Vegan Apple Pie

- Peel and core the apples, then slice into ½ cm pieces. Add straight to a large saucepan and add the lemon juice and zest. Stir well to stop the apples from browning but be careful not to break them up.

- Add the sugars, flour, salt, spices and vanilla and stir gently again until coated. Place the pan over a low heat and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Once the apples are softened but still have a little bite, remove the pan from the heat and spread the apples (and their juices) out on a baking tray to cool. Leave to cool completely to room temperature while you make the super flaky pie crust.

- In a large bowl, combine the plain white flour, caster sugar and fine sea salt. Chop the vegan butter into cubes and add to the bowl. Use two knives or a pastry cutter to chop the butter into the flour mixture until there are no pieces of butter larger than a cooked chickpea.

- In a measuring jug, mix together the vodka and ice cold water. Drizzle the liquid into the large bowl, mixing everything together at the same time with a spatula. Once the dough reaches a texture where it can be squeezed together into a slightly crumbly ball, stop adding the liquid. Divide the dough in two, press into a rough, flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap then place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

- Once thoroughly chilled, unwrap one portion of the dough and transfer to a lightly floured counter. Dust the top with flour then roll out into a large, vertical rectangle, around 1/4-inch (5-mm) thick. Fold in half lengthways like a book then fold the bottom half upwards to the middle and repeat with the top half. Gently roll out again into a rough, thick square of dough, then wrap again and return to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Repeat with the second portion of dough.

- Preheat the oven to 220 °C and place a thick-bottomed baking sheet in the oven to preheat also.

- Once chilled, remove and unwrap one portion of dough again and transfer to a lightly floured counter. Roll out into a 12-inch (30-cm) circle of dough then drape over a 9-inch (23-cm) pie tin. Do not trim the excess pastry just yet. Roll out the second portion of dough into a roughly 9-inch (23-cm) circle to create the lid.

- Transfer the vegan apple pie filling to the prepared tin then drape the rolled out pie top over it. Crimp the edges however you’d like and slice 4 holes in the centre of the lid to allow steam to be released. Alternatively, slice the lid into strips and arrange in a lattice configuration on top. Brush with the soy milk then sprinkle with the demerara sugar all over.

- Place the pie in the oven on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 165 °C. Cover the edges of the pastry with a pie crust protector or a doubled over layer of tin foil then return to the oven to bake for 40 minutes more.

- Remove from the oven and allow the pie to cool to room temperature - this will take at least 2-3 hours, but is an essential step.

- Once cooled, slice and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.