FOR THE PASTRY
300g self-raising flour, plus extra for rolling
200g chilled unsalted butter, cut into chunks
150g caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 medium egg, beaten
FOR THE FILLING
1 tbsp lemon juice
40g caster sugar
150g raisins
1 medium egg, separated
1 tea spoon of ground nutmeg
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1kg Granny Smith apples, peeled, 150g grated and the rest cut into small chunks
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
Line the base of a 24cm cake tin with baking paper.
First make the pastry by putting the flour, butter, sugar, lemon zest and a good pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture. (If you have a food processor, you can use this)
Add the beaten egg and bring together into a ball
Wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour.
Now make the filling by mixing the lemon juice, sugar, raisins, egg yolk and spices into a bowl
Then add the grated and chopped apples to the rest of the mixture, stirring as you go. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Save 1/4 of the pastry and roll the other 3/4 out to 1cm thickness, using a rolling pin.
Line the tin with the pastry, ensuring it is pressed into all the corners of the tin.
Spread the fresh breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom of the pastry, then spoon in the apple filling.
Create a lattice with the remaining pastry and place this on top of the pie. Brush with beaten egg yolk.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
Let the pie cool for 10 minutes, then gently push a knife around the edge of the tin and carefully release the tin, leaving the base in place. The pie might be too delicate to remove the base if serving warm.
Serve warm with custard, vanilla ice cream or both!