Tamasin Day-Lewis's Spiced Apple Pie

Tamasin's Apple Pie

On Saturdays I usually bake for my friend Beverly. This week she had a craving for apple pie, the kind her mother made. Her mother sadly passed away a year ago this week, so it was somewhat fitting that she asked me to make apple pie. We chose to try Tamasin Day -Lewis’s recipe, as it was similar to the one her mum made. I usually make apple crumbles rather than pie as it seems so much easier than dealing with making pastry. However this was simple to make. The pie had a lovely subtle spicing and went down an absolute treat. The only change I made to the recipe was substituting the orange zest for lemon zest as I could not find any fresh oranges in our area – this week they’re in stock!

Here’s the recipe:

Short crust Pastry

325g/12 oz plain flour

Pinch of slat

170g/6 oz unsalted butter

Filling

55g/2 oz light muscovado sugar

55g/2oz dark brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

1 tbsp plain flour

Grated rind and juice of ½ a lemon (I used the rind of a whole lemon)

Grated rind and juice of ½ a orange (this was omitted due to fact that I could not find oranges)

Tamasin uses fresh Cox apples peeled, cored and sliced. For convenience sake I used a 700g can of pie apples!

30- 55g 1-2oz butter

1 small egg beaten

About a tablespoon of sugar

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Make the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add. Pulse four or five times for 10 second bursts, then add one to two tablespoons of cold water while the processor is on. The moment the pastry comes together stop. If it is still crumbly add more water, but the more water you add the more the pastry may shrink. The key to pastry is trying to work it as little as possible. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Combine the sugars, spices, flour and zest of the lemon (and orange if using).

Grease a 23cm pie tin.

After 30 min divide the pastry in half and roll out.  I do this between two sheets of grease proof paper to make my life easy. Roll the pastry out big enough to cover the bottom of the tin which should be about 23cm in diameter. Gently lay the pastry in the tin. Strew over some of the sugar mix. Cover with sliced apples and sprinkle more of the sugar mix over. Repeat till the apples and sugar are finished. Dot the apples with the butter. Pour over the lemon and orange juice. (I left out the orange) Roll out the remaining pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper and use to top the pie. Crimp the edges and cut of the excess pastry. Use the trimmings to artistically try and decorate the pie with leaves and such should you be incline to do so. Cut two slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes.