Easy As Pie - Apple

I guess next to chocolate cake, one of the most politically correct desserts would be apple pie. It's like the chicken and fish equivalent for meats, most religions allow it, and most people eat it. Serve a cheese cake, and you get all the fussy eaters declining it, citing reasons from "sou" (Cantonese), to "lactose intolerance", to not liking the chilled variety, but liking only the baked variety, or vice versa.

So, apple pie. Quick, cheap(-er than cheese cake) and easy.

Pastry:

2½ cups flour, sifted
150gm butter
2/3rd cup icing sugar
1 egg beaten

Filling:

6-8 granny smiths (depending on size)
2 red apples (fuji, delicious, anything really)
3 tablespoons sugar
1-3 teaspoons cinnamon, depending on individual taste
Lemon peel from one lemon, OR
3/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons apricot jam


1. Chuck in flour, icing sugar and chopped butter (cold) into food processor. Blitz until it looks like one material, ie, breadcrumbs, and you can't see any butter bits anymore. With the motor running, pour in the egg. After about 15 seconds, the dough should form into a lump, or ball, and start coming off the sides of the food processor bowl.

2. Scrape all the dough out, roll into a disc or ball, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.

3. Get your maid, if you have one, to skin and slice the apples. Slice the apple into 1/12ths. (ie, quarter, then 1/3rd each quarter. However, if you like large chunky apple pieces, then cut into 1/8ths.

4. Depending on whether you like your apples soft, or crunchy, cook them in a large pot, infusing it with the cinnamon and sugar. If you want them soft, cover the pot with a lid, and go read a magazine for 10 minutes. If you do not want the apples too soft, cook until the apples are tender, but are no where near disintegrating.

5. Drain, and chuck in the lemon peel, or raisins, and mix. Let cool slightly.

6. Roll out 3/5th of the pastry to line the base of 8" diameter pie tin. Spoon the apricot jam at the base. Fill the base with the apples. Roll out remaining pastry and cover. Brush with either beaten egg, or milk. Usually I use the latter, coz I wouldn't know what to do with remaining egg.

7. Bake in moderately hot (185C) oven for about 25-30 minutes, until nice and brown. If not worried about diabetes, sprinkle castor sugar over the top after removing from oven.

8. Serve with pouring custard, or fresh cream, or vanilla ice cream or with any of the three combinations.