My Perfect Apple Pie

Shortcrust: Make a double batch of my shortcrust pastry recipe. Form the dough discs, wrap and refrigerate per the recipe.

Line tin: Roll out one dough just large enough to fit a 23cm/9" metal pie tin, following directions in the shortcrust recipe. You want the base relatively thick so it's sturdy. Trim off excess pastry, prick the base 30 times with a fork (don't pierce through).

Freeze (Note 4): Cover with cling wrap and freeze for 2 hours.

While crust is freezing, make apple filling. Then continue with pie crust steps.

Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).

Blind bake (Note 5): Place two large sheets of baking/parchment paper in a "X" over the pie tin then fill with baking beads (Note 4). Bake 25 minutes.

Egg wash (Note 5): Remove from oven. Use paper excess to remove beads into a bowl. Brush base and sides (not rim) lightly with whisked egg. Return crust to oven for 5 minutes.

Cool: Crust should be light golden and look fully cooked. Cool 15 minutes before filling.

Remove remaining dough from fridge 30 minutes prior. Roll out to 3 mm / 1/8" thick and cut into 12 x 2.5cm/1" strips. Transfer to board, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until required.

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).

Spice mix: Mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.

Toss: In a large bowl, sprinkle spice mix over apple slices. Toss well with hands, separating pieces that are stuck together.

Bake: Spread across 2 large trays. Bake until soft but still holding form - check first at 15 min, and every 5 mins thereafter (mine take 40 min - Note 7). Do not stir or rotate trays.

Drain off juices: Remove trays from oven. Using a spatula to hold the apples back, pour apple juices into a saucepan (drain off what you can, you don't need every drop).

Cool apple: Leave apple slices to cool on the tray, about 15 minutes.

Apple syrup: Add butter to apple juice saucepan and simmer on low heat until it reduces to 1/3 cup (80 ml), becoming syrupy. This might take 1 minute if you didn't start with much juices, or 3 - 5 minutes if you started with 1/2 cup or more juices. Remove from stove and let cool.

Turn oven up to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).

Fill: Use a spatula or egg flip to scoop up apple slices. Fill the pie crust with 2/3 of the apples, gently pressing out air pockets. Then arrange the remaining apples on top so they mound slightly at the centre. Pour apple syrup over the slices and any residual juices from the baking trays.

Pastry lattice or lid: Top with pastry lattice - see in post for my method. Trim excess, and press to adhere on to pie crust rim using water to seal. Brush lattice with egg wash (avoid the pie rim else it will over-brown there), ensuring you don't get pools of egg in the joins. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and you see the syrup bubbling through the lattice.

Serving fresh: Cool at least 3 hours before cutting to serve!

Option for neat slices: After cooling, refrigerate overnight. Turn pie out of pie dish (it's sturdy enough once cooled). Then you can cut neat slices. Place on a tray, cover with foil and reheat for 10 minutes in a 180°C/350°F oven (or microwave in emergency!).

In either case serve with vanilla ice cream, always!