For the last course in my 3-part Easter collaboration with Poetry stores, I am featuring a recipe for “Good Old-fashioned Apple pie” from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible.
Annie Bell is an award winning and respected food writer, and every recipe in her book is triple-tested.
Apple pie is such a classic favourite and suitable for almost any occasion. There are literally thousands of recipes out there to choose from, but this recipe really is just what it claims to be: good and old-fashioned. The flavours are simple, yet perfectly balanced. With very little sugar added, the apples retain their tart flavours. And with a dollop of clotted cream, I felt like I was sitting on someone’s grandmother’s porch, delighting in the comfort of my old-fashioned pie.
It was quite interesting to find that Annie doesn’t add any spices to her pie – no cinnamon, no cloves, no nutmeg. BUT, hang in there, there’s a good 2 tablespoons of rum in there (left to soak into the raising) which adds fabulous flavour.
Ingredients for pastry:
- 450 g flour
- 250 g cold butter, cut into cubes
- 100 g icing sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- some cold water
Ingredients for filling:
- 50 g raisins
- 30 ml dark rum
- 600 g cooking apples (like Granny Smith or Bramley) – skinned, cored and thickly sliced
- 300 g eating apples (like Pink Lady) – skinned, cored and thickly sliced
- 100 g golden caster sugar (I used light brown sugar)
- 15 ml flour
Method:
- Place the flour and butter in a food processor, and pulse until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the icing sugar and give it another quick pulse, then add the egg yolk and process for a few seconds. Add a tablespoon of water to the mixture, then pulse until it just starts to come together. Add more water if needed, but not too much.
- Wrap the pastry in clingfilm, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.
- Place the raisins and dark rum in a small bowl, then microwave for 30 seconds. Let it stand to soak. (Annie prefers to soak the raisins overnight without adding any heat, I just use a microwave to speed up the process.)
- In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar and flour, then add the soaked raisins and brandy. Mix well.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge, then roll out 2/3 of it on a lightly floured surface. Use the rolled out pastry to line a greased baking tin/dish of about 30 cm (oval) or 25 cm (round). The edges should hang over the sides of the tin.
- Tip the filling mixture into the pastry base, then spread it out evenly.
- Paint the edges of the pastry with milk (where it would meet the top layer). Now roll out the remaining 1/3 of the pastry, and use it to cover the top. Now trim the excess pastry, and use a fork to lightly press the 2 layers together.
- Brush all over with milk, then dust with sugar.
- Bake for 45 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven, then let it stand for 10 minutes before serving hot with whipped or clotted cream.
Credits:
Recipe from: Annie Bell’s Baking Bible (available from Poetry stores)
Photography: Tasha Seccombe
All homeware: Poetry stores (ranging from R159-399)
