We’re coming to the end of British Pie Week so we’re getting involved again and making a pie.
At the mere mention of the word ‘pie’ we usually get involved – any excuse! Yes, the saying may go, “As American as apple pie”, but we’re famous for our apples here in Blighty – and have no doubt been using them in pies for centuries.
We’ve rustled up a spiced apple & sultana pie for our Cakes & Bakes post… it’s quite a comforting, wintery version of the simple classic.
Crisp, buttery pastry with a soft, warm, cinnamon-infused fruity filling… and finished off with thick, cold cream of course.
You might have a bit of pastry left over – if you do, don’t just bin it, use cutters to turn it into shapes or letters to adorn the top.
The perfect, celebratory Pie Week pie!
Spiced apple & sultana pie
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 240 g/8½oz plain flour
- 120 g/4¼oz cold butter
- pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp cold water
For the filling
- 4 Bramley apples - peeled cored & chopped into 2cm chunks
- 50 g/2oz butter
- 50 g/2oz sultanas
- 75 g/2½oz brown or Muscavado sugar
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
Instructions
For the pastry
- Grease a 9" diameter round pie dish
- Put the flour, butter and pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Add the cold water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing between each addition until the mixture comes together into a ball
- Flatten the ball into a disk and wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour
For the filling
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan before adding the chopped apple
- Add the sultanas and brown/Muscavado sugar and cook until the apple is slightly softened but still al dente
- Set aside to cool completely while you roll out the pie base
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
For the pie
- Divide the chilled pastry into two, one ⅓ and the other frac23;. Put the ⅓ back into the fridge
- Roll out the other piece into a round about ⅓cm thickness and line the dish, carefully pressing it flat cut off the excess around the rim leaving a ½cm overhang
- Prick the base with a fork, cover with baking beans (or dried peas like I do) and blind bake for 15 minutes
- Remove the pie base from the oven and set aside
- Remove the 2nd piece of pastry from the fridge, roll out into a round, again about ½cm
- Spoon the apple filling on to the cooled pastry base and cover with the pastry round. Press into the pastry base and trim any excess.
- Brush the top with milk, sprinkle with the caster sugar and put back into the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns golden brown
- Allow to cool slightly before serving with cream or vanilla ice cream
