Vanilla custard
John Torode's simple vanilla custard is a must-have indulgent addition to any pudding
Patchwork orchard pie
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 8
Skip to ingredients
- 1 ½kg mix of quincecooking apples and pears (we used 5 Bramley apples, 2 Conference pears and 2 quinces), peeled, cored and sliced
- 25g butter
- 1 vanilla podsplit lengthways, seeds scraped out
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- juice 1 lemon
- 100g golden caster sugarplus extra for sprinkling
- 1 tbsp plain flourplus extra for dusting
- 375g pack sweet shortcrust pastry
- 1 eggbeaten
- custardto serve (optional)
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal384
- fat17g
- saturates6g
- carbs54g
- sugars32g
- fibre5g
- protein4g
- salt0.6glow
Method
step 1
Put the quinces in a large saucepan with the butter, vanilla pod and seeds, cinnamon and 2 tbsp water. Cover and cook for 5 mins over a medium heat. Add the apples, lemon juice and sugar, cover again and cook for a further 10 mins.
step 2
Add the pears and flour, and cook, uncovered, for 5 mins more stirring occasionally to stop the flour from sticking. The fruit should now be soft, but still holding its shape.
step 3
Remove the vanilla pod and transfer the fruit to a deep 22cm pie dish. Leave to cool. The fruit can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
step 4
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Trim the edges, then cut into rough triangles or squares. Brush a little egg around the edge of the dish and all over the pastry pieces. Starting from the outside, layer the pastry in a patchwork style, leaving a few little gaps for the fruit to poke through. Trim any overhanging edges and sprinkle liberally with caster sugar. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. Serve warm with custard, if you like.
