recipetineats4.7
My Perfect Apple Pie
Recipe 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!
👥 10 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 3h⏳ Prep: 1h🔥 Cook: 2h👤 Nagi📖 recipetineats
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●oven
- ●bowl
- ●saucepan
- ●spatula
- ●stove
- ●microwave
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Pie crust:
2
Shortcrust: Make a double batch of my shortcrust pastry recipe. Form the dough discs, wrap and refrigerate per the recipe.
3
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).
4
Freeze (Note 4): Cover with cling wrap and freeze for ⏱️ 2 hours.
5
While crust is freezing, make apple filling. Then continue with pie crust steps.
6
Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).
7
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.
8
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.
egg (, lightly whisked)1
9
Cool: Crust should be light golden and look fully cooked. Cool ⏱️ 15 minutes before filling.
10
Lattice (Note 6 for full lid):
11
Remove remaining dough from fridge ⏱️ 30 minutes prior. Roll out to 3 mm / 1/8" thick and cut into 12 x 2.5cm/1" strips. Transfer to board, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until required.
12
Apple Pie Filling:
13
Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
14
Spice mix: Mix the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a bowl.
ground cinnamon1 tsp
15
Toss: In a large bowl, sprinkle spice mix over apple slices. Toss well with hands, separating pieces that are stuck together.
16
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.
17
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).
18
Cool apple: Leave apple slices to cool on the tray, about ⏱️ 15 minutes.
19
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.
20
Assemble and bake:
21
Turn oven up to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
22
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.
egg (, lightly whisked)1
23
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.
egg (, lightly whisked)1
24
Bake ⏱️ 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and you see the syrup bubbling through the lattice.
25
Serving fresh: Cool at least ⏱️ 3 hours before cutting to serve!
26
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!).
27
In either case serve with vanilla ice cream, always!
Vanilla ice cream, cream
Nutrition Facts
calories
474 kcal
fat Content
17 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
6 g
sugar Content
43 g
sodium Content
432 mg
protein Content
5 g
trans Fat Content
0.02 g
cholesterol Content
17 mg
carbohydrate Content
79 g
saturated Fat Content
5 g
unsaturated Fat Content
10 g
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