Apples a la Comtesse

Choose eight rennet apples of equal size ; peel them ;scoop them rather deeply but not through to the opposite side. Pound finely in a mortar 2 oz. of sweet almonds (peeled), the juice of a lemon ; add 3 oz. of powdered sugar, one whole egg, one dessert-spoonful of cream. Fill the hollow of the apples with this mixture, covering the opening where the apple has been scooped out ; arrange them in a dish that has been thickly buttered; sprinkle with sugar, a table-spoonful of water.

Bake from twenty-five to thirty minutes. Send to table in the dish in which they have been baked.