Bourban spiced apple pie

Everybody loves apple pie. Fact. It's a classic. With ice cream, with custard, with cream or clotted cream, any day, and time of the year. I love apple pie. I also love bourbon and this recipe combines two of said favourite things to create the mother of apple pies. It is a match made in heaven as the bourbon adds a caramel, oaky taste which compliments the apples and cinnamon spices excellently. We ate this warm from the oven with some posh vanilla ice cream and a bottle of real ale each - I recommend a tawny bitter sweet beer with this, something which is described as 'caramel' or 'toffee' flavours, well that's what I drank and it was delightful (a Caledonian 80/- to be precise). So without further a-do here's how to make it...

Ingredients 

for pastry:

200g plain flour

2 tbsp icing sugar

110g cold butter, cubed

3 tbsp cold water

3 tart apples (I used Granny Smiths), peeled and thinly sliced

120ml milk

2 tbsp bourbon (I used Gentleman Jack but normal Jack Daniels or Jim Bean or any other bourbon is fine)

125g brown sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

So to make the sweet short crust pastry, sieve the flour and icing sugar into a bowl then rub in the cubed butter using just your fingertips until you have a fine breadcrumb (if you have warm hands try running them under the cold water for a bit then drying them off first as this will help to stop the butter melting and it getting too sticky). Add the water and mix in with a knife until it comes together then mould into a ball, wrap in cling film and put in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 190°C. Mix together the milk, bourbon, cornflour, brown sugar and cinnamon and whisk with a fork then add the sliced apples to marinate.

Roll out about two thirds of the pastry on a cold, well floured work surface (flouring the rolling pin too) and line the base of your pie dish - I used a smallish deep pie dish (about 9 inches). Fill with the apples and sauce then roll out the rest of the pastry for the lid. Carefully place on top and trim the sides with a knife. Crimp the edges and decorate with any spare pastry if you so wish - I just can't help myself! Brush with the beaten egg wash and make a couple of holes in the top to let the steam out then bake for about 45 minutes.

Serve with ice cream, cream or custard and enjoy - proper comfort food!