If you ask me, apple pie’s one of those things that everyone loves but rarely attempts in the kitchen. And why would you? With apple pies at the ready at McDonalds or in the freezer section of the supermarket, usually it’s not even worth putting in the effort! Nevertheless, I’m one of those crazy people that like a challenge so I attempted making one recently. Unfortunately I ended up with a dreaded soggy bottom, but hey! It was still a pretty good effort for my first ever pie. The possibilities are endless now that I’ve got a basic pie dough recipe sorted, just beware of the amount of butter required…
Buttercrust pie dough recipe (adapted from Food Wishes):
| 2 cups flour
½ cup unsalted butter (4 oz.)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp ice water
|
1. Make sure your butter is cold by putting it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt, then cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (alternatively, you could also do this with a food processor). Add water and mix in with the dough, or continue to process in the food processor until the crumbs are fine. 2. Place your crumbs on a floured surface, then gently knead and bring them together to form a ball. Halve your dough, wrap each piece in cling wrap and refrigerate for four hours or overnight. 3. Roll each piece of dough to fit your pie tin. Place one piece of crust on your pie tin, then press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Leave in the fridge to cool. |
While you wait for your piecrust to cool in the fridge, here comes the dull part – peeling and cutting the apples. I decided to slice mine into relatively thin pieces, but if you’d prefer chunky pieces do that! I also chose Granny Smith apples, but if you’d prefer a little more sweetness you could use a mixture of different types.
Apple pie recipe (adapted from All Recipes):
| 5-8 peeled and sliced apples ¾ cup white sugar 2 tbsp all-purpose flour ¾ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp salt Pinch of ground nutmeg 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp butter 1 egg Raw sugar |
1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fanforced). 2. Add your sliced apples to a large bowl and toss with the rest of the ingredients, except the butter and raw sugar. Leave for 15 minutes or until the juices run. 3. Using your hands, take out the apples and arrange in your pie tin. Cut the butter into cubes and arrange on top of the filling. 4. You could attempt a fancy weave or do a normal crust, but just make sure you poke holes to let some of the heat escape (and crimp the edges)! If you really want to get fancy, you could even attempt an apple crumble topping with oats and the like. 5. Whisk the egg and use it to brush the outside of your crust. Sprinkle with raw sugar and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown. |
From experience, don’t be tempted to dump the apples and all their juices in the pie, since the base will end up too wet! If you’re so inclined, you could reduce the extra liquid to a sauce and serve it with the finished pie.
The pie was falling apart by this stage, but you get the idea! Naturally we served it with vanilla ice cream, but I think custard would be really good too. I’ve currently got a pack of Granny Smith apples at the ready to make more, but I’m thinking of doing mini hand pies next time. A higher crust to filling ratio can only be a good thing, right? Anyway, let me know about any apple pie variations that you know about! To say I’m obsessed now would be an understatement…
