2024 and it has been a great year for apples. My favourite cooking apple is the Wellington which was the most popular before the arrival of the Bramley and still thought to be the best for making mincemeat.

Oven at 180°C

4 cooking apples, preferably Wellingtons or Bramleys, cored and scored with a sharp knife into the skin around their waists

150g ground almonds

75g granulated sugar

150ml maple syrup 

Prepare the apples and mix all the other ingredients to make a paste. Pack as much of the stuffing as will fit into the cores and place the apples in a baking tray with just a half centimetre level of water at the bottom. Any extra stuffing can be put on top of the apples.

Cook for about 40 minutes in the oven and test with a sharp knife. If not completely cooked, turn down the heat of the oven to 150°C and cook for a further 30 minutes, testing again from. time to time. By turning down the oven for the last part of cooking there is a better chance of the apples not exploding.

Serve hot, with cream or custard. The left over stuffing on top of the apples makes a biscuit.

Flavours can be added – cinnamon or ginger are especially good additions.