Aussie Mum: apple pie

With all the choices we were confronted with when making the Spiced Apple Pie last week we decided to also make an Apple-Raspberry Pie. The raspberries have been amazing latterly and raspberries are one of my boys favourite treats - I just wish they were as cheap here as they used to be in the USA! In Australia raspberries have become a special treat versus an everyday snack that the boys became accustomed to in the USA. This recipe for Apple-Raspberry Pie came from Martha Stewart and once again she didn't disappoint.

The ingredients:
1250g assorted baking apples, (we used Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced
170g fresh or partially thawed frozen raspberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plain flour, plus more for work surface
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling

The recipe:
Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Stir apples, raspberries, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. (I actually forgot the flour which made the filling have more juices and more runny but still delicious. It did mean it was possible for me to serve some of the filling to my gluten-free-mother baked in a ramekin sans pie crust which mum loved).

Fill your pie crust with apple mixture. Dot with butter. Cover with you remaining pie dough either as a slab or as a lattice (we created a lattice effect this time for something different).

Refrigerate for 20 minutes (we skipped this step as we had guests arriving and were running out if time).

Whisk egg yolk and cream in a bowl; brush over top crust. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake until crust is golden and juices are bubbling, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Place foil on rack below to catch juices. Tent pie with foil if browning too quickly. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 4 hours (up to overnight).

We served it immediately with ice cream. For my mum's gluten-free version I also added some caramel sauce I had left over from making the Mini Apple Charlottes. Since mum has to miss out on the delicious pastry I felt a little caramel sauce would help compensate.

The result:
Amazing and sweet. A little runny due to the forgotten flour so the pie didn't really hold its shape when cut and served. The raspberries complimented the apples beautifully, adding a delicate berry flavour.

I think I enjoyed this pie more than the Spiced Apple Pie, and my Mum said she preferred this gluten-free version to the gluten-free Mini Apple Charlotte I made for her last week. I thought my husband would have preferred the Spiced Apple Pie but even he says the raspberries added an amazing flavour and this was his favourite pie. He just wants to make it with a full pastry top rather than the lattice. I agree that more of the delicious crunchy pie crust will never disappoint!

I was once again surprised by how quick and easy this pie was. The filling took only minutes to prepare and since we had the crust in the fridge from the day before it was just a matter of rolling it out and filling it. Apple pie is my new favourite dessert to make when having guests. We shared this pie with my aunt and cousins for afternoon tea on Friday and then with my parents for morning tea on Saturday. Everyone loved it. It was a sure winner!

How do you feel about adding berries or other fruits to an apple pie? Do you prefer a more traditional pie with only apple and some spices?

After our adventures apple picking last weekend, the first thing we wanted to make with all our delicious apples was apple pie! We didn't have a recipe of our own and so we began searching through the many many cookbooks on our shelves, and of course we perused google to find some suggestions. We really didn't want to buy a pre-made frozen pie crust, since we felt that apples this good deserved a homemade variety. But there were literally 100's of recipes, all with slightly different variations on how to make the perfect pie crust. It seems that every cook has their own favourite - all butter, part butter part shortening, vegetable oil, almond flour, plain flour...you get the point. However, more than deciding on the ingredients to use, I found that most recipes called for a food processor - something I lack. I did find one blogger who espoused to make a great pie crust dough using the kitchenaid - perfect.

The ingredients:
2 1/2 cups plain flour
225g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch squares
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon unseasoned bread crumbs

The recipe:
Place butter and flour into the mixer bowl and place the bowl into the refrigerator. Combine the water, vinegar, and salt and place that in the refrigerator, leaving both for several minutes. Affix the bowl to the mixer, mix for 30 seconds on lowest speed. Then slowly add the cold water/ vinegar, and mix until the dough comes together in a ball. Divide the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic and press down into discs. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to two days.

Take the dough out of the fridge, and place on a well floured surface. Roll out from the center, turning the dough as you go. Roll the dough out so that it’s circular and big enough to spread over your dish. Fold your crust into quarters,

Butter your pie dish and sprinkle the bottom with the tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Place the corner in the center of the pie dish, and then unfold the crust. Press out any air bubbles, and fold over the top of the crust if there is extra. Patch any holes with excessive pieces of hanging dough. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork. If you haven’t yet prepared your filling, refrigerate the crust while you do. Roll out the second crust. Put the filling into the shell, and then either:

1. lay the crust over the filling in the same method as you transported the first crust. Brush the edges with an egg wash and press the edges together, shaping it with your fingers. Cut four holes in the top of the crust.
or
2. cut the second crust into 1-inch strips. Arrange one set of strips going in one direction, then another set in the other direction. Brush edges with an egg wash and press the crust together at the edge, and shape with your fingers.

The results:

Super easy! I was scared of making pie crust - this has changed my opinion completely! And it was a very yummy crisp crust!! Iactually made the dough in the 20 minutes between the boys lunch and Kyah needing a feed. It was perfect timing. I love my kitchenaid!!

Our next challenge was deciding on the filling - traditional apple pie, spiced, apple pie, apple and raspberry...the list goes on. We decided on a Martha Stewart recipe for spiced apple pie - she is yet to disappoint me with her recipes.

The ingredients:
1.8kg Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

The recipe:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius, with racks in middle and lower positions.

Toss together apples, lemon zest and juice, sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Place filling in piecrust, mounding it in the center. Dot with butter.

To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Place pastry top on pie. Lightly brush entire top of pie with egg wash. Sprinkle top with sanding sugar. Refrigerate pie for 1 hour.

Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower oven rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 190 degrees, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour 10 minutes more. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

The result:
Delicious. Amazing. Tasty. Lightly spiced. Moist. So yummy to dig into a warm apple pie on a cold crisp autumn day.

One of the funnest aspects of making apple pie - using the apple peeler & decorer! The kids love eating apple they get to twirl through the peeler and see it come out like a "snake". The best way to get kids to eat more apples!