From The Straits Times    |

Image: The Straits Times

RUM INFUSED APPLE CRUMBLE PIE

Serves eight to 10

INGREDIENTS

Image: The Straits Times

For shortcrust pastry

125g cold butter, cut into 1.5cm cubes

250g plain flour

50g caster sugar

30g icing sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

For apple filling

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced to about 1.5cm thick

2 Gala apples, peeled and sliced to about 1.5cm thick

40ml lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

65g brown sugar

15g unsalted butter, melted

30g plain flour

1/2 tsp five-spice powder

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

11/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

60ml rum

For streusel topping

60g unsalted butter, melted

100g caster sugar

75g plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50g pecans, chopped

Icing sugar and whole pecans for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the shortcrust pastry: In a mixing bowl, rub cubes of cold butter with flour until the mixture becomes crumb-like.

Image: The Straits Times

2. Add caster and icing sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Mix and roll the batter gently until it becomes a ball of soft dough. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill it in the fridge for an hour.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of 0.3 to 0.5cm.

4. Lay the dough over a 24cm pie pan. Gently press the dough into the pan and trim off excess dough with a knife. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

5. Make the apple filling: Place sliced apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, brown sugar, melted butter, plain flour, five-spice powder, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon powder, vanilla essence and rum into a large mixing bowl (above). Mix thoroughly with a spatula. Set aside for 15 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 190 deg C.

7. Make the streusel: In a clean mixing bowl, add melted butter, caster sugar, plain flour and cinnamon powder. Rub the mixture until it has a crumbly texture. Add chopped pecans and mix well.

8. To assemble the pie, gently spread the apple filling evenly across the chilled shortcrust pastry. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top.

9. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

10. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it cool for at least three hours. Sprinkle icing sugar and pecans on top before serving.

This story was originally published in The Straits Times

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