Apple Pie

Hellllllooooo winter! How cold did it get over the last two nights??

What do you do when the weather turns cold overnight? Besides hot coco, after the soup, and before you get under the covers.

YOU MAKE APPLE PIE! I Love apple pie, there is no other pie that beats apple pie on a cold night, period!

There is something about the combination of apple, cinnamon and pastry. They are a match made in heaven, like Dumb and Dumber, the Brady Bunch, Batman and Robin, Bonnie and Clyde, the Lone Ranger and Tonto or the cast of the Seinfield show. I know there are ALOT OF apple pie recipes out there, but this one is GOOOOOOOOD!

What? What was that you asked? Why is this pie better than all the other pies? What makes this pie so great? I’ll tell you what makes it great: The pastry! This pastry is incredible. It is short, buttery, and it melts in your mouth. It isn’t overly sweet but has a gentle hint of sweetness. Most importantly, there is no need to knead, so there's nothing to it. Just put all the pastry ingredients in the food processor and let the food processor do the work for you. Once the dough has formed into a ball you take it out and let it rest. The dough needs a good rest in the fridge after all that hard work. After it’s rested take it out, roll it put the dough in a pie dish, fill it up with apples, cover with the remaining dough, bung it in the oven and Bob’s your uncle, easy as pie.

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Ingredients Pastry

• 2 1/3 cups plain flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 175g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1-2 tablespoons cold milk

Pie Filling

• 1.5kg green apples

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons cold water

• 1/2 -1 tablespoon ground cinnamon. I used 1 tablespoon (I love the flavour of cinnamon)

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Method Pastry

1. Place the flour, baking powder, butter and caster sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

2. Add the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk and process until the mixture comes together to form a smooth ball. If mixture doesn’t form a smooth ball, then add the second tablespoon of milk. Divide dough into 2 portions (two thirds and one third). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes.

Pie Filling

1. While dough is resting, peel, core and slice OR dice apples, approx. 1 cm thick.

2. Place apples in a pot with brown sugar, cinnamon and two tablespoons cold water.

3. Stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar, then cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until the apples start to soften.

4. Turn off the heat and allow apples to cool down.

Cake

Preheat the oven to 180c.

1. Grease a 22cm fluted, loose-bottomed tart pan with butter.

2. Roll the larger piece of pastry on a lightly floured surface into a circle, and gently press it into the tart dish to line base and sides.

3. Prick the pastry with a fork, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.

4. Line the pastry shell with baking paper and fill with uncooked rice or pastry weights.

5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and return to the oven for another 5-7minutes until it’s almost golden in colour. Allow to cool.

6. Strain apples over a sieve and discard liquid. Spoon apples into the pastry.

7. Roll out the remaining pastry big enough to cover top of pie. Using your fingers, pinch the edges together to seal.

8. Bake for 25min or until cooked and golden. Serve with Ice - cream or custard.

Love,

Nava

PS - I love hearing from you! Let me know how it went and feel free to spread the word/passion/love, the more the merrier!