Two-apple pizza with walnuts

Ingredients to serve 8

2 cooking apples, weighing about 450g in total
zest of half a lemon, finely grated
quarter teaspoon ground cinnamon
sugar to taste
a knob of butter
4-5 small dessert apples, weighing about 400g
lemon juice
walnut oil or rapeseed oil for brushing
shelled 'wet' walnuts 25g, halved

For the dough

225g unbleached strong white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon easy-blend dried yeast
1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
125-150ml tepid water

There is no reason why a pizza cannot be sweet. The principles are the same as for a savoury one: very high heat and a light topping that allows the base to cook through and become crisp.

A perforated pizza pan allows heat to get to the pizza base and make it crisper. If you don't have one, use a baking sheet instead and cook for a few minutes longer.

First make the dough: sift the flour and salt into a warmed bowl and add the yeast. Make a well in the centre and stir in the rapeseed oil and water. Keep stirring, gradually drawing in the flour from around the edge. Once you have a soft cohesive dough, knead for at least 10 minutes until it feels silky and springy. Place in an oiled bowl, turning once so the surface is coated. Cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for one to two hours until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 240C. Quarter, core and peel the cooking apples. Roughly chop and put in a small saucepan with the lemon zest and a splash of water. Cover and simmer over low heat for seven minutes, shaking the pan to prevent sticking, until the apples have disintegrated to a purée. Stir in the cinnamon, sugar and butter, and whisk until smooth.

Quarter, core and peel the dessert apples, then slice each piece lengthways into very thin segments, sprinkling with lemon juice as you prepare them.

Roll out the dough to a 30cm circle and place on a perforated pizza pan. Pinch up the edges to make a raised rim and lightly brush with walnut oil. Spread the apple purée thinly over the base. Arrange the segments on top in concentric circles. Brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes until the apple segments begin to blacken at the edges. Scatter the walnuts over the top and bake for two minutes more. Sprinkle with a little more sugar and serve right away.

From 'The Farm Shop Cookbook' by Christine McFadden (Absolute Press £20).