Apple Pie

Name: Apple Pie
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 bramley apples, washed; 50 g butter, plus extra to grease and dot; 1-2 tsp cinnamon; 4 cloves, optional; 100 g demerara sugar; 100-150 g caster sugar; 3 eating apples; nutmeg; 1 tbsp flour, ground rice or semolina; 1 tbsp demerara or granulated sugar; milk, for brushing; For the pastry; 400 g plain flour, or 350g plain and 50g spelt wholemeal; 200 g cold butter, grated; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 1 egg, beaten; 1 lemon

Joanne @JoanneinBath

Bath, UK

You can't get more American than apple pie, but maybe that's because so many of the original immigrant groups bought their own national version to their new home. Certainly apple pies were being baked in Britain in medieval times, and perhaps as far back as the Saxons. This recipe comes from Felicity Cloake who writes a brilliant long running article in The Guardian newspaper, cooking a selection of tried and trusted popular recipes in search of perfect results so that you don't have to. This is the culmination of her search for the perfect apple pie, and it is very good indeed. I changed her suggestion of sprinkling flour and sugar in the pastry case before adding the apples to ground rice or semolina and sugar, and it works brilliantly, the bottom crust is just as crisp as the top. The mix of buttery cooked bramley apples with chunks of eating apple gives a lovely mixture of texture and flavours.

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Ingredients

4bramley apples, washed
50 gbutter, plus extra to grease and dot
1-2 tspcinnamon
4cloves, optional
100 gdemerara sugar
100-150 gcaster sugar
3eating apples
nutmeg
1 tbspflour, ground rice or semolina
1 tbspdemerara or granulated sugar
milk, for brushing
For the pastry
400 gplain flour, or 350g plain and 50g spelt wholemeal
200 gcold butter, grated
1 tbspcaster sugar
1egg, beaten
1lemon

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Steps

1

First make the pastry. Mix the flours and grate in the cold butter, then mix to fine breadcrumbs with your fingers.
2

Stir in the sugar and the zest of the lemon,then mix to a dough with the beaten egg, plus a little water if needed. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3

Peel the bramley apples and cut into chunks. Place the peel and cores in a small pan.
4

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the cinnamon, cloves if using and demerara sugar and then stir in the apple chunks. Cook uncovered on a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until just starting to break up. Set aside to cool.
5

At the same time cover the pan of peel and cores with cold water, bring to the boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. This is a slightly odd thing to do (create 'apple stock'), and I've never heard of it before but Felicity says it makes a difference so I went with it. Measure out 60ml and discard the rest. Butter a pie dish. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
6

Peel the eating apples and slice into small chunks. Add these to the cooked bramley apples together with 50ml apple stock, 100g caster sugar, a grating of nutmeg, and, Felicity suggests, the juice of half a lemon, but I missed this out. Taste, and add more sugar if you need to.
7

Roll out two thirds of the pastry and use it to line the base of the pie dish. Sprinkle ground rice or semolina (or flour) in the base and then sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar in there too.
8

Pile the cooled apple mixture into the pie crust. Dot with a little butter, dampen the edge of the pastry with milk and then cover with the pastry lid. Press down all round the edge and crimp the edge with your thumb and the blunt edge of a knife. Brush the top with the milk.
9

Bake in the oven for around 30-45 minutes until golden. When you take it out sprinkle with sugar straight away. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving, so the insides firm up a little. Serve in big slices with cream.

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Joanne @JoanneinBath

on May 15, 2016 22:13

Bath, UK

I enjoy cooking mostly because I like eating, but also because it's a great way to relax at the end of the day. I work in book publishing and especially enjoy creating cookbooks written by cooks who love cooking and sharing food rather than creating show stopping dishes that take days to put together. As Nigel Slater would say; 'we are, after all, simply making ourselves something to eat'. I live with my lovely daughter Isobel who rarely pays any kind of compliment but will occasionally admit something I've cooked was quite nice, and our dog Piper, who will eat anything.