Friday, July 29, 2011

Mom's Apple Pie

Yesterday, I decided that since the title of my blog is The Pastry Dream, it is only fair that I present you with something that has to do with actual pastry. So in this post,  I will be sharing with you my mom's apple pie recipe that I have been enjoying since I was a kid. This would be my ultimate comfort food, a slice of  my mom's apple pie and all my Monday blues or moody winter days are gone!





The recipe is probably one of simplest apple pie recipe that I have seen.  For those of you that hate cinnamon, then this recipe is for you however, you can still add in cinnamon for those of you cinnamon lovers! It is surprisingly good even without the cinnamon and nutmeg that most apple pies would have.  I picked out an easy pie crust recipe from JoyofBaking, the crust has a nice flaky buttery taste that compliments the overall taste of the filling.  I hope you all enjoy it too!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiVox7JDCpk]

Mom's Apple Pie


9 inch crust


2  1/2 cups (350 grams ) All - Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon ( 4 grams) salt

1 teaspoon ( 14 grams) white caster sugar

1 cup ( 226 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1 inch ( 2.5 cm) pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ( 60- 120 ml ) ice water

Apple Pie Filling


5-6 apples, cored and sliced into small slices

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of white caster sugar

2 teaspoons of corn flour

1  1/2 tablespoons of flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional )

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg ( optional )

Extras


Some Cold Milk

Some Butter

Step 1 ( Pie Crust )


Mix flour, salt and white caster sugar  together in a bowl. Then add in the cubes of unsalted butter to the dry ingredients.  With a pastry blender, blend the cubes of butter with the dry mixture till it becomes a buttery crumbly mixture ( Check Pictures ). Add a tablespoon of water at a time till the crumbly dough holds together when pinched ( Check Pictures ). Turn the dough out onto your work surface and gather it into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, the flatten each portion into a disk. Wrap the pastry disk in cling wrap and chill it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.

Step 2 ( Pie Filling )


While waiting for the pastry to chill,peel, core and slice the apples into small pieces. Start cooking the apples in a heated pan, then add the brown and white sugars to the apples. Once the sugars have melted, add the flour, cornflour and salt to the apples. The apple filling should start to brown and thicken, keep testing the taste and texture of the apple fillings.  The apples should be semi soft to chew but not completely soft as it still needs to cook in the oven. Once the apple filling is done, leave it to the side to cool and start rolling the pre chilled pastry.

 Step 3 ( Rolling out the pastry )


When the pastry has chilled sufficiently, take one of the pieces out of the fridge. Lightly flour the surface top to avoid the pastry from sticking to the surface. On the lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry so that it would fit the size of the pan, always roll an inch or two inches more than the required size ( To ensure the pastry doesn't stick, always lift and turn the pastry a quarter after each roll ) ( Also to roll from the centre of the pastry outwards).  

Once rolled, gently place the rolling pin on the pastry and roll it on to the rolling pin to be transferred to the 9 inch pie plate ( Check pictures ). Gently flour your fingers and lightly press the pastry onto the bottom and the sides of the pan. Take the other piece of pasty from the fridge and do the same. 

Step 4 ( Finishing touches )


Preheat the oven to a 210 degrees Celsius. Once the pastry has been pressed into the pan, gently pour the filling into the pan. scatter small knobs of butter all over the top of the filling. Then cover up with the pie filing with the top pie crust. Seal the edges with your fingers ( Check Pictures). With a pastry brush, brush cold milk on the top crust to allow it the crust to develop a golden brown colour crust. Then with a sharp knife, make slits on the top pie crust to allow the steam to escape in the oven.

Take some aluminium foil to and cover the edges of the crust to avoid burning the edges ( Check Pictures). Bake the Apple pie on the middle rack  for 40 minutes. At the last 15 or 10 minutes of baking, remove the foil to allow the edges to brown.

Personal notes


1) The recipe in Joyofbaking uses a food processor, it is definitely faster but not necessary as the same result can be achieved by using the pastry blender. You just need a little elbow grease! ;)

2) Depending on your taste buds, you can vary the choices of apples. If you like your apple pie a little sourish, then go for 3 green apples and 2 red apples. If you like more sweet than sour, then go 3 red apples and 2 green. Always TASTE the apple filling after cooking it to ensure it suits your tastes. Alter the taste by adding more sugar if you want it sweeter.

3) The pie pastry MUST be chilled for 30- 60 minutes to ensure that it is easier to roll. If the pastry is too stiff to roll, then leave it out for a few minutes before trying again.

4) Watch the pie crust video, it is extremely helpful regardless of your experience in handling pastry.

5) If you like the texture of your apple filling to have a little crunch then do not completely cook the apple till it is semi soft. You will be cooking it again in the oven, so keep that in mind.

6) Don't get frustrated if you don't get it right the first time. It took me 5-6 times to fully understand how to handle pastry. Practice makes perfect! :) But I believe with the video and my instruction, you should be just fine.




[slideshow]

R. Deou

4 comments:

  1. interesting combo of pastry and soccer passion~ keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. good job there ! Very detailed explanation of the procedures, this helps alot especially
    first timers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Delicious! Simply delicious! Thanks for sharing. Since today I am a follower. I am looking forward to your new recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you!! =) Hope you enjoy my future recipes!

    ReplyDelete

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