4 medium apples (about 750 g/1 1/2 lb)
125 g/4 oz of semi-sweet chocolate
4 generous tablespoons honey (about 100 g/3 1/4 oz)
Preheat the oven to 190C/375 F/gas 5 - allow five minutes for this before you begin. Wipe the apples and cut out the core. If you don't have an apple corer, use a vegetable peeler, forcing it down the centre of the apple then twisting to loosen the core. Repeat the action until you've scooped out a cavity with a diameter of about 2.5 cm/1 inch, large enough to fit the squares of chocolate. Slash the skin of each apple horizontally around its "equator" so the flesh can expand without bursting the skin. Break the chocolate into squares and push some into the hollow of each apple.
Set the apples in a shallow baking dish; they should not quite touch each other in the dish so heat can circulate. Pour 125 m l/4 fl oz water over them and top each apple with a spoonful of honey.
Bake the apples in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until they are tender when pierced with a skewer. If you have time, baste occasionally so the honey forms a glaze on the apples. Towards the end of cooking, keep an eye on the dish and add more water if the honey shows signs of scorching.
Serve the apples hot, with the honey syrup spooned over as a sauce.
Fish, by Sophie Grigson and William Black is published by Headline, price £20 in the UK. In And Out Of The Kitchen - In Fifteen Minutes Or Less, by Anne Willan is published by Quadrille, price £8.99 in UK.