Rhubarb & Apple Pie with Champagne Pastry

Pie Fruit.
I like a mix of Rhubarb & Granny Smith Apples.
In a saucepan combine, about 6-8 stalks of Rhubarb cut into small pieces.
4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced.
Juice of 1 orange.
4 tablespoons of raw sugar. (or any sugar to your own taste).
I like my apple in larger pieces so when this is cooked it looks like apple pieces in a Rhubarb sauce. Again you can do it how you like.

 

Pastry:

1 1/4 cups S.R. Flour. 

Pinch salt.

1 tablespoon Cornflour.

Place in Thermomix and mix 4 sec on speed 7.

(If you don't have a Thermomix, you can mix by hand with a fork or in a food processor).

3ozs of Butter

Add to Thermomix (or food processor) and mix on Speed 7 until resembles fine breadcrumbs, about 5 secs. If mixing by hand rub butter through with fingertips until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

1 large egg          1/4 cup sugar.

Add to Thermomix and knead on Interval speed until forms a dough. May need a little water.

If mixing by hand, whisk egg and sugar together first then add to mixture and mix with knife until it forms a dough, then use your hands.

Turn mixture onto floured surface. Divide approximately in half. Large piece for bottom of pie, slightly smaller piece for top of pie. Pre-heat oven to 200C.

VERY gently roll out base continually sprinkling rolling pin with flour and checking pastry is not sticking to your surface. When large enough to cover pie dish, pause, pray, take a large sip of your coffee, and roll pastry up onto rolling pin. It will probably break. Try NOT to swear, put what you can into the pie dish and patch the rest like a jigsaw. It's the base, no one will see it. Cook in the oven 200C until light golden. Remove from oven. Cool slightly, roll out top, add cooked fruit to pie dish, cover with top. Patch it if it breaks, it will still look ok.

Don't worry about the patched look, it will cook ok, and taste fantastic.

Serve hot with Thermomix vanilla custard (or another vanilla custard), ice cream and/or whipped cream.
This pastry is light and sweet and very tasty with sweet pies.

Alternative use for pastry recipe : This pastry makes delicious biscuits.
Roll into small balls, press with your thumb, add your favorite jam into the thumb print. Bake at 200C until light golden. Add a piece of slivered almond on top of the jam for another alternative. Light, sweet, delicious biscuits.