Red Apple Pie

Red Apple Pie 
Love at First Bite!
PREPARATION: 30 MINS + 30 MINS REFRIGERATION + 15 MIN STANDING TIME 
COOKING: 1 HOUR 
SERVES: 4

I picked up this old Mag the other night and was flicking through when this scrummy looking apple pie caught my eye. And since it was my birthday Saturday night and the kids were coming for tea I thought this would be lovely for dessert on a chilly winters night. The recipe comes from the May 2008 edition of Better Homes and Garden Magazine. 

Ingredients

Pastry  

200g unsalted butter 

2 tsp vanilla essence 

3/4 cup caster sugar

2 eggs 

1 1/2 cups self raising flour, sifted 

1 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted 

Melted butter for greasing 

extra flour for kneading 

1 tbsp sugar, for sprinkling  

Filling

1kg pink lady apples

1 cup frozen cranberries

2tbsp plain flour 

2 tbsp sugar

Method

Cut butter into pieces and put in the small bowl of an electric mixer. Add vanilla and beat until soft and creamy. Add caster sugar and beat until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. Separate 1 egg and reserve the white. Add egg yolk and remaining egg to the butter mixture and beat until well combined. Transfer the butter mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the sifted flours. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Preheat oven to 180C. Brush a deep fluted, loose based 22cm flan tin with melted butter. Turn out pastry mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently into a round. Wrap round in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut two-thirds of the pastry from the round and knead into a ball; set aside remaining pastry. Put the pastry ball between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out into a round, 5cm larger than the flan tin. Remove the base sheet of paper and carefully ease the pastry into the prepared tin. Remove the base sheet; do not trim pastry edges. Put pastry lined tin in the fridge for 10 minutes.

To make apple and cranberry filling, peel and quarter the apples. Remove the core from each quarter and cut quarters into paper thin slices. Put apple in a large bowl with cranberries, flour and sugar and toss to combine. Remove pastry lined tin from the fridge and spoon in apple mixture. Sit tin on an oven tray. Put remaining pastry between the 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out into a round large enough to cover the apples. 

Remove 1 sheet of paper and put pastry on top of apples. Remove remaining paper and carefully press pastry down on apples. Cut away excess pastry. Put reserved egg white in a small bowl and beat with a fork until foam firms on the top. Brush egg-white over pastry. Use small sharp knife to make a small cut about 5cm long on top of the pastry. Re-roll pastry trimmings, cut out leaves or other shapes and sit them on top of the pie. Brush pastry with egg-white, then sprinkle sugar over. Bake the pie for 55 - 60 minutes or until pastry is dark and golden and apples are tender. Stand pie for 10 - 15 minutes, then carefully remove from tin. Serve pie Hot, Warm or cold. 

Cooks Notes

The apples and pastry are cooked together in this recipe, which results in a firm, but tender apple filling.

Pink Lady apples are great for both eating and cooking. They're the best type to use for this pie as their sweet flesh teams beautifully with the tart of the cranberries. 

The pastry can be made up to 8 hours ahead and stored, wrapped in baking paper or plastic wrap, in the fridge. Bring the pastry to room temperature before rolling.

Once the apples are peeled and sliced they should be used immediately, otherwise they'll turn brown (or you can do what I did which is to squeeze lemon juice over them, they were fine prepared an hour in advance) 

Frozen cranberries are available in packets from supermarkets; they can be used straight from the freezer for this recipe. 

Dried cranberries, called crasins, can be used if frozen cranberries are not available. They'll add the same delicious tart flavour. 

This apple pie is best eaten within 2 days of making. 

My Notes 

I couldn't find a deep side 22cm pie tin the best I could get was 24cm from Matchbox pretty reasonable too at $14.95. 

I had trouble with the rolling of the pastry between the 2 pieces of baking paper thing...1 was the baking paper wasn't wide enough, and the pastry kept ripping, however it did stick back together easily :) 

I am going to go out and hunt down a pastry sheet, I know my Mum had an awesome Tupperware one eons ago....Karen goes off to look at the Tupperware site :) 

Oh and we ate this pie hot with double cream, it was mouth puckering sour in spots with the cranberries! next time i will sift in a little sugar with them and let them sit for a while. 

We did have it again for breakfast this morning (Yes breakfast! lol) But this time cold with the cream, and it was gob smackingly gorgeous!

As for it serving 4...only if you are a huge piggy, it serves 8 big slices easily :)