Rice Pudding with Roast Apple Compote & Boozy Prunes

method:

• Place the prunes in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, then leave to steep for an hour. Drain away the water and tip in the booze. Leave the prunes to get to know each other for a couple of hours, preferably for a couple of days.
• Preheat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Use an apple corer to remove the core from all six apples. Keep them whole and place them in a roasting tray – although it doesn’t feel right, you don’t need any oil or butter. Roast for 25 minutes, until blistered and soft. They should be ready just as the pudding needs to go in.
• Meanwhile, to start the pudding, melt the butter in a large saucepan, until starting to turn golden. Add the sugar and let them both turn into a golden caramel. It will look a bit split and crystallised at points, but it is the colour that you are more concerned with.
• Stir in the rice, milk, cream and vanilla. Slowly bring the mix up to a simmer, stirring gently to dissolve and dislodge the caramel as you do so. Transfer the mix to a suitably sized baking dish or casserole pan.
• Remove the apples from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Transfer the rice pudding to the oven and bake for 1½-2 hours, until a deep golden and slightly blistered skin has formed, and the rice is tender and creamy beneath. If the skin looks like it may be starting to burn too much, cover the dish lightly with foil towards the end of the cooking time.
• While the pudding cooks, peel away and discard as much skin as you can from the apples. Put them in a food processor with the allspice and whizz them into a purée. If you want it perfectly smooth, you can press it through a fine sieve.
• Serve the rice pudding warm, with a blob of compote and a few dark, boozy prunes. Trickle over any remaining brandy.