This traditional dessert is an ideal winter warmer. A cinnamonspiced apple and sultana centre is enveloped with a buttery pastry, perfect served with a dash of cream!
Good Housekeeping'stop tips for perfectapple pie:
• Make sure that your butter is cold when it is added to your flour. If your butter is warm, it will begin to melt and the end result will be a heavy and greasy pastry
• Try and handle your pastry as little as possible. If your pastry is overworked, it will strengthen the gluten and your pie will become tough
• It's important to chill your pastry for the stated time in the recipe. This will firm up the butter once again, preventing a greasy finish. It also gives time for the gluten to relax
• If you preheat a baking sheet in the oven and then place the pie on the hot sheet in the oven to bake, it will help prevent the pastry from having a soggy bottom
• It's imperative to get as much moisture as possible out of your apples when they cook in the pan and make sure they are completely cool before adding them to your pie case. Both of these steps will help prevent a greasy and soggy bottom to your pie
Fruit swaps:
If you don't have any apples to hand, or simply aren't a fan of apples, then omit the apples in the recipe for pears, orpit, half and mix the following with the remaining butter and sugar in a bowl, and then spoon into the pastry case;
• plums
• or cherries
• or apricots
• or peaches
For a quicker, and no less delicious, apple recipe, we recommend our easy apple strudel (which uses ready made filo pastry) or our classic apple crumble recipe - which only takes 15 minutes to prepare.
Check out more of our favourite dessert recipes here.
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- Yields:
- 8 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 30 mins
- Cook Time:
- 50 mins
- Total Time:
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Cal/Serv:
- 440
Ingredients
- 300 g
plain flour, plus extra to dust
- 200 g
unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
- 1
.4kgBramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm (¾in) pieces
- 100 g
caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle (optional)
- 1 tsp.
ground cinnamon
- 75 g
sultanas
- 1
medium egg, beaten
Double cream, to serve
Directions
- Step1
Put the flour, 175g (6oz) of the butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you don't have a food processor, rub the butter into the flour using your fingers. Add 3-4tbsp icy cold water and whiz again (or mix with a blunt-ended cutlery knife) until the pastry just comes together. Tip on to a work surface, bring together and wrap in clingfilm. Chill for 30min.
- Step2
Meanwhile, put the apple pieces into a large frying pan together with the remaining 25g (1oz) butter, the sugar and the cinnamon. Cook gently for about 10min until the apples are just tender and there's barely any moisture in the pan. Add the sultanas and leave to cool completely.
- Step3
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6 and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out ⅔ of the pastry and use to line a 20.5cm (8in) round 7cm (3¾in) deep springform cake tin. Spoon the cooled apple mixture into the tin, level the surface, then fold excess pastry over the apples. Roll out remaining pastry as before, until it's larger than the base of the tin. Put the tin on the pastry and cut round the base. Lay the pastry circle on top of the apple mixture and press the edges down. If you like, cut apple and letter shapes from pastry trimmings and stick on to pie.
- Step4
Cut a small cross in the middle of the lid to allow steam to escape. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg and sprinkle over some sugar, if using. Put tin into the oven on the heated baking sheet. Bake for 35-40min until golden.
- Step5
Leave pie to cool for 10min in the tin, then take it out of the tin and serve warm or at room temperature with lashings of cream, if you like.
- Step1
To decorate
If you prefer a lattice top, cut 2.5cm (1in) thick strips from the rolled-out lid pastry and weave a criss-cross pattern over the apple filling to create a basket effect.
Per Serving:
- Calories: 462
- Protein: 5g
- Total carbs: 59g
- Sugars: 30g
- Fibre: 4g
- Total fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 13 g
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