Crunchy Apple Pie
(Serves 6 - 8)
Ingredients
Short crust pastry:
- 120 gms plain flour
- 60 gms unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 30 gms lard
- ½ tsp salt
- approx. 4 tbsp iced water
Spice topping:
- 60 gms unsalted butter
- 60 gms plain flour
- 60 gms soft brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1⁄8 tsp ground cloves
Apple filling:
- 450 gms cooking apples (about three Granny Smiths)
- 150 gms granulated white sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- finely grated zest of one lemon
Method
Short crust pastry:
Rub the fats into the flour by hand or in a food processor.
Add the iced water a tablespoon at a time until the pastry just begins to clump together.
Turn on to a lightly floured surface and press gently together into a flat disk about 2 cm thick.
Wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Make the topping next.
Spice topping:
Rub the butter into the dry ingredients; the mixture will look like coarse brown oatmeal. Set aside.
Roll out the pastry and line the pie plate. Turn the edges under and crimp them with your fingers. Make the apple filling last.
Apple filling:
Grate the apples on a coarse grater, skin and all – but not the cores.
Add the sugar, combine quickly with a fork and put into the pastry-lined dish.
Sprinkle over the zest and little pats of the butter and finally the topping, leaving the pastry edges clear.
Bake at 215°C for 35-45 minutes until the topping is crisp and the pastry edge golden brown. Serve warm rather than piping hot.