Last bite

It’s just not autumn without revisiting the all-time favourite apple pie, a no-fuss crowd-pleaser to round off a meal.

Skillet apple pie.

Skillet apple pie

The best way to serve this is plonked on a trivet in the middle of the table with ice-cream or cream and forks for your guests. Use firm, crisp apples here so they keep their shape and texture when baked.

Prep time 20 mins, cook 30 mins (plus resting, chilling)

Serves 4-6

120 gm raw sugar

5 large pink lady apples, peeled, cored and chopped into roughly 3cm pieces

20 gm butter, diced

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp pouring cream, for eggwash

Thickened cream, pouring cream, crème fraîche or ice-cream, to serve

Pastry top

150 gm (1 cup) plain flour

20 gm raw caster sugar, plus extra for scattering

1 tbsp lard

75 gm chilled unsalted butter, diced into

2cm cubes

1 For pastry, pulse flour, sugar, lard and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer to combine. Add butter and pulse until butter is the size of peas. Add 60ml iced water and pulse until dough just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour to chill. Roll between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 23cm round and refrigerate, still between paper, until required.

2 Preheat oven to 200C. Heat a 22cm-diameter skillet over high heat. Add raw sugar and stir continuously until melted and starting to caramelise (3-4 minutes). Add apples and butter (be careful, hot caramel may spit), stir to coat, then remove from heat.

3 Remove pastry from fridge, peel away baking paper, then place pastry on top of apples. Trim edges and tuck in excess. Cut a slit in the centre for steam to escape, brush with eggwash, scatter with raw caster sugar and bake until pastry is crisp and golden brown (22-26 minutes). Serve hot in the pan with cream or ice-cream.