Fruit fillings

a) Apple: Peel and slice 8 Granny Smith apples, place in a saucepan with ½ cup water, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (optional). Simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes until apples are just tender . Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional), drain and cool. (Can combine with fresh blackberries, or add a few sultanas)

b) Rhubarb: Wash and chop 600 gms rhubarb into 2 cm pieces (can combine with apple), place in saucepan with about 2 tablespoons water, bring to the boil and simmer, covered , for a few minutes until the rhubarb is soft but not mushy. Add ¼ cup cornflour blended with 1/3 cup water to the rhubarb, cook, stirring, until thickened. Set aside to cool.

c) Blackberry, boysenberry etc: Mix about 3 or 4 cups of berries with ½ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cornflour

Combine the sifted flours and sugar in a bowl, and rub in the butter (or combine in a food processor in batches until crumbly in texture). Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and enough water to make the pastry cling together. Knead lightly on a floured surface until smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Divide dough in half and roll out one half between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper (useful technique if the day is warm and the dough becomes hard to handle) until large enough to line the base and sides of a 23cm pie dish. Place pastry layer in pie dish, spoon the cool filling into the base, and brush the edge of the pastry with beaten egg white. Roll out the remaining half of the pastry and cover the filling (I often add some knobs of butter to apple filling before covering it.) Press the edges together to seal, trim with a knife, and pinch to make a decorative edging. Decorate with pastry scraps if desired. Brush the pastry with the remaining egg white, sprinkle with a little extra castor sugar and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to about 350 and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until golden brown.