roast apples and no-churn ice-cream
You’ll need to start on the ice-cream a day ahead.
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Freeze Overnight
Makes 4
4 tsp butter, softened
4 tsp dark brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 earl grey tea bags
4 braeburn apples
4 medjool dates
For the ice-cream
200ml double cream
200ml whole milk
50g caster sugar
80g honey
120g clotted cream
1 big pinch sea salt
For the ice-cream, heat the cream, milk, sugar and honey in a medium saucepan until steaming. Meanwhile, put the clotted cream in a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Pour the steaming milk mixture over the clotted cream and stir well to combine. Leave to cool completely, then pour into a suitable container, cover and freeze overnight.
Now for the apples. In a small bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar and lemon zest to a paste. Put the tea bags in a large jug, add 500ml hot water and set aside.
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Peel and core the apples, but otherwise leave them whole. Use a knife to open one side of each date and remove the stones. Spoon the buttery sugar into the dates, close them up, then push them into the middle of the apples to replace the cores – the dates should fit snugly inside, so, if need be, hollow out a bit more of the apple.
When the ice-cream has set, chop it into large pieces and blend in a high-speed blender. Scoop this back into the container and freeze for another hour before serving.
Use a knife to score the outside of each apple around its centre (this will stop them bursting when baked), then arrange side by side in a deep roasting tin or casserole tray. Pour the earl grey into the bottom of the tray/tin, cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the apples are golden and soft to the touch but haven’t collapsed.
Serve the hot roast apples with the cold ice-cream.
