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1
Preheat the oven to gas 7 / 210C / 425F and line a 9 inch pie tin with baking paper or use a spring form cake tin
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2
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
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3
Stir in both flours.
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4
It won't look pretty but don't worry
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5
Add the water, vanilla, spices and both sugars and bring to the boil, stirring continuously to bring the caramel together
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6
Reduce to a simmer and add the sliced apples, letting them cook slightly in the syrup before letting it cool and thicken
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7
Roll out the pastry and press into the pie tin cutting off the excess to roll again for the top crust.
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8
Chill in the fridge until the filling has cooled
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9
Using a slotted spoon, scoop the filling into the pie shell.
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10
This way you can control the amount of caramel that goes in so it won't be too liquidy and the bottom crust doesn't get soggy.
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11
Reserve the rest of the syrup for serving later.
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12
Mound the filling up slightly in the middle
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13
Brush the edge of the shell with some milk or an alternative such as light coconut milk, then top with the lid pastry, cutting a slit on top for steam to escape
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14
If you still have some pastry left, roll it out again and cut out some decorative leaves with a knife and place on top to make it prettier
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15
Crimp the edge of the lid and bottom crust together to seal and brush some of the leftover caramel syrup all over the lid to glaze
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16
Bake 15 minutes in the oven (over a baking tray in case there are spills), then reduce the temperature to gas 4 / 180C / 350F and bake for a further 35 to 45 minutes or until the apples are soft and the pastry is golden
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17
Let cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then cool completely out of the tin on a wire rack.
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Serve warm but not hot (or you'll lose all of the syrup!)
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19
with ice cream, custard or some fresh cream - full fat coconut milk is a lovely non-dairy cream substitute
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20
I hope you try this, everyone in my family that's tried it really loves it
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21
TIPS TO AVOID A SOGGY PIE BOTTOM!
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22
Let the pie cool on a wire rack completely to let the warmth circulate around the base.
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23
Reheat to serve, don't be tempted to cut into it straight from the oven.
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24
Using a glass pie dish helps cook the bottom crust better than a metal tin too.
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25
Also, if you brush the inside of the shell with some syrup it stops the filling seeping through.
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26
If a recipe says add the filling hot, add it hot.
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And of course you can blind bake the shell before filling.
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Hope these are useful to you!
