My daughter loves fruit and apples are one of her favourite because of its crunchy texture. She loves being able to hold it in her hand as she diligently bites around the core (in a very systematic way too!). We had some leftover apples and they were getting a bit too ripe for her to eat so I thought about making apple pie. But then work got hectic and I didn’t get to have time to make apple pie until all those apples went bad. So I told my husband that I wouldn’t be making any more apple pie. He looked so disappointed he went out to get some more apples – Granny Smith – the best kind for making pie. When I made it, the smell of warm apple pie filled the house and our bellies. It was so addictive I had to make another apple pie because we hadn’t had enough pie and it was all gone already.
Serves 8 (493 calories per serve)
Prep time 15 mins + 30 mins resting time
Bake time 30-40 mins
Ingredients
20-22cm round pan
For pastry:
320g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
200g butter (salted)
100-120ml ice cold water
For filling:
30g butter
500g apples, peeled, cored and sliced
170g brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
Tip: we use the OXO Good Grips peeler and corer in our kitchen for the apples (and many other things!). It’s by far my favourite peeler and I’ve had (and broken!) a lot of peelers over the years.
In a large bowl, mix the flour and sugar together.
Cut the butter up into small tablespoon sized cubes and crumble one cube of butter at a time into the flour mixture. The bits of butter will stick to the flour and start becoming a crumbly mix.
Slowly add the ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time, and mix together until it forms a dough. Only add enough water to turn it into a mouldable dough as too much can make it tough. Form into a disk and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C and make the filling. Melt the butter on a saucepan and add the apples and let it cook for a few minutes, stirring every now and then.
Mix together the brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add to the apple mixture and let it simmer for a few more minutes until the apples have softened.
Stir in the plain flour to the mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Once the sauce has thickened, take off the heat and set aside.
Take half of the dough out from the fridge and roll out onto a floured surface until about 1/2cm thick.
Place the rolled dough onto a greased pan and trim the excess over the edges if required.
Pour in the apple mixture.
Roll the remaining dough place on top, sealing the edges. Brush with egg wash and cut some vents out on the top. You can also get creative here and make different shapes out of any excess dough or cut out patterns on the top.
Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool slightly before serving.
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