Amy's Apple Pie

I have a friend who emigrated to Australia and this is her Apple Pie recipe. She made it for a thanksgiving dinner we had at university and I loved it so much that she wrote the recipe out for me. This was about 7 or 8 years ago and I found it in a box, so I made it for a dinner party and everyone loved it. The pastry was lovely and light and crispy and the apples were perfect. Thank you Amy!

Amy's Apple Pie

(Serves 6-8)

For the pastry

225g plain flour

pinch salt

2 tsp caster sugar

100g butter

some cold water

For the filling

4 cooking apples

handful sultanas/raisins

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp mixed spice

rind and juice 1 lemon

Sift the flour and salt into a big bowl and add the sugar. Add the butter in pieces and rub in until you have fine breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water to bind the mixture so it becomes smooth. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave it in the fridge for 30 mins.

Peel and core the apples and place them in a bowl. If you put lemon juice over them it stops them going brown while you roll the pastry. Add all the other ingredients to the apples and mix well.

Cut the dough in half and roll out to fit the dish. Arrange the apples so they are kind of flat. Roll out the other half of the dough, lay over the top and trim off the edges. Use the leftover bits to make two little leaves on top. Make a slit in the top to let out the steam. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Bake at 200C for 15 mins and then reduce the heat to 180C for 20 mins until nice and golden on top.