Eccles baked apples

Method

1. Make the filling. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a gentle heat. Add both the sugars, remove from the heat and stir to remove any lumps. Stir in the currants, spices and lemon zest and juice and set aside to cool completely. As the mixture cools, the dried fruit will absorb most of the buttery juices and the rest will solidify around it.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Core the apples using an apple corer then, using a swivel peeler or a small, sharp knife, open up the cavities a little more until they measure about 3cm across. Slice a little off the base of each apple, if necessary, so that they sit flat, then score horizontally around the middle of each apple to just cut through the skin. This should stop them bursting in the oven.
3. Place the apples in a shallow baking dish and generously fill the cavities with the fruit filling, piling any excess onto the top. Spoon 2 tablespoons water into the dish and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and cover the apples loosely with foil. Bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until the apples are soft through to the centre when pierced with the tip of a small, sharp knife.
4. Serve the baked apples immediately with the syrupy juices from the dish and some custard, thick cream or vanilla ice cream.