Preheat the oven to 170c fan bake and arrange the tray just below the centre of the oven.

Grease a pie or baking dish – mine was about 25-30cm.

Peel, core and slice the apples (they don’t need to be too thin), and set aside.

Add the custard powder to a mug with 3 tbsp water. Stir with a fork until smooth.

Place your largest saucepan over a medium-low heat and add the butter, sugars, golden syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice.

Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until melted and thickened.

Add the apples, stir to combine, cover with a lid and cook gently, stirring once or twice, for a few minutes until simmering.

Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes until the fruit is just starting to go soft, stirring every now and then.

Cool for 15 minutes, or until ready to use.

If you refrigerate it for later, bring it up to room temperature before baking in the pie.

Stir the custard powder mixture again and mix through the apples evenly.

Line the bottom of your pie dish so pastry comes goes over the edges of the dish by about 2cm.

If your pastry isn’t big enough, you can use a little water to moisten the edges of two pieces of pastry, and press together firmly.

Scrape in the apple mixture and even it out.

Cut out a pastry lid that will fit to the edges of the dish.

Brush a little water around the edges of the bottom layer of pastry where it will join up with the lid, then place the lid on top.

You can either press straight down to seal if your dish has a flat edge, or fold the bottom layer of pastry up and over the lid, and press firmly with fingertips (or a fork) all around the inside edge to seal it.

Whisk the egg and cream in a small bowl until combined.

Brush all over the pastry top with the beaten egg mixture.

If you like, you can let it sit for a couple of minutes and brush on another layer of egg for the ultimate dark golden brown top.

Use a small sharp knife to pierce a few clear steam holes in the top.

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes until the pastry is dark golden brown and crispy.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving with your choice of ice cream, cream (whipped or liquid) or custard.