Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe for dressed-up baked apples

Dressed-up baked apples My take on bourdelots, the autumn favourite of Normandy. Use shortcrust if you prefer. Makes four to six. 375g puff pastry (I like Dorset Pastry's organic pure butter puff pastry ) 6 eating apples (James Grieve or Blenheim Orange) or 4 Bramleys 70g light muscovado sugar 100g unsalted butter ½ tsp cinnamon A few grinds of nutmeg Zest of 1 small lemon 1 egg Divide the pastry into six (or four if you're using Bramleys) and roll out each piece quite thinly into a square large enough to envelope an apple. Peel and core the apples, making sure you keep the bases intact so the juices won't flood out. Scatter 25g sugar on a piece of baking parchment and roll the fruit in it. In a bowl, cream the butter, remaining sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest, then pop a spoonful into the cavity of each apple. Place an apple in the middle of each pastry square, dampen the pastry edge with water, pull up around the fruit and crimp to enclose. Chill for an hour. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 5. Whisk the egg with a couple of tablespoons of water, and brush over the parcels. Place in a roasting tin lined with parchment and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden. Serve at once with cream.