Old English Apple Pie

Bramley Apples, the sour fruit we all love to cook with. Commonly used in desserts like pies, crumbles and tarts, the Bramley apple is the most important cooking apple in England and Wales. The traditional 'Apple Pie' has been going since 1381! Eaten hot or cold, this classic British and popular dessert can be served with custard or ice-cream.
If you have ever cooked with these dessert apples, you will know that preparing them are extremely simple and mostly cooked this way. You start off by peeling and coring the apple, followed by slicing them and adding lemon juice to stop them from browning. Finally, you add sugar. Depending on which recipe you make, I would add cinnamon to my apples for my Apple Pie. (Also raisins or sultanas would be included in this recipe however in our family we prefer without).

Here is my take on this recipe. Simple, quick and ready to serve:

You will need an apple pie dish tin, or a quiche tin will do.

Pastry ingredients:
250g plain flour
2 tsps of caster sugar
100g of butter (softened)
3-4 tbs of cold water

Apple Pie Filling:
2 large Bramley Apples (can use 3 if you like it packed!)
(Peeled, cored & sliced).
150g soft brown sugar
2 tsps of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
Juice of half a lemon

To finish: Milk or Egg White glaze.

To make this simple pastry I used my mixer, however by hand is just as good. Firstly, sift your plain flour and salt. Add your sugar until everything is mixed well. Once you weighed out your butter, gently with your fingertips rub into your flour mixture. Mix well until the butter resembles fine breadcrumbs. Carefully (so you do not over do it), add your cold water to the dry ingredients. Keep adding the water until the mixture has formed into a smooth dough ball. Finally, wrap into greaseproof paper or cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.

For the apple pie filling, as I explained earlier it is very simple. Peel, core and slice your apples into a mixing bowl. Followed by your sugar and spices and squeeze of lemon juice to stop the apples from turning brown. Let is rest until the pastry is ready to come out of the fridge.

When your pastry is ready, divide them into two. One for the top, one for the bottom of your pie. The best part about apple pie is that really, there aren't too many rules how you decorate the topping! On a floured work surface, roll out your bottom part of the pie, simply place into your tin. Add your apples and spread them around the base of the tin. When your happy, roll out the top part of the pastry and place on top of the apples. You can crimp the edges together or fold over the bottom and top together to create a ribbon effect. This will seal the pastry completely. Finally with a brush, add milk on the top to give the pie some colour or egg whites work just as well. I like to cut 2 holes in the middle of my apple pie to let the steam come out, these apples cook really well in the oven and it's important you let them some air to cook! If you feel you have more dough left over, make some leaves or maybe a message on top as an additional take or maybe to impress someone!

Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes, then 180 for 20 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before serving. You can serve this with custard or anything you'd like. We sometimes use Greek yoghurt on the side, delicious! Also served cold is really lovely, maybe bring it along to a picnic in the park!
Enjoy!