GRANDMA’S APPLE PIE

Prep time: 25 minutes, plus chilling time

Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

This pastry recipe, featuring double cream, may seem a bit odd. It’s an old recipe that my gran used to make, and goodness knows where it came from as she only had one cookbook – The Radiation Cookery Book. I suppose dairy was cheap and my gran’s fridge was never without a pot of cream. I must say it’s the best sweet pie pastry I’ve ever tasted. You will need four small tart tins approximately 10cm in diameter and 3cm deep.

INGREDIENTS For the pastry

– 110g soft butter, plus more for greasing

– 135g caster sugar

– 225g strong flour, plus extra for dusting

– ½ tsp baking powder

– 125ml double cream

– 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

For the filling

– 4 large Bramley apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

– a good knob of butter

– 50g caster sugar, or as needed

To serve

– clotted cream, crème fraîche or ice cream

METHOD

First, make the pastry. Beat the butter and sugar together. Sift the flour and baking powder together and stir this into the butter mixture, along with a pinch of salt. Slowly pour in the cream, mixing as you go, until well combined and the mixture comes together into a ball. Chill for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the apples in a pan with the butter, sugar and a tablespoon of water, and cook on a very low heat, with a lid on, for about 6-7 minutes until they begin to break down. Remove from the heat, taste for sweetness and stir in some more sugar if necessary.

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to 3-4mm thick. Cut out four discs large enough to line four 10cm x 3cm individual tart tins. Gather up the pastry and reroll it then cut out four discs to fit the tops.

Lightly grease the tins with butter and line each one with a larger disc of pastry so that it comes to just above the top of the tin. Leave to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge, along with the pastry discs for the tops, laid out on a tray.

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.

Remove the pastry-lined tins from the fridge. Spoon the apple mixture into the tins, so that it comes up to the top of each one, but without putting in too much of the liquid. Brush the edges of the pastry lids with the beaten egg then lay the lids on the pies, sealing the edges together with your fingers.

Brush the lids with more egg and make a small slit in the centre of each one with the point of a knife. Bake the pies on a baking tray for 20-25 minutes, until golden. Turn the oven down a little if they begin to colour too much.

Leave to rest for about 15 minutes before turning out of the tins. Serve with clotted cream, crème fraîche or ice cream.