Since I used Gala apples, I didn't cook them with the brown sugar. If using any other apples which are hard, better to cook for 5 minutes til they soften a bit.
Baking for 45 minutes literally burned the top of the pudding though there was no after taste. I would suggest baking them for 30 minutes first and then checking if the top is set and baking further.
You can serve them with some warm cream or custard, but I felt nothing was enough - it was really good on its own!