Home Made Apple Pie

Post by Alison

I love to bake and I caught onto this recipe for apple pies due to the pastry being the best and the recipe being a lot easier to use. So lets have a go...

Serves 8

What do I need?

For the apple filling:

• 1kg (about 5 large) Granny Smith apples
• 74g (1/3 cup) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) water

For the pastry:

• 150g cold butter, roughly chopped
• 56g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
• 165g (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour
• 85g (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) self-raising flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

How is it done?

1. Peel  the apples, then chop apples into quarters and remove the cores. Then chop apple into bite-sized chunks.
2. Place chopped apple, 74g sugar and water in a large saucepan. Cover saucepan and place over high heat. When the water in the mixture reaches a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir mixture every five minutes or so during the cooking time. The apple should take about 15 minutes to cook. Remove saucepan from heat when the apple has lost its crunch and is just tender when pierced with a knife.
3. Set the filling aside to cool to room temperature.
4. Place butter, 56g caster sugar and flours in a food processor. Process ingredients on medium speed until the mixture resembles fine fresh breadcrumbs (about 25 seconds).
5. Add the egg and process until the egg is incorporated and the mixture clumps together (about 20 seconds).
6. Remove pastry from processor and divide it into two pieces, making one slightly larger than the other. Shape each piece of pastry into a disc.
7. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Place oven shelf in the lowest shelf position in the oven (this is not necessary if you are using a fan-forced oven).
8. Place the larger piece of pastry between two sheets of baking paper and roll pastry out to form a 25cm diameter circle (pastry should be about 5mm thick). Remove the top sheet of baking paper. Lift the pastry, still on the baking paper, and invert it into the pie dish. Peel the baking paper away from the pastry and ease the pastry into the dish. Gently press the pastry into the dish, trying not to stretch the pastry. We do not extend the pastry onto the lip of the pie dish as we found that this part of the crust tended to break off when the pie was cut.
9. Roll out remaining pastry between two sheets of baking paper to form a 24cm diameter circle.
10. Spoon apple filling into the pastry case and smooth the surface of the filling with the back of a spoon.
11. Cover filling with pastry lid and press edges of pastry base and lid together. Using a sharp knife, trim edges of pastry and cut a 3cm slit in the centre of the lid.
12. Bake pie for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced), then reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced) and cook for a further 18 to 22 minutes, or until pastry is golden.
13. Remove pie from oven and set aside for 15 minutes to allow the pie to cool slightly, making it easier to slice and serve neatly.

Tips and Tricks: Add a cinnamon stick and vanilla pod to the apple filling for that little bit extra flavour. Serve warm or cold with ice cream, custard and/or whipped cream.