APPLE PIE

I love apple pie at any time. My current favourite is this pastry-pinwheel-topped creation with cinnamon and brown sugar. So delicious to eat –like your favourite apple pie, made better. Think crisp, buttery, cinnamon sugary palmiers atop a juicy, appley middle, with a hint of cider vinegar to guarantee an intense sweet and tart apple flavour. It’s just so pretty: you will look as though you’ve made masses of effort. Genius!

SERVES 4 PREP 25 MINUTES COOK 40–45 MINUTES CAN BE FROZEN BEFORE COOKING

500g block all-butter shortcrust pastry

5 tablespoons demerara sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus an extra pinch

1 egg white, beaten with a fork

6 eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I use 3 Granny Smiths and 3 Gala)

3 tablespoons caster sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

1 tablespoon cider vinegar whipped cream, to serve

MAKE AHEAD You can prep the pastry a couple of days in advance and chill in the refrigerator.

The pie freezes well, uncooked, for up to 1 month. Defrost before cooking as instructed.

THE SHORTCUT Stunning, flavourinfused pastry with none of the crumbling, kneading, chilling and rolling that’s usually required.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Divide the pastry in half. Setting one half aside for the pinwheels, roll the other half into a ball, then roll it out to a circle large enough to line a pie dish roughly 22cm wide and 4cm deep. Trim off any excess pastry from around the edges and save it for the pinwheels. Chill the lined pie dish in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon sugar pinwheels. Mix the demerara sugar and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Roll out the other pastry half and any off-cuts to form a 20 x 15cm rectangle. Brush the surface of the pastry with egg white then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the pastry, then roll up the rectangle into a long, thin sausage shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry sausage into 5mm discs. Lay the discs cut-side up and gently roll them out with a rolling pin, or the side of a clean bottle, to circles about 5cm in diameter. Transfer the pinwheels to the lined baking sheet and chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

In a bowl, mix the apples with the remaining pinch of cinnamon, caster sugar, cornflour and cider vinegar, and stir to combine. Pile the apples into the pastry-lined pie dish. Brush the rim of the pastry with a little of the egg white. Lay the pinwheels on top of the apple filling, starting at the outer rim of the pastry and working into the middle. Don’t worry if there are a few gaps, as this will allow steam to escape. Brush the surface of the pinwheels with egg white and sprinkle with the extra demerara sugar.

Bake in the hot oven for 40–45 minutes until golden. Serve warm, with whipped cream.