Golden and flaky, this pie is a masterclass in baking
Let this master baker teach you how to make the perfect pie, from the pastry up.
This pastry is very forgiving, so don’t worry if it cracks as you’re lining the base, just use your fingertips to press it back together. Fill the pastry base with the cooled apples and flatten them down evenly.
See too my apricot tart recipe, shared from the heart.
Nadine Ingram’s apple pie
Ingredients
- Pastry
- 170g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 55g demerara sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 90g caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 egg, plus 1 extra beaten
- egg for glazing
- 1 egg yolk
- 210g rosella flour, or plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 60g almond meal
- ½ orange, zested
- ½ lemon, zested
- 1 teaspoon milk, for glazing
Apple filling
- 5 large Granny Smith apples,
- peeled and cored
- 100g unsalted butter
- 70g crème fraîche
- 35g dark brown sugar
To serve
Vanilla ice-cream or cream
Method
To make the pastry (this recipe fits a 20cm pie tin)
- Place the butter, demerara sugar, caster sugar and vanilla paste in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium speed. It is important not to over-aerate the butter too much, as this will make the pastry crumbly and unworkable.
- Beat the egg and additional yolk together in a bowl, then a little at a time add this mixture to the butter, incorporating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl using a spatula. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and almond meal together in a large bowl, returning any coarse almonds or salt that become stuck in the sieve back into the mix. Add the dry ingredients and orange and lemon zests to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated, no longer. Remove the bowl from the machine and make a couple of folds by hand using a spatula to incorporate the pastry. Due to the high butter content in this pastry it will need to be rolled between two sheets of baking paper, and manoeuvred into the pie dish.
- Divide the pastry into two pieces; approximately two-thirds of the pastry will be used for the pie base and one-third for the pie top. Cut two large squares of baking paper and place each piece of pastry into the centre of each square. Top the pastry with another piece of baking paper and press to flatten the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry base out to a 25cm round that is 5mm thick. Then roll the pie top out to a 20cm round that is 5mm thick. Place both the top and base into the fridge to rest for 1 hour while you get on with making the pie filling.
To make the filling
- Cut the apples into approximately 1cm cubes. Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add half the apples and cook, stirring occasionally to stop them from colouring, for 10 to 15 minutes or until softened.
- Add the remaining butter and apples and cook for a further 15 minutes or until they are softened – thereby creating a couple of different textures as, by now, the first apples will be falling apart. Set the cooked apples aside and when cooled fold through the crème fraîche and brown sugar.
To assemble
- Prepare the pie dish by buttering the base and dusting it with flour, tapping out any surplus flour. Remove only the pastry base from the fridge and start by lining the bottom of the pie dish with the base. The pastry will be quite rigid at this point, so give it a moment to become more malleable so you can mould it into the base. To prepare, peel the top sheet of paper away then replace it temporarily, flip over the pastry and release the bottom piece of paper. Lift the pastry off the paper and align it over the centre of the pie dish. Tuck the edges neatly into the dish. If the pastry starts to tear, don’t worry, just use the warmth of your fingertips to mould it back together. Press out any pockets of air between the pastry and the pie dish and trim around the edge of the dish with a paring knife to remove any surplus pastry.
- This pastry is very forgiving, so don’t worry if it cracks as you’re lining the base, just use your fingertips to press it back together. Fill the pastry base with the cooled apples and flatten them down evenly. Remove the pie top from the fridge and release it from the baking paper as you did with the base. Align it over the centre of the pie and use your fingertips to seal the pie top to the base. Even though the edges will look quite rough at this point, now is a good time to refrigerate the pie so the pastry can set. This will take 15 minutes, during which time you can preheat the oven to 165C.
- After the pie has rested, remove it from the fridge and trim round the rim of the pie dish using a sharp paring knife. (If you try to do this before resting the pastry it may tear due to the sticky nature of the dough.) Use a fork to create a decorative edge around the pie and brush the top with the beaten egg mixed with the milk. Score the top by sweeping a fork over the surface to create concentric circles, then sprinkle the top with demerara sugar.
- Bake the pie for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before cutting. I love to serve this pie with vanilla ice-cream or thick pouring cream.
Serves 10-12