British Apple Pie
Double-crust shortcrust pie filled with cinnamon-spiced apples. The American/British family standby; equally at home for a Sunday lunch as a Boxing Day pudding. The apples should be a mix of cooking and eating types so some break down and some hold their shape.
Overview
Buttery shortcrust rests then rolls; one disc lines a pie dish, fills with sliced spiced apples, the second disc tops it. Egg-washed, sugared, vented, baked golden. The juices thicken with cornflour as they cook so the bottom doesn't go soggy.
Ingredients
Pastry
- 350 g plain flour
- 175 g cold unsalted butter (cubed)
- 75 g caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk (large)
- 3-4 tablespoons ice-cold water
- ½ teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 kg apples (a mix: 600 g Bramley + 400 g Cox or Braeburn)
- 100 g caster sugar
- 50 g soft light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ lemon (juice)
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 25 g unsalted butter (cubed, for dotting)
To finish
- 1 egg (beaten with 1 tablespoon milk)
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar (for sprinkling)
To serve
- Vanilla ice cream, double cream, or custard
Method
Stage 1 - Pastry
- Pulse the flour, salt, butter and sugar in a food processor until breadcrumb-textured.
- Add the egg yolk and water; pulse until just coming together.
- Tip out, divide into 2 discs (one slightly larger), wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Stage 2 - Filling
- Peel, core and slice the apples about 5 mm thick.
- Toss with both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornflour.
Stage 3 - Assemble
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
- Roll the larger disc to a 30 cm circle, 4 mm thick. Line a 23 cm pie dish; let the edges hang over.
- Pile in the apple mixture; dot with butter cubes.
- Roll the second disc to fit; lay on top.
- Trim the overhang to 1 cm; pinch and crimp to seal.
- Cut a small steam hole in the centre and a few decorative slashes.
Stage 4 - Bake
- Brush all over with egg wash; sprinkle with caster sugar.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 200°C, then drop to 180°C (160°C fan) and bake another 30-35 minutes until deep golden and the filling bubbles through the steam hole.
- If the edges brown too quickly, cover with foil strips.
Stage 5 - Rest and serve
- Cool at least 30 minutes (cutting too soon gives a runny filling).
- Serve warm with ice cream, cream or custard.
Notes
- Mix of apples: Bramley breaks down into a sauce; Cox or Braeburn keeps shape. The contrast is what makes the filling.
- Cornflour thickens the juices: Without it the bottom crust is soaked. 2 tablespoons is the right dose for 1 kg of apples.
- Don't skip the rest: Cutting hot apple pie gives a runny mess. 30 minutes lets the filling set.
Storage
- Keeps 3 days at room temperature, longer refrigerated.
- Reheats well at 160°C for 15 minutes.
- Freezes 2 months baked or unbaked.
More like this
Hot Cross Buns
A yeasted dough enriched with milk, butter, an egg and a little sugar, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice, scented with orange and lemon zest. Currants and chopped mixed peel folded in. Two rises (one in the bowl, one on the tray as 12 close-packed buns), a cross piped on with a flour-and-water paste, baked to deep gold, brushed with warm sugar glaze straight from the oven. Eaten warm or split and toasted.
Lemon Cake
Moist and fragrant lemon cakes with a tender crumb, brushed with rum syrup and topped with a shimmering lemon icing glaze. These elegant loaves showcase brightness and simplicity, making them perfect for elegant entertaining or afternoon tea service, best sliced thin and served with fresh tea.
Simnel Cake
A relatively light fruit cake (less dense than Christmas cake) flavoured with mixed peel, currants, sultanas, glace cherries and a generous spoon of mixed spice. Half the batter goes into the lined tin, then a disc of rolled marzipan, then the rest of the batter. Baked low and slow so the marzipan layer melts slightly and the cake bakes through evenly. Once cool, the top is brushed with warm apricot jam, a second marzipan disc is laid on, and eleven small balls of marzipan are arranged around the rim. The top is flashed under a hot grill to colour the marzipan amber.
Treacle Tart
Sweet shortcrust pastry: plain flour rubs with cold butter to breadcrumb texture; icing sugar adds sweetness; an egg yolk binds with a splash of water. Rests in the fridge 1 hour. The pastry is rolled, lined into a 22 cm fluted tart tin, pricked, chilled again, and blind-baked with baking beans for 15 min, then 5 more min uncovered. Filling: warm golden syrup, lemon zest and juice, fresh breadcrumbs from a day-old loaf, a beaten egg and a small pinch of ginger / cinnamon. Stirred together; poured into the blind-baked case. Baked at 180°C 25-30 min until set with a slight wobble. Cooled to warm; served with cold clotted cream.