serves
6-8
prep
1:35 hour
cook
35 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
6-8
people
preparation
1:35
hour
cooking
35
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
It takes a bit of patience but is worth the effort. I don’t bother with peeling the apples – you may as well get the extra fibre from the skin, I say.
Ingredients
- ½ quantity Gluten-free rough puff pastry
- 30 g (1 oz) butter
- 3 large apples (about 600 g/1 lb 5 oz), cored and thinly sliced
- 450 g (1 lb) rhubarb, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) pieces
- finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- cream, crème fraîche or creamy yoghurt, to serve
Gluten-free rough puff pastry
- 250 g (9 oz/1⅔ cup) gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra to dust
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
- 200 g (7 oz) butter, chilled and cut into 1 cm (½ in) pieces
- 80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) iced water
- 80 ml (2½ fl oz/⅓ cup) cold full cream (whole) milk
Chilling time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes
Instructions
For the pastry, mix the flour, xanthan gum and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and toss through the flour with your fingers until coated. Add the water and milk and mix. Press the mixture together to form a very rough dough, being careful to leave the butter in lumps. Add a little more water if you need to, just to bring the dough together. Do not knead.
On a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour, press the pastry into a square about 3 cm (1¼ in) thick. Roll it out to a rectangle 20 cm x 30 cm (8 in x 12 in) in size, ensuring that any patches of butter are dusted with a little more flour before they become exposed. It will seem very messy but don’t worry, it will all come together. If you’ve made regular rough puff pastry before, you will note that this is a slower process with the gluten-free flour.
Fold the dough in by thirds, as you would to fold a letter, brushing off any excess flour as you go. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and then repeat the rolling and folding instructions, using extra flour to stop the dough sticking, and to lightly coat any bits of butter that stick out. It will still look quite rough at this stage with visible lumps of butter, but it should look more like a dough now.
Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Repeat the above process twice more. The dough is ready to use after it has been chilled three times. The finished dough should be smooth and elastic, with fine slivers of butter between the layers of dough. If you cut through the dough with a sharp knife, you will see the layers quite clearly.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm (¹⁄8 in) thick. Cut a 1.5 cm (½ in) strip of pastry from the edge and press it around the rim of a 24 cm (9½ in) pie dish. Rub the rim of the dish with a little softened butter to help the pastry stick if necessary. This will create a nice finished edge on the pie when you add the lattice. Set aside in the refrigerator. Cut the remaining pastry into strips 4 cm (1½ in) wide. You will need at least eight strips. Place on a baking paper-lined tray and refrigerate until required.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium–low heat. Add the apples, rhubarb, orange zest and juice, and rice malt syrup and cook for 5–6 minutes, or until the fruits are just starting to soften. Remove from the heat and stir in the cornflour and mixed spice. Transfer to the pie dish and set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (fan-forced).
Brush the pastry on the rim of the pie dish with a little water and arrange the pastry strips in a lattice pattern over the filling, pressing the strips onto the pastry rim to seal. Trim excess pastry. Brush lightly with the beaten egg, trying not to let it dribble down the sides of the pastry strips.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is starting to puff and is lightly coloured. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/320°F (fan-forced) and cook for another 20–25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and allow to settle for 10 minutes before serving with cream, crème fraîche
or yoghurt.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
It takes a bit of patience but is worth the effort. I don’t bother with peeling the apples – you may as well get the extra fibre from the skin, I say.
