Ingredients
- 1¼ cups plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 90 g cold butter, cubed
- 3–4 tablespoons cold water
- milk, for glazing
- demerara sugar, for decoration
Rhubarb filling
- 1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed and washed (about 500 g)
- ½ cup caster sugar
- 5 cm piece orange rind
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 410 g can pie apples
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and butter in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds or until the mixture is fine and crumbly. Add almost all the water and process for 20 seconds or until the mixture just comes together. Add more water if necessary. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to form a smooth dough. Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out a circle of pastry about 28 cm in diameter. Refrigerate the pastry for 20 minutes.
2. To make Rhubarb Filling: Cut the rhubarb into 3 cm lengths. Combine it in a large casserole dish with the sugar, orange rind and juice. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the rhubarb is just tender. Remove the casserole dish from the oven, drain away any excess juice, remove and discard the rind. Set the rhubarb aside to cool. Add the apple and stir. Add more sugar, to taste, if necessary. Pour the mixture into a 20 cm diameter pie plate and smooth the surface. Increase the oven temperature to 210°C (190°C gas).
3. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and cut it into strips. Lay half of the strips on a sheet of baking paper, leaving a 1 cm gap between each strip. Interweave the remaining strips to form a lattice pattern. Cover with plastic and refrigerate, keeping it flat, until firm.
4. Place the pastry on top of the pie and bake the pie for 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and quickly and lightly brush the pastry with milk and then sprinkle with demerara sugar. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and return the pie to the oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling. Serve with cream or ice cream, if desired.
