APPLE PIE

Pastry

2 ½ cup flour

Pinch salt and sugar

250g butter (cold), cut into cubes

2-4 Tbsp cold water

Filling

4 cups apples, sliced (about 6-8)

1 lemon, zest and a little juice

½ cup white sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp ground almonds or flour

½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

2 Tbsp butter

Egg wash

1 egg separated, dash of milk

Method

TO MAKE PASTRY: add the flour, salt and sugar to a food processor and add the cold butter.  Pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  With the motor running drizzle in 1-2 tablespoons cold water, watch mixture closely and add one more tablespoon of water if mixture still looks dry and crumbly. If the mixture starts to clump together and form a ball, stop the food processor and feel the mix with your hands.  If damp and will hold together remove onto lightly floured bench and bring all the mixture together.  Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven 200C

Prepare the apples by peeling and removing the core, slice into thinish slices and put into large bowl along with spices, sugar, and flour, toss together to evenly mix.

Roll the pastry to fit an 18-20cm round pie dish or something similar, you will need to cut one circle larger than the other as the larger one is needed to line the base and sides of the dish and the other to cover the top. 

Line the pie dish and ensure that you have enough pastry to go up the sides.  Place the apples in the pastry, brush the edge of pastry with a little egg wash (egg yolk and dash of milk) and generously layer over the pastry for the top, allowing plenty of pastries to easily attach onto edge as you don’t want to stretch the pastry to fit! Applying a little pressure to the edge so that the pastry sticks together forming a seal.  Remove excess pastry with a sharp knife.  Brush the surface with remaining egg wash, pierce the surface a few times with the tip of a sharp knife and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes at 200C and then reduce temperature to 160C for a further 30 minutes or until pastry is golden and flaky and you can smell cooking apples.

Serve with plenty of fresh cream and ice cream!