Bramley and Calvados Muffins

Bramley apples are excellent for cooking with and retains most of its nutrition even after cooking. However nutritional value is canceled out in these muffins because they are cooked in a swanky french apple based brandy. Best eaten hot with butter and a cardiac arrest.

450g plain flour
200g golden caster sugar
100g unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50ml butter milk
100ml milk
50ml calvados plus extra for brushing
2 bramley apples
1 cinnamon stick

METHOD:
Cut the apples into quarters and remove the core then cut the apples into 1cm cubes and place in a small sauce pan with cinnamon stick and calvados, place over a low heat and cook till the apple is just tender, remove from heat and cool. Melt the butter and stand to cool for a few minutes, in a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda then roughly blend together. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, apples (discard the cinnamon stick) with liquid. Beat the eggs into the butter and add to the mixing bowl along with milk and using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry combining together till just under combined. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan and evenly divide the mixture between the pan and sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little extra sugar and bake in preheated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked brush the tops of the muffins with calvados and leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.