Free-Form Apple, Pear and Cinnamon Pie
Serves 6 – 8
Ingredients:
400g Ardmona Pie Apple
400g Goulburn Valley Sliced Pear
100ml juice reserved from the 400g Goulburn Valley Sliced Pear
120g raw sugar, plus 2tbsp extra
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ nutmeg, finely grated
Zest of half a lemon fine zested
Sweet pastry
300g butter at room temperature
150g icing sugar
2 whole eggs
600g plain flour
Method:
In a medium saucepan bring the pear juice and sugar to the boil, stirring to dissolve. Add the lemon zest and half the cinnamon and nutmeg and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the apples, simmer for 3 mins until thick, then set aside to cool.
For the pastry, in a food processor add the butter, sugar and eggs and process until smooth. Add the flour and pulse until the pastry comes together. Tip the mixture out onto a large square of baking paper, place another sheet on top and roll to about 3cm thick. Place in the fridge, lying flat, for 10 minutes.
Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and roll to 2cm thick on the baking paper. Lift the paper and pastry onto a baking tray, trim to a rough circle (or whatever shape suits the tray you will bake on) and pile the apple mix in the middle and top with pieces of sliced pear. Using the paper as support, pull the sides of the pastry up around the edges of the filling and twist the edges of the pastry together to secure, leaving the top open.
Glaze the pastry with egg wash and then dust heavily with cinnamon.
Sprinkle with the extra sugar and bake at 200°C fan-forced (or 220°C conventional) for 40 minutes or until golden – there will be juices running from the tart when cooked. Once you remove the tart from the oven brush the juices over the pastry and serve warm with ice cream or cream.
