CLASSIC APPLE PIE

One of my memories from childhood is walking in to my Nana's kitchen and the smell when she was making one of her apple pies. The smell would just melt you from the inside out! Again, like her homemade stew I can never quite re-create the apple pie like my nana's but this is my classic apple pie recipe. You can buy an apple pie in any food shop but you can not buy the smell and taste of a homemade apple pie. Go on, bake the kids (and you) a classic apple pie this weekend!



Ingredients for Classic Apple Pie

* 675 g cooking apples
* finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemons
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 100g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
* lightly beaten eggs
* 25g butter
* 675 g ready-made shortcrust pastry
* flour, for dusting

Method for Classic Apple Pie
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.

2. Quarter, core and peel the apples, then slice them thickly into a bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and juice. and the cinnamon. Stir in the sugar and mix well.

3. Brush the rim of a deep pie dish with beaten egg. Tip the apple mixture into the dish and dot with the butter.

4. Roll out pastry on a floured board and place on top of apple mixture, trimming about 1cm beyond the edge of the pie dish.

5. Crimp the edges of the pastry with your finger and thumb, pressing on to edge of pie dish.

6. Cut three small holes in the top of the pastry to let out the steam.

7. Use the pastry trimmings to make decorations, such as leaves, sealing them in place with a little water.

8. Brush the pastry with egg wash, then dredge with caster sugar and then bake for 35-40 minutes until the fruit is tender and the top is golden brown. Serve your classic apple pie with custard or ice cream.