Apple pie

This is great for a Sunday afternoon, after a roast dinner. Easy to throw together, it also works well with pear, too, either mixed half and half with apple or switch the apple for pear altogether (making it a pear pie!).

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 100g/3 1/2 oz Lucy Bee coconut oil (solid), plus extra for greasing
• 180g/11/3 cups gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
• 75ml/1/3 cup ice-cold water
• ½ tbsp honey
• ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
• 1 egg, beaten

For the filling

• 6 crisp, sweet dessert apples, such as Pink Lady, cut into small dice (unpeeled for extra nutrients)
• Juice of 1½ lemons
• 2½ tsp cinnamon powder
• Handful of raisins

Method

1. Lightly grease a 20 x 20cm/8 x 8 in pie dish with coconut oil.

2. Put the coconut oil and flour in a food processor and pulse until you have a crumbly mix. Add the cold water, honey and salt and mix until combined. Lightly press the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. While the dough is chilling, mix together the apples, lemon juice, cinnamon and raisins. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.

4. Wipe a wet cloth over the kitchen surface and cover it with a piece of cling film; this will help it to stick to the surface and help lift the pastry onto the dish. Dust the cling film with gluten-free flour, unwrap the chilled dough and place it on the piece of cling film. Flour the top of the pastry ball and gently roll it out so it is very thin and big enough to cover the dish.

5. Fill the pie dish with the apple mixture, lift the cling film with the pastry on top and invert it over the pie dish, covering the surface, then peel off the cling film. Use a fork to press it down on the edges of the pie to seal. It’s always fun to decorate the top with any leftover pieces of pastry, if you like.

6. Brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3 and bake for a further 25 minutes until golden on top.

From Coconut Oil: Recipes for Real Life. Recipe text © 2016 Lucy Bee Limited.