Melting middle toffee apple puddings with apple crisps
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Melting middle toffee apple puddings with apple crisps
These melting middle puddings are just divine. Serve with vanilla ice cream for the ultimate Sunday lunch dessert
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Emma Franklin
Former Assistant Food Editor Emma is a chilli fanatic who grows exotic spices, fruit and vegetables in her urban garden. She loves food from all over the world but her mum's Spaghetti Bolognese is still her desert island dish.
See more of Emma Franklin’s recipes
Emma Franklin
Former Assistant Food Editor Emma is a chilli fanatic who grows exotic spices, fruit and vegetables in her urban garden. She loves food from all over the world but her mum's Spaghetti Bolognese is still her desert island dish.
See more of Emma Franklin’s recipes
Ingredients
- 250g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 5 Pink Lady apples
- a large pinch of cinnamon
- 250g light muscovado sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 4 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 175g plain flour
- 50g cocoa, plus extra for dusting
- 6 chewy toffee sweets (we used Werther’s original tradional chewy toffees or Sainsbury’s Dairy Toffees)
For the apple crisps
- 1 Pink Lady apple
- 25g butter, melted
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp demerara sugar
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the apple crisps a couple of days ahead; store in an airtight container. Assemble the puds a day in advance; chill.
- Start by making the apple crisps. Preheat the oven to 140°C, fan 120C, gas 1. Trim the end off the apple, then cut 12 thin slices through the middle of the apple – a bread knife is easiest for this.
- Toss the apple slices with the melted butter and lemon juice, then arrange on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle the slices with the demerara sugar, then bake for 1-1½ hours until slightly shrivelled and leathery – they will still be soft to the touch. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely; they will crisp up as they cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 6. Generously grease 6 mini pudding basins (200ml capacity) and dust liberally with cocoa powder, tipping out the excess.
- Peel and finely dice the 5 apples. Melt 50g of the butter in a small frying pan, add the apples, 50g of the sugar and the cinnamon and fry for 3-4 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool.
- Beat the remaining butter with the remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, cocoa and ¼ teaspoon salt, and beat until smooth and combined. Spoon the mixture into the 6 pudding basins to come halfway up. Add half a tablespoon of the cooked apples and a toffee in the middle of each pudding, then top up with the remaining mixture.
- Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or chill until serving – bake them for 24 minutes from chilled. Turn out of their moulds and serve straight away with a scoop of ice cream and the apple crisps.
