Ingredients:
For the crust:
400 gr white spelt flour
100 gr rye flour
2 tbsp raw sugar
A pinch of fine sea salt
120 gr unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
For the apples :
1.5kg apples, I use a mix of 1kg red and 500ge Granny Smith (about 9-10 regular-size apples)
100g butter, plus extra for greasing
1/2 cup brown sugar
¼ cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla essence
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
Zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tsp juice
For brushing:
1 free range egg
1 tbsp milk or cream
Method:
Put the flour sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the chilled cubed butter and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 2-3 tablespoons of cold water and blitz again, the dough will look more cohesive and not crumbly. Bring the dough together with your hands until it is in a smooth ball. If its is still crumbly, add a few drops of water at a time, being careful not to overdo it. Divide the dough in two, flatten the two pieces of dough out into discs, wrap them in cling film and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, until chilled but still pliable.
Roll out the two pieces of pastry dough between two sheets of floured cling film until you have a rough circle about 3 mm thick.
Using a pie dish or around this measurements - ( 23cm diameter and 12 cm high approximately ) - line the bottom of your pie dish so pastry comes goes over the edges of the dish by about 2cm. If your pastry isn’t big enough, you can use a little water to moisten the edges of two pieces of pastry, and press together firmly, chill for 15 minutes or 5 minutes in the freezer. Keep the other pastry round in the fridge until it’s time to finish the pie.
To make the apples:
Peel, core and slice the apples (they don’t need to be too thin), and set aside.
Add the cornstarch to a little bowl with 3 tbsp water. Stir with a fork until smooth.
Place your largest saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the butter, sugar, brown rice syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until melted and thickened. Add the apples, stir to combine, cover with a lid and cook gently, stirring once or twice, for a few minutes until simmering. Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes until the fruit is just starting to go soft, stirring every now and then. Cool for 15 minutes, or until ready to use. Stir cornstarch mixture again and mix through the apples evenly.
Scrape in the apple mixture and even it out.
Once your apples have cooled down scrape them into the pie dish and even the surface.
Assembling of pie:
Using your second pastry round, cut out a lid that will fit to the edges of the dish. Brush a little water around the edges of the bottom layer of pastry where it will join up with the lid, then place the lid on top. You can either press straight down to seal if your dish has a flat edge, or fold the bottom layer of pastry up and over the lid, and press firmly with fingertips (or a fork) all around the inside edge to seal it.
Whisk the egg and cream in a small bowl until combined. Brush all over the pastry top with the beaten egg mixture. Use a small sharp knife to pierce a few clear steam holes in the top.
Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 50-60 minutes until the pastry is dark golden brown and crispy.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving with your ice cream, cream or custard.