Ingredients
350g shortcrust pastry
4 cooking apples, peeled and cored
55g brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
25g butter
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground ginger
55g dried apricots, chopped
25g toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Eggs, beaten for glazing
Clotted cream, or fresh cream to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry. Cut out four even-sized pastry squares, each large enough to enclose an apple.

Mix together the sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger, dried apricots and hazelnuts. Fill each apple cavity with the butter mixture.

Place each apple in the centre of a pastry square. Draw up the edges of the pastry around each apple, brush the edges with water and press together to seal tightly. Turn the apples over so that the pastry joints are underneath and place on a floured baking sheet.

Brush each apple dumpling with the beaten egg. Decorate with pastry leaves and bake for 30 minutes.

Just before serving, sprinkle each dumpling with sugar and make a hole in the top. Spoon a teaspoon of clotted cream into each hole and serve.

Anton Dougall is an expert on Maltese food.

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