Just desserts

SERVES 8 PREPARATION 30 MINUTES (PLUS CHILLING) COOKING 1¼ HOURS

2¼ cups plain flour ¼ cup custard powder ¾ cup caster sugar ½ cup almond meal 250g butter, chilled, chopped 1 egg, whisked ¼ cup water ¼ cup flaked almonds icing sugar to serve FILLING 4 green apples, peeled,

cored, cut into chunks 4 pears, peeled, cored, cut

into chunks ½ cup apple cider

1 / cup caster sugar 3 30g butter 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon finely grated zest of 1 lemon 5 stalks rhubarb, cut into

4cm pieces

1. Sift flour and custard powder into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and almond. Rub in butter using fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and enough water to form a firm, pliable dough. Knead lightly and form into a ball.

Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

2. FILLING. In a large pan, combine apple, pears, cider, sugar, butter, cinnamon and zest. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until almost tender. Drain off excess liquid. Cool. Stir rhubarb through.

3. Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C. Lightly grease a 24cm round pie plate.

4. Reserve 1/3 pastry. Wrap in cling film and freeze. Roll remaining pastry out to a 5mm-thick round. Ease into plate. Trim edges. Prick base with a fork. Rest in fridge for 20 minutes. Place on oven tray and bake for 20 minutes. Cool. Spoon filling into pastry case.

5. Grate remaining pastry over filling and scatter almonds over. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to moderately slow, 160°C. Bake for a further 20-25 minutes until golden. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.