Spring. It’s such an overrated season. We look forward to it the cruel winter long and then, when it finally arrives, the weather is… same-same but with slightly longer days. “Poxy with the chance of a nicer twilight” is how we’d be reading the weather report ATM but we’re just impatient for the fun and the sun. Heaven knows we've experienced Christmas days with the heater on so it’s really high time we aligned our expectations with the brutal realities of NZ weather. Spring can be volatile and cold. Poo. Bum. Bugger.

What does any of this have to do with an apple and sour cream pie? Absolutely sweet FA except to say that when gray weather keeps driving us indoors on the weekend, we knuckle down and find a baking project to self-soothe. And this pie is one of those projects. If you’ve been playing along with the LSC so far, you’ll be bracing yourself for the expected “this isn’t a hard recipe” pep talk and true to form, we’re saying “this recipe isn’t hard.” Cooking is all about timing and keeping a tidy bench most of the time, and this recipe has a third factor - breaking things down into manageable sub-tasks. You can make your pastry ahead of time; even rolling it out and lining the tin the day or morning before you bake it (cover it in plastic wrap and shove it in the fridge until required). There. One job down. You can also cook the apple mixture in advance and refrigerate it; just bring it back to room temp before baking. Number two job ticked off. You could also make the crumble mix well ahead – several days if you wanted. Again, refrigerate it and if you do, there’s no need to bring it to room temperature before baking. Then, you just need to whip up the sour cream mixture right before you assemble and that’s a five minute task.

All the usual disclaimers about using decent apples with a bit of sharpness stand; if your apples aren’t as awesome as they could be, throw in a handful of raisins, a teaspoon or so of finely grated lemon or orange zest and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and they’ll perk up no end. 

SERVES 8-10

Pastry

185g (1¼ cups) plain flour

55g (¼ cup) caster sugar

½ tsp salt

155 g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

iced water, to mix

Apple

1 kg Granny Smith apples, peeled cored and cut into thin wedges

50g unsalted butter

75g (⅓ cup) caster sugar

Sour cream mixture

250g (1 cup) sour cream

3 large eggs

55g (¼ cup) caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2½ tbsp plain flour

Crumble topping

150g (1 cup) plain flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

115g butter, chopped

For the pastry, combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter then, using our fingertips, rub it in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1-2 tablespoons of iced water, or enough to form a firm dough. Press the dough together, kneading it very briefly, then form it into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the apple, combine the apples, butter and sugar in a large frying pan. Place over medium heat then cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the apples are softened. Remove from the heat and drain off any liquid, reserving the liquid. Preheat the oven to 175˚C , fan-forced.

For the sour cream mixture, combine the sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the flour and whisk to combine well. Stir in any reserved liquid from the apples. 

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the butter, then using your fingertips, rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. 

Lightly grease the base and side of a 23cm springform pan, then line the base with baking paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to cover the base and up the side of the prepared tin. Line the tin, then trim off any excess pastry. Scatter the apples over the base, pour in the sour cream filling, then sprinkle over the topping. Bake for 70-80 minutes or until the pastry and topping are deep golden and the filling is set. Cool, then serve warm or at room temperature.