Custard Apple Cups

I created this recipe influenced by the british love for apple pie and cream custard and the portuguese love for 'Pastel de Nata' (a portuguese custard tart). One day I was walking down a street thinking about giving a twist to 'Pastel de Nata'. So by replacing the dough with an apple I thought this sweet would become lighter plus the combination apple/custard sounded very tasty. Lots of experiments led to this final recipe and it is just too delicious! I added the cinnamon stick because it adds a fantastic flavour plus it can be used as a spoon to digg in the custard!

For 10 custard apple cups: 10 small apples (I used 'Gala', caliber 55/60) - 250 ml milk - 30 gr plain flour (without a raising agent) - 250 gr sugar - 250 ml water - 4 egg yolks - 6 cinnamon sticks - 1 lemon - caster sugar as needed, to sprinkle on top (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 250º C and brush a baking tin with olive oil. Place one cinnamon stick and one large lemon peel in a pan with some of the milk and bring to a boil on medium heat. On the side whisk the rest of the milk with the flour. Once the milk starts bubbling gradually whisk in the cold milk with the flour. Heat the water with the sugar for three minutes then pour it into the flour and milk mixture, whisking continuously. Once you get a thick cream (after 5 minutes), remove from the heat. Do not let the custard simmer at any point or it will split. Allow the mixture to cool down then add the yolks and mix gently. Strain the mixture through a sieve and reserve it.

Meanwhile, cut the top of the apples 3/4. Using an ice cream scoop (or a regular spoon) carefully begin scooping out the center of the apples leaving 1/2 cm of pulp around the skin. Continue scooping until you have a nice 'cup' and be careful not to scoop through the bottom or sides of the apple or the custard will leak out! Also make sure the apple sits exactly leveled. Once you have the inside of the apples hollowed out, brush a little lemon juice over the inside of the apples (to prevent browning). Then fill with the custard and put the 'cups' next to each upper part in the oven for 20 minutes (or until the custard looks brownish on top). After 15 minutes take the upper parts of the apples out of the oven because they cook faster.

Break each cinnamon stick in half and shave some cinnamon on top of the custard. Insert each cinnamon stick in the centre of the upper parts of the apples, and top each 'cup' with its individual upper part. Sprinkle some caster sugar on top of the apples (optional). Let it cool down.