Apple and pear pie

ingredients

• Filling

  • 4 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced
  • 4 corella pears, peeled, cored, sliced
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons extra
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 lemon, finely grated rind
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • ice-cream, to serve

• Crust

  • 2 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)
  • 250 gram cold butter, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoon water

method

• Crust

  • 1

    Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir sugar and almond meal in. Rub butter in using fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

  • 2

    Add egg and enough water to form a firm, pliable dough. Knead lightly. Form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.

  • 3

    Make filling.

  • 4

    Preheat oven to hot, 200°C. Lightly grease a 25cm pie plate.

  • 5

    Roll out 2/3 pastry between 2 sheets baking paper until 0.5cm thick. Ease into plate. Chill for 15 minutes. Trim and decorate edges. Prick base with a fork. Place pie dish on a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool. Spoon filling into pastry case.

  • 6

    Roll out remaining pastry until large enough to cover pie. Brush pie edges with egg-white. Cover with pastry, trimming edge.

  • 7

    Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with extra sugar. Cut slits in pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately slow, 160°C.

  • 8

    Bake for a further 20 minutes until golden. Serve warm, in wedges, with icecream if desired.

• Filling

  • 1

    In a large saucepan, combine fruit with water,sugar, cinnamon and rind. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 4-5 minutes until almost tender. Drain excess liquid. Cool.

notes

Cover edges of pastry with foil if it becomes too brown, and continue baking as directed.