Week 7: (Eda's) apple pie

Two weeks ago, we made an apple-passion fruit pie. This week, we're making a proper apple pie!

  

Hm. The plan was to have those things appear next to each other. Computer genius I am not. I'll try again next time.

This recipe is almost true to the GW versions, except for one thing: I used self-raising flour instead of plain flour. You can make a perfectly serviceable dough with plain flour, but in my opinion, not for apple pie. For tarts and such, yes, definitely. But not an apple pie. I also gave a list of optional extras in case you're feeling like a bit more fancy a pie. Try them all! Try a different apple pie each week. Hey, you only live once.

(Eda's) apple pie

Ingredients:

1 kilo firm apples

300 g self-raising flour

150 g witte basterdsuiker

200 g cold butter

2 tblsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For Eda's apple pie:

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl. Cut the butter into lumps and add to the bowl. With your fingertips, press the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add 1 tblsp cold water and knead to a dough. If more water is needed, add it, but be very careful not to make the dough too wet. If the dough becomes warm and sticky, place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before continuing. Butter a baking tin with a 24 cm diameter. Take 3/4 of the dough and roll this out on a lightly floured surface until it is large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the baking tin. Don't be tempted to roll it out larger for an easy fit, as it will make the dough too thin. Place the dough in the tin. If necessary, press the dough into the tin so that it comes up to the edges. Cut off any excess dough and combine this with the 1/4 left. Place the tin and the remaining dough in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Peel the apples, remove the cores and cut into slices. Toss the apples with the sugar and spices to coat evenly. Remove the baking tin from the fridge and toss the apples into the tin. Take the remaining dough and roll this out to form the lid. Place the lid on the pie, pressing the edges together. Make three cuts in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in the middle of the oven for 75 minutes. Leave to cool in the tin for an hour - I know it's hard, but it's necessary! Don't remove the pie from the tin too early. Enjoy!

 

Tips:

- Brush the top of the pie lightly with beaten egg (as was done in these pictures)

- Add a bit of grated lemon rind to the dough

- You can add all sorts of things to the apples: sultanas or raisins, mixed nuts, caramelized nuts, chopped dried apricot... Experiment!

- If you find the pie is a bit soggy, next time scatter the bottom of the crust with breadcrumbs before adding the apple