Rosemary for my adored Pop

My grandfather died suddenly last Thursday, which was a huge shock for all my family as Roy was so full of life and so active. My sister and I are unable to attend the funeral in Sydney this Thursday, so, in a small way, this is my memorial to my adored Poppy Roy.

Rosemary is for remembrance, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance;". I particularly associate wearing a sprig of rosemary with ANZAC Day in Australia, when we remember all those who have fought for and defended our country. My Pop fought in World War II and some of the proudest moments of my life have been watching him march in the ANZAC Day March. It feels fitting therefore, that the last time I saw him was in April of this year, at the ANZAC Day March, a moment when my heart swelled with pride.
I have been wearing a sprig of rosemary all weekend and its aroma is a lovely reminder of my wonderful grandfather. I wanted therefore to cook something using rosemary, as my little memorial to him. I thought about it for most of the weekend and was pleased to discover a recipe in the Sunday Telegraph's magazine for baked apple, honey and rosemary pudding. I made this tonight:
Baked apple, honey & rosemary pudding

150ml milk
150ml double cream
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3 big Tbs honey
3 eggs
pinch of salt
100g caster sugar
40g plain flour
600g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
icing sugar to serve

Make the batter mix by combining the milk, cream, rosemary and honey together in a saucepan. Bring to just under the boil, take off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Remove the rosemary.

Beat the eggs, salt and 75g of the sugar together until the mixture triples in volume and is pale and fluffy (I employed the aid of Delia the hand blender). Fold in the flour, then the milk mixture.

Toss the fruit with the remaining sugar and put in a gratin dish and pour over the batter.

Cook in an oven at 180 degrees C for 30 to 40 minutes or until the batter is set. Scatter with toasted hazelnuts and sift a little icing sugar. Serve with creme fraiche or whipped cream.

My Nanny Marg makes a mean apple tart which my Pop loved, so I think he'd rather have liked this dessert too.