Makes 16

(Recipe taken from the 1973 edition of Readers’ Digest ‘The Cookery Year’)

• 1lb/450g cooking apples
• 2 tablespoon of soft brown sugar
• 8oz/225g plain flour
• 2 level teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 1 level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 40z/115g unsalted butter
• 4oz/115g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• Caster sugar for dusting

Peel and core the cooking apples and place in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of soft brown sugar. Cook over a low heat until you have a smooth purée and leave to cool.

Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 6/400ºF/200ºC.

Grease your ‘patty tins’ – that’s a shallow bun tin – with melted butter.

Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Cut the butter into pieces and rub into the flour until you have something approaching fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the sugar.

Using a blunt knife, mix in the beaten egg to form a soft dough. Knead lightly and roll out on a floured surface to an eighth of an inch (there is no symbol for that!)/3mm. Cut out 32 2½”/7cm circles.

Lift the bases into the greased tins and add a generous teaspoon of the apple purée. Place the remaining 16 circles on top. It’s self sealing so you have to do nothing but lay them over the purée-filled bases.

Sprinkle with caster sugar and bake for 15 minutes. (Aga – Roasting Oven – fourth set of runners for a reduced 10 minutes.)

Leave to cool briefly before, using a palette knife, removing to a wire rack. Serve on the day you bake.

Eat.