Ingredients

• 100g/3¾oz butter, cut into small pieces
• 200g/7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 250g/9oz golden syrup
• 100g/3½oz white breadcrumbs, made from 1–2 day-old bread
• 1 eating apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 50g/1¾oz mixed dried fruit, e.g. currants and chopped dried apricots
• grated rind of ½ lemon rind, grated
• juice of 1 lemon juice
•   cream, ice cream or custard, to serve

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and one to two tablespoons of cold water; mix to a firm dough. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. On a lightly floured surface, knead the pastry briefly; cut off one third of the dough, wrap in plastic film and set aside. Roll out the remaining dough and use to line a 23cm/9in pie plate or flan tin. Trim off the excess pastry.
3. Make the filling: in a pan, warm the syrup, then remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, apple, dried fruit, lemon rind and juice. Spoon into the pastry case. Thinly roll out the reserved pastry and cut into eight long, thin strips about 25cm long.
4. Brush the pastry rim with egg white. Twist four of the strips and lay across the filling like the spokes of a wheel, pressing the ends on to the rim and trimming off the excess. Twist the remaining strips and fix around the pastry rim.
5. Brush the pastry with egg white and bake for 25–30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the filling golden. Serve warm with cream, ice cream or custard.

Notes