Apple Pie

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 25g Butter
• 1kg Bramley apples (peeled, cored and thickly sliced)
• 100g Demerara Sugar (Optional Brown Sugar)
• ½ Tsp Cinnamon

For the Pastry

• 175g Plain Flour
• 100g Cold Butter
• 25g Caster Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Water (approximately)
• A little milk and sugar, for glazing

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a high heat and add the apples and sugar. Toss over the heat until the sugar has dissolved and the apples are just starting to soften.
2. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and spoon into a pie dish.

Making the Pastry
1. Measure the flour and butter into a processor and whiz until it looks like breadcrumbs.
2. Add the sugar and water and whiz again to form a ball.
3. Roll the pastry out on a floured work surface until it is 4cm bigger than the pie dish.
4. Brush the edge of the dish with water. Cut a thin 1cm strip from the edge of the pastry and lay on the edges of the dish and press down. Brush the strip with water. Lay the rest of the pastry over the top of the dish, pressing down on to the pastry strip to seal. Trim and flute the edges and then chill for 30 minutes.
5. Glaze the pie with a little milk and then sprinkle with sugar before baking.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA
Cook on the second set of runners in the roasting oven for about 35 minutes. If getting too brown slide the cold plain shelf above.

Conventional oven
Bake at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas Mark 6 for about 35 minutes. If the edges of the pastry are getting too brown cover loosely with a piece of foil.

Serve hot with custard or cream.

To prepare ahead: Can be made up to a day ahead and reheated in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes. Freezes well cooked for up to 3 months.

From Mary Berry’s Family Sunday Lunches.

Tips:
1. Apple Alternatives: Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious
2. Add a dash of Apple Cider Vinegar for a light tang