Apple and pear pie

Make the dough. Mix the all-purpose flour, caster sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Then rub in the diced butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Beat the egg with 1.5 oz/30 ml of the cold water and add to the dough. Stir together. If the dough is very dry, add the remainder of the water. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each piece in clingfilm, shaped into a disk. Place into the fridge and leave to chill for at least 1 hour.

Make the filling. Zest the lemon and set aside. Then peel, core, and slice the baking apples and pears into roughly 1cm cubes. Squeeze the lemon juice over the cubed apples and pears, and toss the fruit with the caster sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, then add the fruit. Stir until the sugar has all dissolved and the juices are simmering. After 3 minutes, reduce the heat and leave to cook uncovered for around 10 minutes. Once the fruit has softened, add the all-purpose flour and cook for a further minute. Stir in the vanilla extract and lemon zest and then take off the heat. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F/200°C fan (or 220°C conventional). Dust the work surface with any remaining flour and then remove the dough from the fridge. Let the dough warm to room temperature and then roll into a 30cm circle. Transfer to a pie pan and trim the edge so there’s a small overhang. Fill the crust with the fruit.

Roll the second disk into a 30cm circle. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin and then gently unroll over the top of the fruit. Trim as needed. Fold the top edge under the bottom pastry and then press to seal. Brush the rim of the crust and the pie with any remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and cut 6 small steam vents in the top of the dough.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. After this time, reduce the temperature of the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F/170°C fan (or 190°C conventional) and bake for around 45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Tips & tricks

If you find your dough is browning too quickly in the oven, cover it with aluminum foil to prevent it catching whilst the pie continues to cook. Some chefs will make an apple and pear crumble pie instead to avoid this issue entirely, using a sweet crumble for the topping instead of the more traditional pastry. Equally if you'd prefer your pie without pears, a homemade apple pie is a fall classic. For more apple-based recipe inspiration, have a read of our helpful guide.

In the recipe above we’ve suggested using baking apples and pears to get the tastiest pie filling, but if you want to explore other options we have articles on both cooking apple varieties and types of pears to help you make your choice.

How to serve it

This pie is best served straight away, warm from the oven, with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Storage

You can store this pie in the fridge, covered, for up to four days, and reheat it in the oven on a low heat when you want to enjoy it at a later date.