Make the pastry. Process the flour, sugar, butter, egg and milk in a food processor until big clumps or a pastry ball forms (see notes if you don't have a food processor).

Knead a few times on a floured surface until you have a smooth ball of pastry (add more flour if it feels too wet). Wrap in plastic or foil and chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Pre-heat oven to 190°C. Peel and chop the apples into small pieces, then put them in a medium bowl. Stir through all the other filling ingredients.

To make the crumb topping, pulse all ingredients together in a food processor for a few seconds, until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Now roll out the pastry with plenty of flour. Use to line a 9" (23cm) pie dish. Trim pastry around the edges with a sharp knife.

Tip the apple mixture into the pastry case, then sprinkle the crumble topping all over the apples in an even layer.

Loosely tuck aluminium foil around the pastry edges to prevent over browning (or use a pie crust shield), then bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the crumble topping is golden.

NOTES

pastry

Feel free to use ready-made sweet pastry if you prefer!

If you don't have a food processor, to make the pastry simply rub the butter into the flour and sugar with your fingertips until you have fine crumbs. Then add the egg and milk and bring together into a ball with your hands, adding a little more flour if too wet.

The pastry will be quite soft. To get it into the pie dish more easily, I usually fold it in on itself so that I can scoop it up and place it in the middle of the pie dish. From there I carefully unfold it, then press it into the sides.

I usually find bits of the pastry break and have holes, but because it’s so soft you can easily press it back together, or use excess pastry to ‘patch it up’. The rustic look is fine!

I usually slice any overhanging pastry off before baking with a sharp knife. The pastry can shrink slightly in the oven, but not enough for it to matter, I find. Alternatively you can slice it off after baking, but this can be a bit messy!

crumble topping

If you don’t have a food processor, simply combine all the dry ingredients. Then rub in the cold butter cubes with your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.

baking

To stop the pastry edges getting a bit too brown in the oven, just loosely tuck a bit of aluminium foil around them. Alternatively you can be fancy and use a proper pie crust shield