Ingredients
- cream , optional, to serve
- custard , optional, to serve
Pastry
- 500 gr. plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 100 gr. icing sugar
- 250 gr. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1 splash milk
Filling
- 10 Granny Smith apples , peeled, cored and halved, 3 sliced
- 2 oranges , juice and zest of
- 7 heaped tablespoons caster sugar
- 400 gr. huckleberries or blueberries
- 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
- 1 large free-range egg , beaten
- 1 small handful demerara sugar
- good-quality vanilla ice cream , optional, to serve
Method
- You can make your pastry by hand, or simply pulse all the ingredients in a food processor.
- If making by hand, sieve the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of sea salt from a height into a large mixing bowl.
- Use your fingertips to gently work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Transfer a handful of this mixture to a separate bowl, rub it between your fingers to get larger crumbs, then put aside.
- Add the eggs and milk to the main mixture and gently work it together until you have a ball of pastry dough.
- Don’t work it too much at this stage, you want to keep it crumbly and short.
- Sprinkle a little flour over the pastry, then wrap it in cling film and pop it into the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
Meanwhile
- Put the apples into a large pan with the zest and juice of 1 orange, a splash of water and 5 tablespoons of caster sugar.
- Cover the pan and simmer on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until the apples have softened but still hold their shape.
- Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Scrunch a handful of berries in a bowl with the remaining caster sugar and the zest and juice of your remaining orange.
- Add the rest of the berries.
- Toss the cooled apples and their juices in a large bowl with the berries and the flour, then put aside.
- Preheat your oven to 180 ºC.
- Take your ball of pastry out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.
- Get yourself a pie dish around 28 cm in diameter.
- Flour a clean surface and a rolling pin.
- Cut off a third of your pastry and put that piece to one side.
- Roll the rest into a circle just over 0.5cm thick, dusting with flour as you go.
- Roll the circle of pastry up over your rolling pin, then gently unroll it over the pie dish.
- Push it into the sides, letting any excess pastry hang over the edge.
- Tip in the fruit filling and brush all around the edge of the pastry with some of the beaten egg.
- Roll out the smaller ball of pastry about 0.5cm thick and use your rolling pin to lay it over the top of the pie.
- Brush it all over with more beaten egg, reserving a little.
- Sprinkle over the reserved crumble mixture and the demerara sugar.
- Fold the scruffy edges of pastry hanging over the sides back over the pie, sealing the edge by twisting or crimping it as you like.
- Brush these folded edges with your remaining beaten egg.
- Using a small, sharp knife, cut a cross into the middle of the pie.
- Place on the bottom of the oven and bake for 45 – 55′, until golden and beautiful.