Hereford Apple Dumplings - cooking recipe

Ingredients

12 ounces prepared shortcrust pastry (340g)
4 teaspoons sugar
4 cooking apples, peeled, cored
2 ounces sultanas (60 g)
1/2 finely grated an orange, rind of
1 tablespoon marmalade
1/4 ounce butter, softened (28 g or 2 tablespoons)
milk (for glazing)
sugar (for glazing)
marmalade (for serving)

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 F (200 C)(gas mark 6).
Divide the pastry into 4 and then roll each piece out into a circle big enough to fully enclose one apple.
Take each pastry circle and sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar and place an apple in the middle. mix together sultanas, orange rind, marmalade and butter and then divide this mixture between the apples, filling up each core hole.
Fold the pastry around each apple and seal firmly with a little water.
Place them, upside-down, onto a greased baking sheet and decorate the tops with leftover pastry bits cut into leaf shapes.
Brush with milk and sprinkle a little sugar to glaze.
Bake for 10 minutes and then turn down the oven temperature to 350 F (180 C) (gas mark 4) for a further 30 minutes or until the dumplings are golden brown.
Serve with a little of the additional marmalade that has been warmed to make a sauce or with custard or cream.