rustic apple pie
This is that classic ‘cool it on the windowsill’ apple pie. The criss-crossed topped apple pie of your childhood memories. The ‘just another bite’ type of apple pie. The apple pie that you see in the cartoons, emitting a puff of steam that the protagonist can’t help but be tempted by.
Equal parts sweet, spice and sour, the filling turns into a gooey mess of rich autumnal heaven, and the crust keeps it all together and adds a little crunch. The scent it creates whilst cooking is enough to make put a smile on anyones face, in anticipation of what is soon to come.
Top it with a ball of good vanilla ice cream or a healthy glug of thick double cream and you can’t go wrong.
for the filling
6 large cooking apples
150g brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp grated nutmeg
1 vanilla pod
juice of half a lemon
for the dough
300g plain flour
0.5 tsp salt
280g cold butter
100ml iced water
method
Start by mixing together the flour and salt.
Next, chop the butter into cubes and mix it in with the flour until it starts to clump together.
Add 50ml of the iced water (it’s important that the water is very cold so that it keeps the butter from melting) and mix it in. Add more water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough all comes together. You shouldn’t need al the water you prepared, just add what you need for your dough. It should end up being moist, but not wet. You want it to still hold together if you pinch it.
Lightly flour a surface and tip the dough onto it. Cut about a third of the dough away for the top, with the other two-thirds being for the base. Flatten both portions into discs, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Once chilled, place the base on a floured surface and roll out into a 12” disc. Place this into a 9” pie dish, with the remainder folded over the edges. You can cut away big pieces, but don’t worry about perfection. This is a rustic pie, after all.
Prick the dough all over with a fork and place back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Whilst this is chilling, preheat your oven to 200c.
Remove the base from the fridge, line with baking paper and fill with baking beans (or whatever weights you have that are similar). Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the weights and paper and bake for another 5 minutes. It should end up being a lovely golden brown. Take it out and let it cool slightly.
Whilst the base is cooling, peel and core your apples. Slice them up into pieces between 0.5-1 cm thick. I like to roughly cut the pieces so some completely cook down, and others retain a bit of shape and bite.
Mix the chopped apples with the rest of the filling ingredients until the are completely covered, then scoop the mix into your pie base. Press it in so it fills all the little gaps and is as tightly packed as it can be.
Roll out the remaining third of your dough to around 10” in diameter (the size of your dish, plus a little buffer). You can put this on in one piece, or slice it into strips and make a lattice top. Completely up to you.
Brush the top with a little of your double cream and sprinkle with a little more brown sugar and cinnamon.
Bake at 200c for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170c and bake for an hour more. The middle should be juicy and bubbly, with the pie crust being a rich golden brown. If it isn’t quite there, you can leave it in for another 15 minutes, no worries.
Let the pie cool on a wire rack (or, on the windowsill if you want the full experience) until it’s at an edible temperature. Shouldn’t be any longer than 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve with double cream, ice cream or whatever else you fancy.
