Soft, gentle and delicious — this is comfort on a plate

This kind of cooking doesn’t shout. It doesn’t compete. It’s dependable and gentle

Baked apples and custard recipe by Elizabeth Hewson. Photo: Nikki To / TWAM

There’s something about cutting into the skin of a freshly cooked custard with the side of a spoon – watching the rush of creamy, yellow lava spill out, tasting of a rich, eggy, ­vanilla cream – that makes my knees wobble. It’s a decidedly unhealthy obsession that makes no discrimination: crème brûlée, crème anglaise, tart, quiche, ice cream, even powdered custard, I love it all. While most see custard as a supporting act, I’ve always considered it one of the greats. So today I’m sharing my old-school version, served with equally old-school baked apples: halved apples that are baked in apple juice and brown sugar until soft and wrinkled, their middles caving just enough to hold a ­generous puddle of custard. Simple, familiar, and completely delicious.

This kind of cooking doesn’t shout. It doesn’t compete. It’s dependable and gentle – a quiet nod to the way things used to be done, when dinner was allowed to just be dinner.

Try too my sausage traybake.

Baked apples and custard. Photos: Nikki To / TWAM

The caramel apples are the star of this dish

Baked caramel apples with custard

Use your favourite apples here – I love Missile apples, which are in season now.

Ingredients

For the apples


• 4 small apples

• 3 tablespoons (60g) brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 50g cold butter, cut into cubes

• Pinch of salt

• 125ml (½ cup) apple juice

For the custard

• 45g cornflour

• 45g butter

• 45g caster sugar

• 500ml full-fat milk

• 3 egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced). Halve the apples and scoop out the cores and seeds. Arrange cut side up in a baking dish that fits them snugly in one layer. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples. Dot with butter, sprinkle with salt, and pour the apple juice into the tray. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden.
2. While the apples bake, make the custard. Whisk the egg yolks into the milk and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until foaming. Stir in the cornflour and cook for a minute, until thick and smooth. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the eggy milk until smooth. Stir in the sugar and vanilla, then return to a low heat, cooking gently and stirring constantly for 6-10 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour into a jug and let it cool – it’ll form a skin (the cook’s treat) and thicken. You can serve it warm – or for cold, super-thick custard, pop it in the fridge for an hour or two.
3. To serve, spoon custard into bowls, nestle in the baked apples, and finish with a drizzle of the pan juices.

Serves 4