My easy apple pie, I bake at least one a week for most of the year and over time I have perfected my recipe. The crust is a no fail and can be prepped in 5 minutes, the filling is sugar free and you can keep it simple or spice it up, either way, it’s sure to be a recipe you can depend on when you get that apple pie craving.
She’s exactly what she seems, simple, rustic, reliable.
I baked this one today and forgot to add the egg yolk to the crust, but it was still so good!
For me, baking is relaxing. My ultimate afternoon when the little ones are napping is to be in my kitchen, sipping tea and watching a BBC classic while I bake and prep dinner. It’s winter at the moment.
The season we all love to spend in the kitchen.
Most winter days I cook something slow over our wood fire, I prep the next days sourdough bread and if I have time, bake a dessert.
I hate recipes! they feel restricting and it makes cooking feel like a chore, I prefer to learn skills and create textures and flavours of my own.
The crust
It doesn’t get overly technical with apple pie if you have a good crust recipe, and this easy pie crust is a beaut.
One tip I do have though, is you want cold butter, straight from the fridge.
Once you are working with it, work fast, you don’t want that butter melting into one sludgy mess. It will turn your pastry from flaky and melt in your mouth, into tough and brittle.
As soon as your crust has just come together, (Don’t knead!) wrap it and put in the fridge until the butter is back to being hard cold so you can roll it out and still see butter flecks.
If you have shortening or lard, switch out 100 grams of the butter. So 100 of each. These fats, while not as tasty as butter have a higher melting point, and will give you an even flakier crust, it’s not crucial, if you have them, use them.
I rarely do in this easy apple pie recipe and it’s still flakey and gorgeous.
I don’t use fancy pie dishes, I just use a plain, shallow cake tin, I just find it bakes better.
The pie filling
You can add whatever takes your fancy, I sometimes add berries or sultanas, we mix up the spices, if its for guests I might add some nutmeg, clove and a splash of maple syrup, if it’s just the kids eating it I stick to cinnamon.
Easy apple pie. A no fail recipe.
Flaky crust, soft, apple filling with spices, covered in melt in your mouth pastry. Serve with my favourite whipped cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain flour
- 200 grams of butter or 100 each of butter and shorteningย
- pinch of saltย
- egg yolkย
- 5 tablespoons ice waterย
- For the apple filling
- 800 grams of cooked apples.ย
- two tblsp flour
- 1 generous tsp of cinnamonย
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg optionalย
- pinch of clove optionalย
- sultanas or raisins, half a cup, optionalย
- 2 tblsp maple syrup optionalย
- egg yolk and dash of cream for egg wash.ย
Instructions
- In a large bowl add cold cubed butter to the flour
- add pinch of salt
- rub into chunks, as big as chickpeas, not breadcrumb size.
- add egg yolk.
- add the ice water.
- mix, and with your hands bring together until a ball forms. Do not knead, as soon as flour is incorporated, stop working it.
- wrap and refrigerate until butter is cold again about 20 minutes.
- add apples and desired spices and flour into a bowl and combine.
- when pastry is cold, cut away a third for the lid and set aside.
- flour your work surface and working quickly roll our your dough until roughly 30 by 30 cm.
- Using a shallow round dish or a small pie dish, drape your dough and press in to the dish, fill with your apple filling.
- roll out the top to just fit, flour the side on the bench but not the top, when you place onto the pie, flip over so the un-floured top is facing down, to get a good seal on the pastry.
- using your finger just press down all the way around the seam, and brush with your whisked yolk and cream.
- cut small slits in the centre.
- bake at 170 celsius for 40 minutes.
Happy baking darling!
Ciao!
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