I knocked this apple & pear pie together mid-week as I went a bit crazy in the fruit department and bought way too many apples and pears. I marinaded the sliced fruit (more apples than pears) in lemon juice, sugar, brandy, cinnamon and nutmeg and used a store bought shortcrust pastry. Easy peasy.

I'm still on the fence with the ol' store bought pastry. A few of the TV chefs use it in their recipes and it is time-saving but I don't think pastry is particularly difficult to make if you have the time. It never seems to be as tasty or buttery as homemade and can be a bit anemic depending on the brand but it's a good sacrifice if you want a pie on the quick. I don't think my other half agrees with this apparent culinary sin and shouted "Delia!" down the supermarket aisle as he saw me putting it into the shopping basket! You can't please them all...

But baking doesn't necessarily have to be a weekend activity with a few corners cut like this but I would have to be seriously short on time (or sanity) before I used tinned mince in anything! Delia indeed.