Baked apples with marzipan and vanilla sauce (Bratapfel)

1. Wash the apples and core them with an apple corer or small knife, leaving the bottom intact.

2. Crumble the marzipan into small pieces and mix with the raisins, flaked almonds, honey and cinnamon.

3. Press the filling into the apples, top each with a knob of butter and stand them in a buttered ovenproof dish.

4. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for 25-30 minutes until the skins crack and the flesh is soft.

5. Meanwhile, for the sauce, bring the milk to the boil with the scraped vanilla; mix the egg yolks with the granulated sugar and starch, temper with the hot milk, pour back and thicken over low heat until creamy - don't let it boil.

6. Serve the hot apples with the warm vanilla sauce poured over.

Tip: A tart, firm variety (Boskoop, Jonagold) is best - sweet, soft apples fall apart in the oven.