Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 2 x homemade shortcrust pastry ( this recipe, or store bought (Note 1))
• 1 egg (, lightly whisked)
• 2 tsp white sugar ((granulate/regular, not caster/superfine), optional (Note 2))
• 4 lb Granny Smith apples (, cored, peeled, halved, cut into 1/3" thick slices. (Note 3))
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1 tsp unsalted butter
• Vanilla ice cream, cream

Method

1. Roll one portion of the shortcrust pastry into a 9 in/9-inch metal pie tin, keeping the base fairly thick, trim the excess and prick the base 30 times with a fork without piercing through, then freeze the lined tin, covered, for 2 hours.
2. Bake the frozen shell blind at 400°F for 25 minutes under parchment crossed in an X and filled with baking beads, then remove the beads, brush the base and sides with beaten egg and return it for 5 minutes until light golden, and cool it for 15 minutes.
3. Mix the brown sugar with the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt, toss the Granny Smith apple slices through that spice blend in a large bowl, separating any slices stuck together, and spread them over two large trays.
4. Bake the spiced apples at 350°F, checking from 15 minutes, until they are soft but still holding their shape, which can take up to 40 minutes, without stirring or rotating the trays.
5. Drain the juices from the apple trays into a saucepan, add the teaspoon of butter and simmer until the liquid reduces to about a third of a cup of syrup, then let the apples and syrup cool separately for about 15 minutes.
6. Fill the cooled shell with two-thirds of the apple slices, pressing out air pockets, mound the remaining slices in the centre and pour the apple syrup and any tray juices over them.
7. Roll the second pastry portion to ⅛ in thick, cut it into twelve 1 in strips and lay them over the apples as a lattice, trimming and sealing the edges, then brush the lattice with egg wash and sprinkle it with the white sugar.
8. Bake the assembled pie at 400°F for 45 minutes until the lattice is golden and syrup bubbles through it, then cool the pie for at least 3 hours before slicing it for serving with vanilla ice cream or cream.

Prep: 60 min · Cook: 120 min

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data