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1
To make the pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and mix. Add the butter. Use a knife to cut the cubes into the flour until most of the butter has been blended in. Use your fingertips to finish rubbing the butter into the flour. Add most but not all of the water, then use a knife to cut the liquid in. Continue until the dough starts coming together, then use your fingertips to finish forming the dough, adding extra water as needed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.
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2
For the filling: peel the apples and cut them into chunks. Place in a bowl and toss them with the lemon juice.
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3
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Add the apple pieces and toss to coat them in the melted butter mixture. Allow the apples to stew, stirring gently and regularly, for 20 minutes or until they're just soft.
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4
Once the apples are stewed add the flour. Stir well and allow the apples to cook for a further 2 minutes before removing from the heat.
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5
Preheat your oven to 200u00b0C and grease a 20cm pie dish.
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6
Dust your work surface and rolling pin with a little flour. Roll the pastry to a 3-4mm thickness. Carefully lift the pastry into your greased pie dish (if you wrap the pastry loosely around the rolling pin it will be easier to lift). Gently press the dough into the dish, then cut the excess away from the rim of the dish.
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7
Press the pastry scraps together and roll out again into a rough rectangular shape. Cut out long strips that are 2cm wide. Set these aside.
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8
Tip the apple filling into the pastry lined dish. Wet the outside rim of the pastry with a little water. Arrange the pastry strips over the top of the pie in a criss-cross or lattice pattern. Press down lightly at the edges and trim any excess pastry.
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9
Brush the pastry lightly with some milk. Bake the pie for 40 - 50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.
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10
While the pie is baking prepare the custard. Pop 150g castor sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is a dark golden colour. Watch the saucepan closely so that it does not burn!
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11
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the cream. Take care as the mixture will bubble up and be extremely hot! Add the butter and salt and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
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12
In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and castor sugar together until creamy. Whisk in the flour. Place the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat and heat just until boiling point. Remove from the heat and carefully add half of the milk to the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Then add the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and heat slowly while whisking. Continue to stir for a few minutes until the custard is quite thick.
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13
Add the vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of the caramel set aside earlier to the custard. Continue to stir for a few minutes on the heat to thicken slightly. Transfer to a warm jug.
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14
Allow the pie to stand for a few minutes before slicing and serving with caramel custard.
