Put this decorated pastry back into the fridge carefully and let set firm. Use a pastry wheel to make strips from any excess larger than the round bit you have marked out and weave a lattice pattern, using a little egg wash to stick as you go, or simply use flower or leaf shaped cutters, cutting out any excess pastry you have, or any extra reserved from the base. While the base is cooking you can add any lattice work or cut out leaf or apple decorations to the pastry disc which is the lid. Preheat the oven to 180☌ (fan) and place the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake blind (with the beans in) for about 15-20 minutes, then carefully remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the tart case is crisp and golden in colour. Take the chilled pastry case out of the fridge, use some scrunched-up baking paper to line the tin, then fill up with baking beans Place this in the fridge so it can firm up before transferring onto the base. Use a plate or something round to mark out a circle slightly bigger than the top of the tin on this piece of pastry, as this will be your guide for where to decorate, and give you some excess for cutting in thin strips or using shapes for decorating the pastry lid. Make the lid: In between two pieces of baking paper, roll out a large circle, a few inches larger than the top of the tart tin, rolling thinly to about 3mm thickness. Trim off any large overhanging bits and wrap and save for the decorating and place back in the fridge for 30 mins. Place this into the tin leaving some excess over hanging slightly (as we’ll trim this after baking). To cook the pastry case, roll out one of the discs with a little plain flour until larger than the tin. Let this cool off the heat for a few minutes, then tip it back in with the apples you reserved in the bowl. You’ll have a delicious caramel left in the pan. Remove these apples with a slotted spoon and place into a large heatproof bowlĬontinue cooking off the liquid until it reduces and thickens to the consistency of golden syrup. To make the filling, add all the filling ingredients to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gently simmer the apples for about 8-10 minutes until they begin to soften. Flatten out to about 1cm thickness with your palms then wrap well and leave to rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes Tip out onto the surface, gently bring together, halve and make two discs. You may need a few more teaspoons of water to bring it together as all flour varies. Do not over mix or the pastry will be tough. With the processor on, tip in the egg yolks, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of ice-cold water and mix until it just forms a ball. Blitz the flour and sugar to mix in the food processor, then add the cold butter and pulse a few times until you have a fine breadcrumb texture.

Lattice top apple pie