Ingredients:
- 300g Plain (All-Purpose) Flour (for crust)
- 150g Unsalted Butter, very cold and cubed (for crust)
- 1 tablespoon Caster Sugar (for crust)
- ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt (for crust)
- 4–6 tablespoons Ice Water
- 2 kg Bramley Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 125g Granulated Sugar (for filling)
- 3 tablespoons Plain (All-Purpose) Flour or Cornflour (for filling)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter (for dotting)
- 175g Plain (All-Purpose) Flour (for crumble)
- 100g Light Brown Soft Sugar (for crumble)
- 100g Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed (for crumble)
- 50g Rolled/Jumbo Oats (optional, for crumble)
- A generous pinch of Fine Sea Salt (for crumble)
Instructions:
- For the pastry: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add ice water gradually until the dough just forms a ball. Wrap and chill for at least 60 minutes.
- Roll out two-thirds of the chilled dough and line a 9-inch deep-sided pie dish. Trim the edges and return to the fridge.
- For the filling: Toss the sliced apples with sugar, flour/cornflour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- For the crumble: In a separate bowl, rub the crumble flour, brown sugar, oats (if using), and salt together with the cold butter until uneven crumbs form.
- Assembly: Mound the apple mixture into the chilled pastry-lined dish. Dot the top of the apples with the 1 tablespoon of reserved butter.
- Evenly scatter the prepared crumble mixture completely over the apples, ensuring full coverage.
- Place the pie dish onto a preheated baking sheet. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F). Continue baking for another 40–55 minutes, or until the crumble is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling thickly. Tent with foil if the topping browns too quickly.
- Remove from the oven and let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing to allow the filling to set properly.