Apple Pie Recipe

Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6). Peel, core and chop the apples, then put them in a saucepan with 2 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp of caster sugar and cook over a medium heat. Watch that the pan does not boil dry (add more water if needed); the apples will take about 15 minutes to soften and stew. Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

While the apples are cooling, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, then add the diced butter or margarine and rub it in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the cold water gradually to the flour mixture, using your hands to mix it all together until you have pastry that’s firm enough to roll out without being too sticky or too dry.

Divide the pastry in half, sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin with a little flour and then roll out one half of the pastry so that it sits comfortably inside a 20cm pie plate. Trim off any overhanging pastry edges, then put the stewed apples into the pastry-lined dish.

Roll out the other half of the pastry to the same thickness. Brush water around the edges of the bottom layer of pastry, then use your rolling pin to pick up the second piece and carefully lay it over the top of the dish, pressing down around the edges to make sure they’re properly sealed. Trim off any excess pastry, in line with the outside edge of the dish, then use your finger and thumb to pinch a ‘fluted’ pattern all around the edge of the pie. Use a fork to prick the top of the pie lightly, then place the pie in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with caster sugar and serve.

[Image by Annie Spratt]