I have no idea why it is called New Zealand Pie. Every autumn it was a firm family favorite when we were kids and my sister found the recipe in my mother’s cookery folder.
My version is only slightly modified and runs as follows:
Ingredients
- 60g unsalted butter, soft
- 120g sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 quite large cooking apples
- juice and zest of a small lemon
- pinch salt
- 30g flaked almonds
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and beat to combine to a batter.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into a second bowl and finely grate in the zest. Add a pinch of salt.
- Coarsly grate the apples into the lemon juice, turning it into the lemon now and again to prevent the apple from going brown. When done, stir the lemon throughly into the grated apple and then, by hand, lightly squeeze out the liquid and put the apple into the batter, mixing it in as you go. Discard the remaing liquid.
- Pour the apple mixture into a shallow sweet pastry crust, cover the surface with flaked almonds and bake for 35-45 minutes.
Delicious warm or cold with creme fraiche.
Mother’s notes add the following: “Original recipe says cover the pasrty base with jam before adding the apple mixture. I never did though Gran did. Sometimes I sprinkled flaked almonds over the apple mixture before baking”
Sprucing the Goose 