Name: Baked apples with burnt cream
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 large Granny Smith apples, halved, cored; For greasing: butter; 90 gm caster sugar; To serve: fried rosemary; Burnt cream; 500 ml (2 cups) pouring cream; Thinly peeled rind of 1 lemon; 1 cinnamon quill; 3 egg yolks; 60 gm caster sugar, plus extra for serving; Olive-oil crumb; 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour; 50 gm butter, coarsely chopped; 50 ml olive oil; 100 gm caster sugar

“This is like the best apple crumble and cream you’ve ever had, only deconstructed,” says Lindsay. “It’s a comforting autumn dessert. Begin this recipe a day ahead to set the cream; you’ll also need a blowtorch.

Ingredients

4 large Granny Smith apples, halved, cored

For greasing: butter

90 gm caster sugar

To serve: fried rosemary

Burnt cream

500 ml (2 cups) pouring cream

Thinly peeled rind of 1 lemon

1 cinnamon quill

3 egg yolks

60 gm caster sugar, plus extra for serving

Olive-oil crumb

150 gm (1 cup) plain flour

50 gm butter, coarsely chopped

50 ml olive oil

100 gm caster sugar

Method

Main

1.For burnt cream, bring cream, lemon rind and cinnamon to the boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, then set aside to infuse and cool to room temperature (1 hour). Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick and pale (4-5 minutes), strain in cream mixture and whisk to combine. Return to pan over medium heat and stir continuously until mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon (4-5 minutes). Pour into a 1-litre container and refrigerate overnight to set. When ready to serve, sprinkle an even layer of sugar on top and caramelise with a blowtorch.

2.For olive-oil crumb, preheat oven to 160C. Place ingredients in a bowl, rub together with your fingertips to a coarse crumb, and season to taste with sea salt and white pepper. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden (10-12 minutes). Cool, break into large pieces and store in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 5 days.

3.Preheat oven to 180C. Place apple halves cut-side down in a buttered baking dish large enough to fit them in a single layer. Stir sugar and 180ml water in a saucepan over medium-high heat to dissolve sugar, bring to the boil, then pour syrup over apples. Bake uncovered, basting occasionally with syrup, until apples are tender and syrup starts to caramelise (20-25 minutes). Remove from oven and cool.

4.Serve baked apples with a generous scoop of burnt cream, and scattered with olive-oil crumb and fried rosemary.