Rhubarb and Apple Pie

This recipe has all the trimmings of a heart warming, cold-weather pie:

Rhubarb, apple, clove, a dollop of ice-cream or hot custard sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied with a dessert wine.

You’ll be surprised at how quick you can make it and feel inspired to create it for your special occasion or when you are entertaining guests.

Serves 8

Ingredients for Shortcrust Pastry

2 cups plain flour
Extra flour for dusting
125 grams unsalted butter, cubed
2 Tablespoons caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites, for coating pie
¼ cup cold water

Ingredients for Filling

3 cups chopped rhubarb
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
1 & ½ cups caster sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ tsp ground cloves
Pinch ground cinnamon

Method for Short Crust Pastry

Sift flour in a bowl then add butter. Press butter into flour using your fingertips until flour has formed a breadcrumb consistency.
Then add sugar and egg yolks and stir in using a spoon. Now add water slowly then stir in to create a dough. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead gently to create a soft ball.
Note: If dough is too dry add an extra tablespoon of cold water but no more as you do not want your dough to be sticky.
Wrap dough gently in plastic wrap and set in fridge for half an hour. Whilst waiting, make filling for the pie.

Method for making pie.

Turn oven onto 210 degrees Celsius fan forced and spray a pie dish with an oil spray to prevent sticking, set aside.
Now, place rhubarb and apple into a large bowl and stir in sugar and cornflour until well coated. Then add vanilla, salt, and cloves. Set aside.
Clear off and clean your workspace in preparation for rolling dough.
Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface and remove dough from fridge. Cut dough in half. One half of dough will be for the top of the pie and the other half for the bottom of the pie. Then flour your rolling pin.
Place ½ the dough on the flour and start rolling it out into a circle shape. Flip the dough gently to roll the underside, then flip again and continue rolling until you get desired size and shape. Now with your rolling pin transfer your pie dough to pie plate and place on your bottom piece of pastry. You do this by placing the rolling pin on the outer edge of the dough and gently pulling up the edge as you roll the pin away from you until the dough is wrapped over the top of the pin.
Once the dough is completely wrapped around the pin, pick it up and position it over the back edge of the pie plate so that the overhang will be even on all sides. Now slowly roll the pin towards you unfurling the dough as you go over the plate.
Place the rhubarb and apple mixture in the pie plate on top of the pastry. Now repeat method 5, again using other half of dough to create the lid of the pie.
Once again, place rolling pin at the edge of pie plate and slowly roll the pin towards you unfurling the dough as you go over the rhubarb mixture. Press the pastry edges together and fully seal the pie.
Then decorate the pies edges by creating a crimp.
You do this by using your index finger to push down on the edge of the pastry and then using the finger and thumb of your other hand to pinch the pastry either side. Repeat around the rim of the pie. Finally make 6 slits on the lid of the pie to allow steam to escape, then using your pastry brush coat lid with egg white. Sprinkle on cinnamon and a little more sugar on top.
Bake pie in oven for 25 minutes on 210 degrees Celsius then turn over down to 170 degrees Celsius and continue baking for a further 40 minutes.
Enjoy your pie warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and custard.