There's no where like home and there's nothing like the smell of apple-pie baking in the oven to make a place smell like home.

Not too long ago my grandfather started buying heaps and heaps of MacDonald's Apple Pie, and as much as I love them, I always wish they had more real apples inside. My grandfather grew out of the phase (fortunately) and now he's into buying bread. Trust me, that's a lot better than the earlier chicken rice phase...but that's another story for another day.

This is the first in a series of stories about home. To capture as much as I can about my family, my grandfather, and the best memories of people who mean the most to me before I lose them and it is too late...

INGREDIENTS for a pie that feeds 6 persons :)

For the filling
2 red apples
1 green apple
1 tbsp of sugar
just enough water to cover the apples
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
hint of ginger

For the Pastry
500g organic plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g icing sugar, sifted
250g good-quality cold butter, cut into small cubes
pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
2 large eggs, beaten
a splash of milk
flour, for dusting

1. Peel, core and roughly chop the apples into eigths. Place in a saucepan with just a little water (or white wine if you can afford it) and cook over moderate heat for 20 minutes or until soft. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and taste to check sweetness. I prefer it not too sweet. I also experimented with a little ginger, and it really brought out the warmth of the pudding. Cook till the apples are softened and the liquid is thick and syrupy. Allow to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.

3. Sieve the flour from a height on to a clean work surface and sieve the icing sugar over the top. I hate sieving, but this time it really helps. Using your hands, work the cubes of butter into the flour and sugar by rubbing your thumbs against your fingers until you end up with a fine, crumbly mixture. This is the point where you can spike the mixture with interesting flavours, so mix in your lemon zest or cinnamon or nutmeg. I chose cinnamon and nutmeg to echo the flavour in the apple pie.

4. Add the eggs and milk to the mixture and gently bring it together till you have a ball of dough. Flour it lightly. Don’t work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short. Flour your work surface and place the dough on top. Pat it into a flat round, flour it lightly, wrap it in clingfilm and put it into the fridge to rest for at least half an hour.

5. Roll pastry out to 3mm thick (I used a pestle and covered the pastry with clingfilm as i didn't have a rolling pin) and drape this over your pie dish (I had to use a tray as I didn't have a pie dish). Place on lightly greased baking tray and score an inner circle 1½cm from the pastry edge to prevent rising.

6. Spread the Apple Pie filling over the inner circle of the base and cover with a thin layer of the same pastry used for the crust. Crimp the eedges with a fork and create "vents" by pricking the surface of the pie lightly so the steam from the apples (created when in the oven) can escape. Beat the egg with 1 tbsp water and brush the pastry edge with the egg wash, then bake for 20 minutes.

7. Remove tart from oven and leave to cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Sumptuous goodness that's actually quite a healthy dessert.