Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Place the walnuts, pistachios, dates, butter and sugar in a bowl and mix until the ingredients come together. Set aside.

Core the apples and use a sharp knife to score a circle around the middle of each one to prevent bursting during baking. Using all the filling, fill the apples and place on a baking tray.

Sprinkle the apples with Sweet Rub and bake for 30 minutes or until soft and bursting.

To make the caramel sauce, place the caster sugar and water in a heavy-based saucepan over a high heat until it melts, bubbles and becomes a deep caramel colour. Keep an eye on the pot to prevent burning! Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream and butter. Return to the heat to dissolve any lumps until smooth and glossy.

Note: Replace the walnuts with pecan nuts or use currants, cranberries or raisins (soaked in brandy overnight) instead of dates as a filling for the apples if you prefer.

When preparing the caramel sauce, the longer you heat the caster sugar, the darker and more bitter it will become. Remove the sugar from the heat when it is a light brown colour for a sweeter caramel. This caramel sauce will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge. Alternatively, pour the hot sauce into sterilised jars to give as a gift.