Serves 8

Frushie is an old Scots word for crumbly or brittle and refers to the pastry in this recipe. Apple frushie is essentially an apple tart that is a popular pudding in the west of Scotland. I’ve added sultanas soaked in whisky to the apple filling, so, together with the whisky-laced cream, this may get you dancing a reel come the end of the meal.

85g sultanas
6 tbsp whisky
500g russet or Cox’s apples
600g cooking apples
Few knobs of butter
75g golden caster sugar
700g shortcrust pastry
2 tbsp milk
200ml whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust

1 Put the sultanas in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of the whisky and leave to soak overnight. The next day, prepare the apples. Keeping the two varieties separate, peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut the quarters into big chunks.

2 Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based sauté pan. When it starts to foam, tip in the russets (or Cox’s) and cook over a high heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the cooking apples and sugar and cook together for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring throughout, until the apples are lightly golden and beginning to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and drain the apples through a colander set over a bowl to catch the juices. If these are watery, pour them back into the pan and cook until thick and syrupy. Leave to cool.

3 Line a deep, rimmed 24cm pie or flan dish with half of the pastry, leaving the excess to hang over the rim. Chill for 20 minutes until firm. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Line the pastry case with kitchen foil and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then remove the foil and beans and continue to bake for 5-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Cut away the excess pastry.

4 Mix the apples, syrupy juices and soaked sultanas together and fill the pastry case with the mixture. Roll out two-thirds of the remaining pastry thinly to form a rectangle and cut into 1cm-wide strips. Wet the rim of the pastry case with a little milk, then lay the strips over the filling to create a lattice, trimming the ends.

5 Roll out the remaining pastry thinly to form another rectangle. Cut it into a band slightly wider than the edge of the pie dish. Brush the edge of the pastry case with a little milk, then press this band on top to cover the ends of the lattice strips. Cut away the surplus and crimp the edges to seal. Brush the lattice with a little more milk, then bake for 20-25 minutes.

6 While the pie is baking, whisk the cream with the icing sugar. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of whisky and continue to whisk until you have soft peaks. Remove the pie from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Dust liberally with icing sugar, then cut into slices and serve with a dollop of the whisky cream.

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