Apples in a Robe

Instructions

• 1
  Mix all ingredients and place into a piping bag with a plain nozzle.
• 2
  Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel the apples and remove the cores so they remain whole. Pipe the filling into the core holes until it reaches the apple's edge, or even overflows.
• 3
  Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 2 mm and cut it into 15×15 cm squares. Sprinkle some nuts and ladyfingers into the center of each square, then place a prepared apple on top, sprinkling it with some sugar. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg yolk.
• 4
  Wrap the filled apple in puff pastry as if making a small parcel, bringing opposite corners together. Place the wrapped apples on a baking sheet, put them into the preheated oven, and bake for 12–15 minutes until golden brown. Serve the finished apples with vanilla sauce.
• 5
  In a larger bowl, whisk the egg yolks with sugar until foamy. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds, the split bean, and cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
• 6
  While continuously whisking, slowly pour the hot cream in parts into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until it reaches the desired thickness. Once the cream thickens, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and strain it through a sieve into a clean container.
• 7
  Baking time depends on the size and type of apple. Larger green apples bake longer, while smaller red apples take less time to bake.