Dish of the Week: The Ultimate Apple Pie for a Chilly Weekend

Halloween might be over! But this doesn’t mean that we still can’t celebrate autumn! Also thanksgiving is just around the corner. So, here is my ultimate apple pie recipe to enjoy the rest of autumn with, or maybe do it in your thanksgiving dinner!!

Ingredients:

For the short crust (you could always use store bought pastry, but why not giving it a try?):

500g plain white flour, plus a bit more for dusting

50g icing sugar

A pinch of salt

250g cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 large egg

1 tbsp of cold milk

Apple filling:

5-6 apples ( a mix of granny smith and honey crisp)

1 heap tbsp brown muscovado sugar

½ of freshly grated nutmeg (or ½ tsp ground nutmeg)

1tsp ground cinnamon

A pinch of salt

2 1/2 tbsp butter

A splash of cognac or bourbon (optional)

Method:

1. Start by making the pastry. In a large bowl add the flour, icing sugar and salt; and mix well. Then start adding the cold butter; rub the butter with flour with your hands to resemble a bread crumb consultancy. After that add the egg and the milk and kneed. Shape you dough to a disc shape, place it in a plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
2. In the mean time start preparing your filling. Peel and cut the apple to medium chunks.
3. In a medium sized pan melt your butter on medium heat. When the butter starts to sizzle add the cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar; and wait until it reaches a caramel constancy.
4. Add the apples and cook the for 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of you apples. At this point you could add the cognac and flambé or leave the alcohol to evaporate. Now set aside to let it cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C.
6. While the apples are cooling, take out the pastry and divide to two. Roll out one half and place in the pie dish, with a fork poke some holes, take a piece of parchment put it on top of the pastry, add some baking beans. And bake for 12 minutes, or until golden.
7. Take out the cooked pie crust, add the filling , roll out the other half and palace on top. Prick the surface of the pastry lightly, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle some normal white sugar.
8. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Serve with vanilla ice cream, custard or whipped cream.