AN EYE FOR A PIE ?

As the nights draw in for winter and we move towards the delicious variety of winter fruits, it is a perfect time to think of comfort foods and pies, especially with all the lovely varieties of apples and pears we have in the UK.

I generally steer clear of cooking apples, which disintegrate to a mush when baked, and look to use my favourite eating apples and pears such as a ‘Cox’, ‘Braeburn’, ‘Conference’ or ‘Williams’, which hold up well in cooking.

If you have apple or pear trees at home or at the allotment, use what you have. Whether you want a beautiful tart for a dinner party, a hearty crumble pie to go with Sunday lunch or something a bit different like a caramel apple pie with cream cheese pastry, we should have all bases covered.

SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

This is my go-to simple and delicious sweet pie and tart pastry. It makes enough for a 23cm (9in) tart – double the recipe for a