Spiced Apple Cake with Thick Vanilla Custard

For the pastry… cream the butter, sugar and the salt together in a mixing machine fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the egg and mix well before incorporating the sieved flour and spices. Wrap the pastry and leave to rest for about 20 minutes in the fridge before using.

For the apple compote… peel the apples and cut them into quarters and remove the core. Cut each quarter into four pieces and place them along with the scraped vanilla seeds, lemon juice, zest and sugar into a large microwave dish with a lid that allows the steam to escape. Close the lid tight and cook on high in the microwave for 20 - 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes throughout the process to ensure even cooking. The apples are ready when they are soft but whole; leave them to cool completely before attempting the assembly of the cake.

To assemble the cake… lightly grease the tin and take about two thirds of the pastry and knead on a work surface. Roll the pastry and line the tin; the pastry is very fragile but forgiving. You can roll it onto baking parchment and chill before pressing into the tin with your fingers. Don’t worry if there are holes or you think you are making a mess just use your fingers to push in the pastry. Line the pastry up to the sides of the tin and then add the cooled apple filling. Pack the apple in nice and tight. Roll the remaining pastry and lid the pie, press the edges together with your fingers and cut out apple shapes from the remaining pastry to decorate the top of the pie as shown.

To bake the cake… pre heat the oven to 170° Mix a splash of milk with an egg yolk and lightly brush this onto the surface of the cake. Sprinkle with golden caster sugar. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes turning halfway through cooking. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing from the tin, serve immediately with thick custard or pouring cream.

For the custard… Combine the cream, milk, scraped vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Remove from the heat and remove the vanilla pod. Mix the sugar, cornflour and yolks together well with a whisk until the mixture pales and thickens. Pour one third of the hot milk/cream onto the yolk/sugar mixture and mix well with a whisk. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Place the pan back onto a low to medium heat and whisk stir constantly while cooking the custard until it starts to boil and bubble. Cook at this temperature for a further 20 seconds stirring the entire time. Serve immediately or transfer the custard into a bowl set over ice and stir regularly to cool quickly before storing the custard in the fridge until needed.