My Perfect Apple PieRecipe video above.?Basic Apple Pie recipes just call for piling raw apples in an uncooked pie crust. It will work ... but the crust will have raw patches, be soggy, the apples unevenly cooked and you'll have a giant empty cavity under the pie lid. Hmm.If, like me, that's not good enough for you, make my Perfect Apple Pie! The trick: bake the apples for the filling first and blind bake your crust. Result? Superior flavour, perfectly cooked apple filling, a crispy base and no unsightly gaping cave under your pie lid!NOTE:?Saddened to see mixed reviews where the wrong apple types has been used. This recipe is made for Granny Smith Apples! Other apples are not juicy enough or too soft. Please follow the recipe! Prep Time1hour?hr Cook Time2hours?hrs Cooling - minimum3hours?hrs Course:?Dessert, Pie Cuisine:?Western Keyword:?apple pie 开云体育s:?10?-12 ?Calories:?474cal ?Author:?Nagi - 2?x?homemade shortcrust pastry?this recipe, or store bought (Note 1)
- 1?egg?, lightly whisked
- 2?tsp?white sugar?(granulate/regular, not caster/superfine), optional (Note 2)
Apple pie filling:- 2kg/ 4 lb?Granny Smith apples?, cored, peeled, halved, cut into 1 cm / 1/3" thick slices. (Note 3)
- 1?cup?brown sugar
- 1?tsp?ground cinnamon
- 1/2?tsp?ground ginger
- 1/4?tsp?ground nutmeg
- 3/4?tsp?cooking/kosher salt
- 1?tsp?unsalted butter
Pie crust:Shortcrust:?Make a double batch of my?shortcrust pastry recipe. Form the dough discs, wrap and refrigerate per the recipe. Line tin:?Roll out one dough just large enough to fit a 23cm/9" metal pie tin, following directions in the?shortcrust recipe. You want the base relatively thick so it's sturdy. Trim off excess pastry, prick the base 30 times with a fork (don't pierce through). Freeze?(Note 4):?Cover with cling wrap and freeze for 2 hours. While crust is freezing, make apple filling. Then continue with pie crust steps. Preheat?oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan). Blind bake?(Note 5): Place two large sheets of baking/parchment paper in a "X" over the pie tin then fill with baking beads (Note 4). Bake 25 minutes. Egg wash?(Note 5):?Remove from oven. Use paper excess to remove beads into a bowl. Brush base and sides (not rim) lightly with whisked egg. Return crust to oven for 5 minutes. Cool:?Crust should be light golden and look fully cooked. Cool 15 minutes before filling.
Lattice?(Note 6 for full lid):Apple Pie Filling:Preheat?oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Spice mix: Mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Toss:?In a large bowl, sprinkle spice mix over apple slices. Toss well with hands, separating pieces that are stuck together. Bake:?Spread across 2 large trays. Bake until soft but still holding form - check first at 15 min, and every 5 mins thereafter (mine take 40 min - Note 7). Do not stir or rotate trays. Drain off juices:?Remove trays from oven. Using a spatula to hold the apples back, pour apple juices into a saucepan (drain off what you can, you don't need every drop). Cool apple:?Leave apple slices to cool on the tray, about 15 minutes. Apple syrup:?Add butter to apple juice saucepan and simmer on low heat until it reduces to 1/3 cup (80 ml), becoming syrupy. This might take 1 minute if you didn't start with much juices, or 3 - 5 minutes if you started with 1/2 cup or more juices. Remove from stove and let cool.
Assemble and bake:Turn oven up?to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan). Fill:?Use a spatula or egg flip to scoop up apple slices. Fill the pie crust with 2/3 of the apples, gently pressing out air pockets. Then arrange the remaining apples on top so they mound slightly at the centre. Pour apple syrup over the slices and any residual juices from the baking trays. Pastry lattice or lid:?Top with pastry lattice - see in post for my method. Trim excess, and press to adhere on to pie crust rim using water to seal. Brush lattice with egg wash (avoid the pie rim else it will over-brown there), ensuring you don't get pools of egg in the joins. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake?45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and you see the syrup bubbling through the lattice. 开云体育 fresh:?Cool at least 3 hours before cutting to serve! Option for neat slices:?After cooling, refrigerate overnight. Turn pie out of pie dish (it's sturdy enough once cooled). Then you can cut neat slices. Place on a tray, cover with foil and reheat for 10 minutes in a 180°C/350°F oven (or microwave in emergency!). In either case serve with vanilla ice cream, always!
MY WORKFLOW:?While pastry lined pie tin is in the freezer, bake apples. Meanwhile, roll out lattice. While baked apples are cooling, blind bake pie crust and reduce apple syrup. Then assemble pie and bake!1. Crust -?If using store-bought pie crust, follow packet directions.2. Granny Smith?is my choice for apple pie for its tart flavour which plays so well with the sugar and spices. Also because it holds its form well when cooked (rather than turning into baby food).PLEASE?do not make this pie with other types of apples, I cannot guarantee outcome as some varieties are not juicy enough (= dry filling) or are too soft!3. Sugar?for a sparkling crust. Optional.4. Freezing?prevents pastry shrinkage. It really works and is worth doing. A neat trick taught to me by my French pastry chef teacher?Jennifer Pogmore. Freeze overnight or up to 1 month! This step is key for apple pie because crust shrinkage = high risk of breakage once filled (because crust is no longer pressed again pie tin wall for support).Baking beads also helps prevent pastry shrinkage. Don't have any? Use uncooked rice grains or dried beans. Save for re-use another time!5. Par baking?the crust is key for ensuring the pie crust is fully cooked and crisp. If you start with raw dough, you will end up with some raw patches whether on the base or sides, or both, and/or soggy base.Egg wash?on blind baked crust also helps keep the base crispy as it forms a bit of a water-resistant barrier.6. Full pie lid option?(instead of lattice) - Roll out pastry and don't cut strips. Seal to rim using water, cut 2.5cm/1" cross in centre to allow steam to escape. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake per recipe.7. Apple baking time?- Start checking your apples at the 15 minute mark as we discovered during testing that the same variety of apples differ drastically in cook times. In France (where Jennifer resides), it only takes 15 minutes. Mine take 40 minutes. So just start checking early! Note: Apple does not soften much more once inside the pie crust so get the texture right during this step.8. Recipe credits -?Many thanks to my French pastry chef teacher?Jennifer Pogmore?and RecipeTin’s?Chef JB?for their assistance and expertise to bring my vision of the perfect Apple Pie to life. We did it!!!9. Leftover?apple pie will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge though it is at its prime in the first 24 hours after baking. Freezing - I haven't tried. When I get a chanace I will try then update this note!10. Nutrition?– Pie only without ice cream or cream. Calories:?474cal?|?Carbohydrates:?79g?|?Protein:?5g?|?Fat:?17g?|?Saturated Fat:?5g?|?Polyunsaturated Fat:?2g?|?Monounsaturated Fat:?8g?|?Trans Fat:?0.02g?|?Cholesterol:?17mg?|?Sodium:?432mg?|?Potassium:?310mg?|?Fiber:?6g?|?Sugar:?43g?|?Vitamin A:?146IU?|?Vitamin C:?9mg?|?Calcium:?46mg?|?Iron:?2mg
Source: RecipeTin Eats
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